Hardly a day goes by without news about Twitter, Facebook or other social networking sites. And as social networking has grown in popularity, the federal government has jumped on the train, too.

High-level federal officials are blogging, tweeting and using wikis to share information. Even traditionally secretive agencies like DoD are tweeting and providing information to the public and stakeholder communities. And it's all part of President Obama's drive to make government transparent.

But there is risk to all of this. Twitter and Facebook went down recently and took lots of sites along for the ride.

Aside from security, government agencies and IT leaders need to ask some important questions about Web 2.0 technology. First and foremost, there should be a legitimate business or public service reason for using the technology--it's not enough just to be in on the latest fad. The key is to use the social media to solve problems, provide useful information, connect with stakeholders and run government operations more efficiently.

Top agency management also must be on board and in agreement with the goals for the site, and willing to spend the money necessary to make it work. There also has to be a full buy-in from those who have to supply the information to make the site relevant.
A Web 2.0 site without the right content or involvement of the people inside the agency who matter will have a low chance of success.

It's also important to take baby steps, stick with basics, and grow over time. There is no need to add too many social media tools at the start. This will help avoid a lot of headaches.

Keeping a Web 2.0 site updated with relevant information takes time, effort, and staff resources. It is easy to get overextended, and to lose an audience, or fail to build one if the information is not useful and engaging. The public will be looking for frequent feeds and responses to posted comments. One must be realistic on how much can be accomplished, and in what time frame.

Running these sites can be a full-time job, too, but many agencies may try to do it on the cheap, which will not suffice. IT managers, working with government employees responsible for content, need to be on the same page, plan for short- and long-term needs, and be ready to communicate and deal with inevitable problems that arise.

In addition, the budget should cover IT costs needed for daily operations, upgrades and problems, including those involving security. Social networking, in one form or another, is here to stay.

The question is whether the government is prepared to make full use of these tools to effectively disseminate useful information, and better serve the public. We applaud all the federal agencies trying to stay current with the times. There will be many hits and misses, but hopefully social media will prove to be a positive addition to the communications arsenal. - Judi