University of Tasmania
Browse
LGM DecJan 2010 Page 26-27.pdf (64.05 kB)

Facing up to Facebook: does a failure to embrace online social media mean local government is being left behind in the communication race?

Download (64.05 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 20:56 authored by Clayton HawkinsClayton Hawkins
Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, del.icio.us, Digg, Bebo, Ning, YouTube, wikis, Blogger, RSS feeds ... what? International cricketers, musicians, community groups, media outlets, charities, local businesses and even the Australian Prime Minister use social networking sites, but to local government these are mostly foreign or misunderstood tools of communication – so misunderstood, in fact, that many of them are banned to staff. According to Wikipedia ("the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit"); Facebook (300 million users), MySpace (260 million), LinkedIn (50 million) and Twitter (45 million) are amongst the most popular social networking sites in the western world, so should local governments in Australia utilise them? Are they just irrelevant timewasters? Maybe yes, maybe no: it depends on how well you use them, but ignoring them may not be a good strategy.

History

Publication title

Local Government Manager

Volume

43

Pagination

26-27

ISSN

1445-4335

Publisher

Indigo Arch Publishing

Place of publication

Melbourne Victoria

Rights statement

Copyright 2010 Indigo Arch Publishing

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Government and politics not elsewhere classified

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC