This document discusses the opportunities and challenges that social media presents for the public sector. It argues that social media can empower communities, increase transparency, and improve services, but that many public sector organizations are not prepared for the more informal, collaborative, and fast-paced nature of social media interactions. To thrive with social media, organizations need to loosen up by becoming more trusting of staff, transparent, agile in responding quickly, informal in tone, and collaborative by tapping into community input. However, not all citizens are currently online or engaged.

1. Social Media & The Public Sector Martin Thomas @crowdsurfing

5. “ Digital communications is a destabilizing force in a bureaucratic environment. And I am sitting right in the middle of a bureaucratic environment.’” Senior corporate communications director “ We’re not set up for this shit” UK CEO

9. Nordstrom Revisited “ Prescriptive rules have the effect of infantilising staff & make it harder for them to adapt to different situations. This goes as much for digital communications as for selling socks … Like the Nordstrom handbook we’re trusting staff to follow the spirit, not just the letter, of our guidelines” Meg Pickard, writing about The Guardian’s new social media guidelines, November 2010

10. How to Build an Empire “ Presumed Competence”

16. The Power of Communities Mutualisation: Collaborating with readers and communities to better understand, explore or reflect situations, topics, perspectives or experiences

18. A Great Big Caveat of UK population is not online (Race 2012) UK internet users do not use any form of social media of UK internet users do not regularly participate in discussion forums do not post ratings & reviews eligible voters didn’t bother to turn out for last local elections in the UK 20% 8.4 m 88% 95% 20m

20. @crowdsurfing Get your organisation & culture right … & the social media will look after itself