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( <br />Where content sign -off isn't required, communications or other guidelines usually direct staff in <br />the city's standards anct expectations for acceptable and unacceptable website communications, <br />Social media largely is perceived as a less formal method of communication. Cities that are using <br />social media to communicate offioial eity.sponsofed messages should be managing that official <br />social media content in much the same way it manages the city newsletter or web site, <br />Because of the prevalence of social media outlets such as Faoebook and Twitter — all accessible <br />through an Internet connection —pity employees may be participating in social media on a personal <br />level, which could mean they occasionally snake a post about their work. <br />Social Media Considerations <br />Because social media are relatively new, understanding of liability issues only now is beginning to <br />emerge. Cities should be mindful that any forays into soolal media — whether as an official voice of <br />the city, voiee for elected officials or as personally used by staff— Gould oreate an embarrassing <br />situation for the city, In some instances, the city could face legal challenges if incorrect, false or <br />non-public information is posted on a site used offioialiy <br />by the oity or personally by oinployees or electedCr <br />officials, In other settings, the city may face data requests • <br />that could include content posted to social media sites on <br />city and/or personal computers, depending upon who and <br />where oontent was posted, <br />Before oonsidering social media use as a tool for city <br />business, a city should weigh benefits against risks, <br />Answering the following questions will help set a course <br />for identifying who should speak for the city, when the <br />city wishes to use social media, where it wants to engage, <br />and more. <br />Is social media different than the city website? Yes, The <br />alty website functions as an official voice of the city. <br />Often, city websites include formal communication about <br />city events, projects, policies and ordinances. City <br />websites primarily are one-way forms of communication <br />where cities "push" information out to the public, and <br />websites rarely offer opportunities to directly comment on <br />information on the site, Most sites offer email addresses <br />for visitors to send comments to. <br />Read rnoro about risks related to <br />electronic communications <br />between council members, social <br />media and cities, and more in the <br />following materials from the <br />League; <br />latalapfea G iter 1 <br />fall <br />;le, trQnlc. C_grr, runt c is <br />Lal t',a„Cvuri iL ismkg.° <br />Msagginglaallttlflaktarik <br />BPsaisk <br />fig,(2yttiePrinAil.rnwftl1,tlt,�„M„lnn�sa a.t't1t nata;P.,ctices dck <br />These items and more are at in <br />the Resource Library of <br />tC iatww,ImG,4rg <br />Social media can be used as an. official voice of the city, but it's different. Social media oan be <br />accessed simply, through the Internet. One of the primary goals of social media is to encourage <br />two-way communication. Information shared in a social media setting typically happens in real- <br />time, Social media information is "pulled” by followers. Simply put, in social media people choose <br />who they want to connect with by deliberately "following" or. "friending" them, The act of <br />following someone on a microblogs or friending someone on FaceBook means that when they visit <br />their accounts, they will see information posted by the people, groups and organizations they <br />Pago2oft2 <br />