07-08-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Where oontont sign -off isn't required, communications or other guidelines usually direot staff in the city's standards and expectations for acooptable and unaooeptable website oomtntnnioations, Social media largely is perceived as a less formai method ofoomrn.unloatlan, Cities that are. using soolal media to communicate oftleial olty.sponsored messages should be managing that official social media content in muoh the same way it manages the city newsletter or web site, Because of the prevalenoe of social media outlets such as ] aoeboak and Twitter— all accessible through an Internet connection city employees may be partioipating in soolal media on a personal level, whloh could mean they ocoaslonally snake a post about their work, Social Modic Considerations Deeauso social media are relatively now, understanding of liability issues only now is beginning to emerge, Cities should be tnindfid that any forays into soolal media— whether as an offloiai vole of the oity, voice for elected officials or as personally used by staff— could create an embarrassing situation for the city, In some Instances, the olty could face legal ohallong0s if inoorreot, faise.or non-pu.blia information is posted on a site used officially by the city or personally by employees or aimed officials. In other settings, the olty may faoe data requests'�011910. that could inolude content posted to social media sites on City and/or personal computers, depending upon who and where content was posted, Before Considering social media use as a tool for city business, a city should weigh benefits against rides, Answering the following questions will help set a course for identifying who should speak for the city, when the City wishes to use social media, where it wants to engage, and more, Is social media different than the city website? Yes, The city website funotions as an offloial volae of the City, Often, city websites Include formal communication about city events, projeots, policies and ordinances, City websites primarily are one-way forms of oonnmunioation where oitlas "push" information out to the public, and websites rarely offer opportunities to directly comment on information on the site, Most sites offer email addresses for visitors to send comments to, Read more about risks related to electronic communications between council members, social media and cities, and more In the following materials from the League: E gangaSszogillAraka Malabar Malt These Items and more ere at In the Resource Library of ht, »/iwww,Irne,grg Social media oan be used as an official voice of the city, but it's different, Sociai media on be aooessed simply, through the Internet, One of the primary goals of soolal media is to encourage two-way conntnnu nication, Information shared in a social media setting typioally happens in real. time, Soolal media information is "pulled" by followers. Simply put, in soolal media people choose who they want to connect with by deliberately "following" or "blending" them, The act of following someone on a rnioroblogs or Mending someone an Faool3oak means that when they visit their accounts, they will see information posted by the people, groups and organizations they Page 2of12