This chapter explores the use of social media applications by local governments to communicate with constituents and promote involvement in policy and project management activities. Although public and private sector organizations make different uses of social media (Halverson, Hauknes, Miles, & Røste, 2005), there are many ways for government and nonprofit entities to make use of Web 2.0 applications. The focus in this chapter is on local government and a variety of examples will be provided. Some local government agencies primarily provide information to constituents through the social media apps, while others solicit the input from citizens to expand involvement. Finally, suggestions for future research and uses will be discussed.
This chapter evaluates the implementation by local government websites of President William Jefferson Clinton’s Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) (Clinton, 2000). The purpose of Executive Order 13166 is to facilitate access to federally funded services. In the U.S., local governments are the most important basic service providers. This assessment is fundamentally important in light of the growing number of non-English speakers who reside in the country. The chapter looks at a diverse set of local governments and focuses on availability of information in Spanish, by far the predominant non-English language, spoken in about 12 percent of households in the U.S. in 2006. Government Web pages are assessed in terms of the degree to which 10 key government service areas are accessible in Spanish. The chapter identifies best practices for governments to make sites accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency.
Most local governments employ an intranet within the organization, to assist in human resources. A telephone survey of local government officials (n=17) found these intranet sites employ few Web 2.0 applications. The survey found most cities have plans to increase their use of Web 2.0 applications for human resources management. However, the recent economic recession has adversely impacted these plans. The chapter forwards recommendations to improve local governments’ use of Web 2.0 applications while maintaining cost efficiencies.
Most local governments employ an intranet within the organization, to assist in human resources. A telephone survey of local government officials (n=17) found these intranet sites employ few Web 2.0 applications. The survey found most cities have plans to increase their use of Web 2.0 applications for human resources management. However, the recent economic recession has adversely impacted these plans. The chapter forwards recommendations to improve local governments’ use of Web 2.0 applications while maintaining cost efficiencies.
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