the double edged sword of the social network
DESCRIPTION
Social media has its challenges for local governments. Learn about legal and policy issues facing agencies in this arena.TRANSCRIPT
The Double Edge Sword
of the Social Network
Carol A SpencerDigital & Social Media ManagerCounty of Morris, NJ
NJ GMISApril 25, 2012
We’re social.We’re mobile.We network.
The World has Changed
Social & Mobile are the NormTwitterMicroblog
FlickrStill Photos
GoogleEmail, Apps
ScribdDocuments
SkypePhone, chat
LinkedInNetwork
PinterestOnline Pinboard
FoursquareLocation app
WordPressBlog
BloggerBlog
FacebookNetwork
YouTubeVideo
VimeoVideo
RSS FeedSubscription
SlideSharePresentations
General Challenges Going where no man has gone before. The speed of government. Too much noise. Too many products. Bleeding edge: Is anyone using it? Legal hurdles
Terms of Service Agreements Credit Cards / Purchasing Policies:
• What others can say on your sites• What you can say and how to say it on your own sites• What your representatives can / should say on other sites
Copyright Infringement Employees
Regulating workplace use Job descriptions – extra pay? Training: tools, terms, tone Regulating outside use / first amendment
Organization Challenges 1
Budget Cycle and Lack of Resources Changing Organizational Culture Ensuring the Quality of Data Increasing Public Interest and Engagement Balancing Autonomy and Control Accountability and Responsibility
1 An Open Government Implementation Model: Moving to Increased Public EngagementGwanhoo Lee, Associate Professor, Kogod School of Business, The American UniversityYoung Hoon Kwak, Associate Professor, School of Business, The George Washington UniversityIBM Center for The Business of Government (BusinessofGovernment.org); 2011
Budget Cycle and Lack of Resources
Mobile technologies develop very quickly Procurement process is too long
From the time a solution is identified, to budget, to approval, to implementation: could be 18 months.
Bid process Vendor understanding of government
procurement Credit card requirement
Changing Organizational Culture
Command and control environment Hierarchical, top down, organization Decision paths; Decision times Information silos The sum of the parts Management use (or lack thereof)
Ensuring the Quality of Data
Social media is about trust Data must be accurate, timely Data must add value, be useful Data must not be confidential; must be
sharable Data must be consistent across multiple
channels Processes must exist to identify sharable
data, collection and publication responsible parties
Increasing Public Interest and Engagement
Social media is about trust Data must be accurate, timely Data must add value, be useful Data must not be confidential; must be
sharable Data must be consistent across multiple
channels Processes must exist to identify sharable
data, collection and publication responsible parties
Balancing Autonomy and Control
It doesn’t have to be the wild west Play nice in the sandbox Enforce your commenting policies, politely Monitor, monitor, monitor Be human, admit mistakes Explain things in plain English, not
government speak
Accountability and Responsibility
With open public comment and multiple employees speaking on behalf of an agency, guidelines are important. Messaging needs to be consistent Tone needs to be consistent Coordination of responses is a must Consistency in the applicability of policy is a
must
Technology Challenges 1
Improving IT Infrastructure Enhancing Privacy and Information Security Integrating Tools and Applications Updating Policies and Rules
1 An Open Government Implementation Model: Moving to Increased Public EngagementGwanhoo Lee, Associate Professor, Kogod School of Business, The American UniversityYoung Hoon Kwak, Associate Professor, School of Business, The George Washington UniversityIBM Center for The Business of Government (BusinessofGovernment.org); 2011
Improving IT InfrastructureEnhancing Privacy and Information Security
Social media bandwidth issues: video hosting? 24 X 7 expectation Emergency preparation: bandwidth, demand Security issues with employee access
Hacking, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, malware, spyware
Privacy issues HIPPA, emails, OPRA, FOIA
Integrating Tools and Applications
Initial cost of training and tool acquisition Subsequent tool acquisition
Does is work with what we already have? Will it work with future tools? Will the company be in business in 5 years? 2
years? Mobile versions
Can we integrate existing data streams into a mobile presence?
Updating Policies and Rules
Inconsistency of application Terms of Use with government requirements Liability issues Subject to the laws of other states
Contractual or procurement laws Review for consistency and compliance with
court hearings, legislative changes, and Federal requirements.
How do you get started?
To be prepared is half the victory.Miguel De Cervantes 1547-1616 Spanish Novelist Dramatist Poet
Before beginning, plan carefully.CiceroC 106-43 BC Great Roman Orator Politician
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.Benjamin Franklin1706-1790 American Scientist Publisher Diplomat
Develop, Draw & Write a Plan
Discuss & Decide Where the information will originate Who may speak for your agency Which applications you will use Who will be responsible for the applications What will be the process, the flow What your policies will include Employee use; Content; Commenting How social media will be marketed How you will engage visitors
Is it worth the work?
Hurricane Irene: 1 weekHurricane Irene: 1 weekWebsites Irene Typical•Homepage views 75,155 26,000
Blogger•OEM & MorrisCountyNJ 36,991 2,400Facebook post views•MorrisCountyNJ 49,610 5,500•MCUrgent 99,005 400
Twitter message views*•MorrisCountyNJ 169,292 18,000•MCUrgent 20,448 0
TOTAL VIEWS 450,337 52,300
*Does not include Twitter ‘fast follow’ text messages to cell phones
The Public’s OpinionThe Public’s Opinion
Contact Information
National Association of Government Webmasters
Website NAGW.org
Twitter Twitter.com/NAGW
Facebook Facebook.com/NAGW.org
GovLoop Govloop.com/group/NAGW
Email [email protected]
Morris County NJ
Website MorrisCountyNJ.gov
Twitter Twitter.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Facebook Facebook.com/MorrisCountyNJ
YouTube YouTube.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Flickr Flickr.com/MorrisCountyNJ
Email [email protected]
Employee Use of Social Networks
Social Media Policy of Victoria, Australia, Department of Justicehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws3Bd3QINsk
Guidance from NLRB Reports
National Labor Relations Board report August 18, 2011: http://mynlrb.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d458056e743
Policies should not be too broad Specific examples of prohibited behavior should be
included Employee rights must be protected Terms like “appropriate” and “professional” must be
defined Mere complaints are not typically protected Protected speech includes wages, working conditions
(Section 7 rights)
Guidance from NLRB Reports
NLRB report January 25, 2012 Summarizes 14 caseshttp://mynlrb.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d45807d6567http://www.nlrb.gov/news/acting-general-counsel-issues-
second-social-media-report Reiterated 2 main points
Employer policies should not be so sweeping that they prohibit the kinds of activity protected by federal labor law, such as the discussion of wages or working conditions among employees.
An employee’s comments on social media are generally not protected if they are mere gripes not made in relation to group activity among employees.
No Appeals Court rulings on NLRB decisions
Guidance from NLRB Reports
NLRB reports provide guidance. From the NLRB website
http://www.nlrb.gov/faq/nlrb#t1n382 “The NLRB does not have jurisdiction over federal, state or
local government workers, with the exception of employees of the U.S. Postal Service. The Federal Labor Relations Authority has jurisdiction over federal employees. The organizing and collective bargaining rights of state and local employees are determined by state laws enforced by individual state agencies.”
Be very careful when restricting social media use at work
Labor Issues
From the NLRB websitehttp://www.nlrb.gov/faq/nlrb#t1n382 “The NLRB does not have jurisdiction over federal, state or
local government workers, with the exception of employees of the U.S. Postal Service. The Federal Labor Relations Authority has jurisdiction over federal employees. The organizing and collective bargaining rights of state and local employees are determined by state laws enforced by individual state agencies.”
NJ Employer-Employee Relations Acthttp://www.state.nj.us/perc/statute.pdf
Government Actions
Gloucester County Adopts Use Policy Controversial: It restricts employees from posting photos of
the “county’s premises, properties [or] activities” on private social sites.
Bay Head lists their 10 criteria for a policy NJSLOM March 2012 Article
http://www.njslom.org/magazine/2012-03/pg-28.html
NASCIO.org achieves Terms of Use modifications for states Facebook (1/5/2011), YouTube (1/17/2012)
Government Related Organizations
NAGW.org: National Assoc of Government Webmasters Resource Library; 700 member listserv
GoWProNJ.net: Government Web Professionals of NJ Meets 1st Friday, every other month
NASCIO.org: National Assoc of State CIOs NaCO.org: National Assoc of Counties NACIO.org: National Assoc of Cty Information
Officers
The Double Edge Sword
of the Social Network
Carol A SpencerDigital & Social Media ManagerCounty of Morris, NJ
NJ GMISApril 25, 2012