Build Your Social Profile AS A POLITICAL FORUM: • The US Republican Party are particularly avid advocates and users of social media in the government. Their initiatives like the YouCut, where the public can discuss and vote on ways of reducing national debt, demonstrate the wide uses to which social media can be put. Similarly, Facebook has long been used in the US as a platform for political campaigns and debates; it was used extensively during the Obama Campaign. With almost 2 million likes, this page keeps Republican Party members constantly informed, engaged, and involved in shaping the Republican Party’s policies and political campaigns. • The Russian Parliament has actively used Facebook as a forum for discussions and debates. Since its launch in Russia in 2010, Facebook users have grown more than 370%, which highlights its impressive use by public entities.
FOR INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK: • The White House: With close to 3 million followers, the U.S White House’s Facebook page is the most “liked” government page on Facebook. The page is administered by a number of members who share the burden of keeping Americans and others informed about all the key activities happening in and around the White House including presidential news and updates, public policy news, and well as various non-related social updates via article posts, videos, and pictures on a daily basis.
52 • NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) runs its page on Facebook that allows people to view, comment, and discuss latest NASA policies and projects. It is something that many governments shy away from doing, but it shows the confidence public sector entities are gaining in social media. Another interesting example is how the new Facebook Timeline is being used by NASA. They’ve structured it so that you can view footage from the relevant year by selecting it on the timeline with the page including content dating back to NASA’s opening in 1958.
Issue 2 - february 2015