09-26-2012 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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LEAGUE or MINNESOTA CITIES CONNECTING & INNOVATING SINCE 1913 RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SOCIAL MEDIA AND CITIES QUESTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS Social media is changing the way we work, connect and communicate. In a world of social media, the lines between employees' personal and work lives are blurring, and in some ways, being erased. How cities might choose to use these tools to support city work still is emerging as cities consider possibilities and pitfalls. This memo talks about social media considerations for cities, including who in the city should use social media, whether to use a centralized or decentralized approach, things to think about if the city wants a formal social media presence, issues related to elected officials and staff who use social media personally, "etiquette" considerations, and legal issues that can cause concern. Defining Social Media Social media primarily are Internet- and mobile -based tools for sharing and discussing information. Social media users can post photos, video, comment and post links to other information to create content on any imaginable topic. Sometimes this is referred to as "user - generated content" or "consumer - generated media." Social media tools include: • Social networking sites such as Facehook, Linkedln and MySpace. •• Blogs. • Microblogs such as Twitter. • Video sharing sites such as YouTube and iReport. • Photo sharing sites such as TwitPic and Flickr. • Wikis, or shared encyclopedias such as Wikipedia. • RSS feeds. • Mobile phone content uploaded to the Internet, and ever- emerging technological tools. How cities choose w use social media still is being pondered at the same time that developers are adding new tools, applications are merging, and favorites are emerging. It's exciting to watch, and to consider the potential of all these tools to support the work of cities — especially during tight budgets. But to plunge in headlong without talking through the potential reasons and risks of using social media is setting a city up for difficulty down the road. Social media, while accessible through the Internet, is generally thought of differently than a city website. A city website is the official voice of the city, and is recognized as such. Cities typically assign website content development and posting duties to staff as part of their official job duties. Sometimes those duties include a supervisor's review of content before it is posted to the website. This material is provided as general Information and Is not a substitute for legal advice. Consult your attorney for advice concerning specific situations. 145 UNIVERSITY AVE. WEST PUONE: (651) 281 -1200 Mx: (651) 281 -1299 ST. PAUL, MN 55103-2044 TOLL FREE: (800) 925 -1122 WEE:WWW.LMC.Oac 57