Twitter In Government Communications

White Paper

Twitter and Government Communications by Gerald Baron, PIER Founder and Director of PIER Strategic Services

Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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by Gerald Baron, PIER Founder and Director of PIER Strategic Services Within government Twitter is one of many social media Web applications to emerge on the Internet during

organizations, Twitter has

the past few years. Twitter’s Internet success story was realized in February 2009,

become an important part

after the service’s popularity grew at a staggering 1,382 percent over the previous

of communicating with both

year (according to data from Nielsen Online) and Twitter.com registered more than 7

citizens and the media.

million unique visitors in the U.S. in one month. Today, Twitter boasts over 25 million users and has evolved into a mainstream communication tool utilized daily to send and receive instant news and updates. Within government organizations, Twitter has become an important part of communicating with both citizens and the media. This white paper will explore why Twitter is important to government communicators, while providing an overview of the current uses of Twitter, the successes government communicators have experienced and the downsides they report, concluding with some thoughts about Twitter and the future of government communications.

What is Twitter? 2

Twitter is intended to give people a fast and easy way to distribute, share and receive content across the Web. Essentially, Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging application designed to send and receive messages (called tweets) to one another in 140 characters or less—in order to fit within the text-message limits of cell phone carriers. Users can send updates to Twitter using a variety of means including loggingin directly to Twitter’s Web site, using smartphone applications, sending SMS text messages and emails, or via popular third party applications such as TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop. Content sent to Twitter is published to the user’s Twitter Web page, which has its own unique Web address (i.e. twitter.com/whitehouse). There are many ways for people to receive updates. They can access updates by visiting a user’s Twitter Web page, or if they are a registered Twitter user they can become a “follower” and receive updates when they login to Twitter.com or use third party applications. Additionally, people can subscribe to RSS feeds of tweets that are delivered directly to their RSS reader, email or embedded into other Web sites. Content posted to Twitter is searchable and visitors can quickly see who is talking about a subject by doing a search either through Twitter.com or by using third party search sites such as

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Twitscoop.com, Tweetmeme.com, or Tweetbeep.com.

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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Twitter was designed as a social media channel to enable friends and associates to stay in close contact with one another. The site’s motto is: “Share and discover what’s

“Anyone with a camera

happening right now, anywhere in the world”. Most Twitter use focuses on groups of

phone can report breaking

friends and associates keeping up on each other’s activities such as shopping, grabbing

news. I don’t think that

a cup of coffee, listening to a hot new music group, or enjoying a ball game. Given that

Twittering, Flickering, etc.,

this is the intention, and by far the most dominant use of Twitter, the question naturally

will replace traditional

arises: why is Twitter so important for government communicators and causing such a

news coverage. But, it can

stir with those concerned about communicating vital public information?

be a great aid for the traditional media channels.”

Twitter in Emergency Communications

- Janis Krums

Twitter came to the awareness of many government communicators following its use during a major news event. On January 15, 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 successfully ditched into the Hudson River after taking-off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. As passengers evacuated into lifeboats, Janis Krums, who was standing near the Hudson River, snapped a picture of the plane with his iPhone. Being a Twitter user, Krums uploaded the photo using a Web application called TwitPic. Immediately, all of his

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followers were notified of the incident. From there, the photo and related tweet quickly made their way to the mainstream media. While Krums assisted rescue efforts, he was contacted by MSNBC. Thirty-four minutes after the crash, Krums was interviewed by the cable channel with his TwitPic photo displayed under the breaking news banner on the TV screen. What followed was the typical media maelstrom, but the focus was now Janis Krums and his photo. Krums did two phone interviews with MSNBC, one with CNN, was on Good Morning America, 20/20, Inside Edition, the New York ABC affiliate, BBC, and live with Rick Sanchez on CNN. Two days after this whirlwind, here is what Mr. Krums wrote on his blog: “I think it is incredible that anyone at any point can have such an impact by simply posting a picture online. Anyone with a camera phone can report breaking news. I don’t think that Twittering, Flickering, etc., will replace traditional news coverage. But, it can be a great aid

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for the traditional media channels.”

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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With 300 million people walking around with cell phones—phones that have now become electronic news gathering equipment—one short message and one compelling

While wildfires burned in

image can instantly become a mass media channel and has made Twitter the police

the LA area, Los Angeles

scanner for the entire media world.

Fire Department Public Information Officers Brian

Even before the US Airways incident, a quieter revolution began in Los Angeles in

Humphrey and Ron Meyer

May 2007. While wildfires burned in the LA area, Los Angeles Fire Department Public

used Twitter to keep the

Information Officers Brian Humphrey and Ron Meyer used Twitter to keep the media

media and interested public

and interested public continuously updated on the progress of the fire and response

continuously updated on

activities. Through Twitter, they also received press inquiries from the BBC and news

the progress of the fire

media in Prague and other places around the U.S. and the world. A quick view of their

and response activities.

Twitter site shows that as of August 20, 2009, they had over 5,500 followers and had posted 3,324 tweets. According to Humphrey, their observations during Hurricane Katrina led them to aggressively employ social media channels including Twitter. In an interview with ComputerWorld conducted on BlogTalkRadio, Humphrey said that although those who were stranded in the Superdome were certainly hungry and thirsty, “They were dying a little bit at a time from a lack of information.” Humphrey and Meyer did

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not want the same said of their efforts with the fire department. The value of Humphrey and Meyer’s communication efforts was brought to their attention one day while enjoying a cup of coffee together. They heard a siren in the distance and didn’t think much of it since there are over 2,000 responses a day involving the fire department, when a fellow customer wondered aloud where the sirens were headed. On his blog, Brian Humphreys relays what happened next: “Ron and I nearly choked on our coffee simultaneously when the barista, glancing at her cell phone, answered confidently, ‘It probably isn’t anything major, or the LAFD would have Twittered about it.’… She still may be wondering why two strange men returned happily to fill her tip jar, but it was clearly our pleasure to know LAFD messages were

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reaching exactly who and where we had hoped.”

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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Twitter in Government

Lead by the director of

These two events have stimulated widespread interest in the use of social media and

New Media, Macon Phillips,

Twitter in particular for government communications. Below are some examples of

the Obama administration

the adoption of this new form of communication.

demonstrates exceptional levels of competence

Govtwit.com, a Web site that compiles all of the Twitter accounts of jurisdictions and

related to the newest

agencies, reports having 2,302 government related Twitter users, 91,000 tweets and

forms of communication.

23 million followers. Similar to this, another site called Tweetcongress.org aggregates all of the Twitter accounts of members of Congress. To this date there are 175 members of Congress tweeting. Of them, Senator John McCain’s account has the most followers with 1.2 million. Senator Claire McCaskill is second with a mere 30,000. While the 30,000 seems paltry compared to Senator McCain’s, it is quite astounding that a senator can completely control a channel of communication with an audience size larger than some daily newspapers and most local radio or television channels. Another example of Twitter use for government communications is the White

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House. Lead by the director of New Media, Macon Phillips, the Obama administration demonstrates exceptional levels of competence related to the newest forms of communication. To date, the White House’s Twitter account shows nearly one million followers. Presently, the tweets are primarily focused on debunking myths surrounding the President’s health care initiative. In July, the White House surprised even the Twitter community by pre-announcing a major press conference through Twitter—well before the mainstream media was informed via traditional means. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) effectively employed Twitter as one of many social media communication channels during the H1N1 flu (swine flu) outbreak in the spring of 2009. Using Twitter, they efficiently fed information to numerous local and state health departments providing a fast and efficient method of distributing the latest statistics on the outbreak as well as directions from the CDC relating to school closures, how to recognize signs of the illness, etc. The CDC

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currently has nearly 750,000 followers.

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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Government Use Survey Results Recently, PIER Systems, Inc. conducted a brief online survey among clients and various other government communicators. While far from scientifically valid with strong skewing toward the more technologically-oriented government communicators, the results reveal a snapshot of current use and thinking about Twitter in government communications. Twelve of the 71 respondents said they do not use Twitter; another eleven said that they haven’t used it yet but are investigating its use. Only one respondent was not certain what Twitter is. The largest group, 35, said that they use it routinely for distributing agency information. Another 16 said they use or are planning on using Twitter for crisis or emergency communications. Eleven respondents said that they use it but very rarely, and 19 said they monitor Twitter for relevant information. 47 out of the 71 respondents report using Twitter personally, that is outside of their government communication work.

Don’t Use

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Not sure what Twitter is Monitor Twitter for info Have used but discontnued Use it rarely Uses routinely for agency info Plan use for emergencies only Not using but investigating Other

The survey participants were also asked for their impressions of Twitter regardless of whether or not they use Twitter. Fifty-eight respondents answered that they see Twitter as one of many means of getting the word out quickly. The second largest group, 46, view Twitter as important for public and stakeholder communication, while 40 view it as important for media communication. Eighteen said that Twitter is an invaluable communication tool, while an equal number said that they were concerned that others could create fake accounts and make it look like they are speaking for their agency. Ten reported concern over the lack of an approval process and eight expressed

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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concern about the lack of compliance with National Incident Management system (NIMS) requirements. Fourteen commented that only a small number of people use

“Municipalities need to

Twitter, three expressed concern about Twitter’s reliability, and seven said they are

educate their staff on

not familiar enough to comment. Only two respondents replied that they see no value

[Twitter’s] proper use or it’s

or potential use for Twitter.

not going to be effective.” - Twitter Use Survey Respondent Not familiar

See no value or potential use Invaluable communication tool Important for media communication Important for public communication Too unreliable Only small number using Will use in crisis or emergency only One of many means of getting word out quickly Lack of approval great concern

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Concerned that others can create fake accounts Lack of NIMS compliance concern

Respondents were also given the opportunity to make open comments, and one provided a good summary of sentiments expressed by several others: “Twitter is one resource that can be used by municipalities. I understand the idea of ‘going where people are gathering,’ but social media is a resource that requires constant maintenance from government agencies that already have effective tools and already have too few people to do these kinds of jobs. Most importantly, it is only a tool. Municipalities need to educate their staff on its proper use or it’s not going to be effective. ‘Anyone can do it’ doesn’t mean anyone can use it properly on behalf of their agencies. It’s the same as saying “anyone can write a news release if s/he has a computer.” It’s the user, not the

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tool, that makes it successful.”

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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A recent conversation with the communication manager of a major public agency highlighted one of the opportunities posed by Twitter. Since this agency serves 4 million

While there is increasing

people, there have always been discussions going on about the agency. The difference

adoption of Twitter and

now is that when conversations occur on Twitter, communicators know instantly what

other social media by

is being said and often the emotion and motivation behind the comments. But, what do

government communicators,

they do with all of the conversations? Twitter provides an unprecedented opportunity

there remains skepticism,

to identify concerns and issues before they generate momentum and typically before

uncertainty and some very

they come to the attention of the mainstream media while providing the opportunity

real operational challenges.

for very proactive stakeholder engagement.

Challenges for Twitter Use in Government While there is increasing adoption of Twitter and other social media by government communicators, there remains skepticism, uncertainty and some very real operational challenges. These include Twitter reliability, the use of Twitter by unsavory spammers, the potential for fake Twitter accounts, liability issues, Twitter user expectations, and information discipline or the lack of an approval process.

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Reliability concerns Twitter is well known for its lack of reliability. With growing use by life safety and response agencies, the issue is becoming critical, particularly after a Denial of Service attack in August 2009, which brought the service down for hours. On August 7, 2009 GovTech’s Web site reported: “But most agree concerns about Twitter’s reliability and security have become more impactful, especially as some police and fire departments have begun to “tweet” updates about potential hazards like the locations of car accidents and house fires. A full-scale failure of Twitter.com or hacked login passwords could present serious threats to the public safety agencies that use the service, as well as to citizens who increasingly rely on Twitter for vital information.”

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Some, such as Michael Byrne of the consulting firm ICF International, are calling for a study of Twitter related to its use by government communicators. According to the GovTech article, Byrne said it’s often overlooked that the founders of Twitter

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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never intended it to be a source of official government information. Clearly there is a difference in impact when a service is designed for use to inform friends about the kind

Government agencies

of sandwich you are eating versus providing urgent evacuation information.

face the real possibility that individuals outside

Spammers

of the agency may set up accounts that look

Twitter use will likely diminish as the problem of spammers continues to grow. For

as if they are official.

example, Twitter account holders who do not wish to promote porn sites, have the increasingly time-consuming task of blocking followers who register only in hopes of building traffic to their sites. Unless Twitter addresses this added overhead burden, it is likely that many will not view maintaining their account worth the effort.

Fake Accounts One of the advantages and disadvantages of Twitter is that anyone can set up an account in mere seconds. Simply provide an account name, your email address and a password. There is no verification of the validity of the account name other than to make certain

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that it isn’t already in use. This means that anyone can set up an account using anyone else’s name. There have been numerous instances of organizations discovering that someone is posing as an official representative of the organization despite having no connection. Currently, ExxonMobil is engaged in this issue with a Twitter user named Janet who registered ExxonMobilCorp on Twitter and poses as an employee. There is little that can be done other than to publicize that this Twitter account is a hoax. Government agencies face the real possibility that individuals outside of the agency may set up accounts that look as if they are official. They also face the issue of employees within the agency using Twitter to convey information outside of normal channels. Twitter responded to this concern in March 2009 by announcing that they plan to offer Premium accounts, which will include verification of authenticity. To date, there has been no firm announcement regarding the availability of this offering.

Liability Concerns Some in government who use Twitter have raised the issue of liability. For example, in a blog post, Coast Guard member Ryan Erickson raised the issue of using Twitter

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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to communicate an urgent rescue request. The blog presents the following scenario: what if, at 2:30 on a Sunday morning the official Coast Guard Twitter account receives

Within PIER, a tweet or

a message that says five people are trapped in a capsized vessel. Erickson asks: What

Facebook message is

is the Coast Guard’s policy if they receive such a message? Are they obligated to do

simply another form of

anything, and what is the public’s perception of this kind of situation?

distribution and is subject to the same collaborative

To bring this question home, is the Los Angeles Fire Department equipped to deal with

process and approvals

reports of fires coming through Twitter? Is the CDC equipped to also receive reports

as any other method.

of new cases of H1N1 coming through Twitter? What does the public (in this case users of Twitter) expect from government agencies that are actively using Twitter is a real and important question. Erickson suggests one way to deal with this issue is to have a clear disclaimer on the Coast Guard’s Twitter profile stating that Twitter is not to be used for rescue requests or emergency communication. The LA Fire Department currently employs this tactic displaying instructions to use 9-1-1 to report a fire. While this solution is helpful, it does not fully resolve the issue of public expectations.

Information Approvals

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Government communication is not typically an individual process. A typical Twitter user is an individual telling only about him or herself, while a government communicator speaks in an official capacity representing an entire agency, or in a Joint Information Center context, a collection of agencies working together. How does Twitter fit into this world? There is an even greater concern during a significant emergency event where the response and communication efforts fall under National Incident Management System (NIMS) protocols. In these instances, the Incident Commander or Unified Command is responsible for approving all information for release. How will this be accomplished in the very open world of Twitter? For those who use the PIER (Public Information Emergency Response) System, the answer is to incorporate Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels as part of the complete information management process. That process includes information gathering, production, approval, and distribution. Within PIER, a tweet or Facebook message is simply another form of distribution and is subject to the same collaborative process and approvals as any other method. Twitter becomes one more “audience” member to send information to, or one more media outlet to include.

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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The actual connection is through an RSS feed which Twitter and all social media easily accommodate. Plus, tracking and documentation are important in the event that there

Audiences expect and

is any unauthorized information distributed; in PIER, all actions including approvals and

demand that agencies

distributions via Twitter are completely tracked and documented.

communicate frequently with brief, factual and

For those not using PIER or a similar communication management technology, the

relevant messages.

answer is to clearly designate a “tweeter” or Twitter user who is given clear instructions to only tweet authorized information. The process for authorizing and determining authorization must be developed on an organizational basis. However, efficiency may be compromised because of the need to dedicate someone to this task rather than making it a seamless part of the process.

Summary Despite the challenges Twitter presents, it is clear that it has a role in government communications. That role is based on the following opportunities:

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1) Listening—Twitter and other social media provide an unprecedented opportunity to listen in on conversations, identify issues and respond before those issues evolve into significant problems. 2) Media relations—reporters are typically avid Twitter followers, which means that there is a unique opportunity to reach them via Twitter. There is also the corresponding opportunity to monitor Twitter so that you also know what the media is listening to. Twitter is the police scanner of today with global reach. Recent events have shown that it is often through these means that breaking news stories emerge. 3) Direct to public—while most in government communication still believe that their primary job is to communicate to the public through the media, the media is rapidly losing audiences because those audiences go directly to the source of information. Twitter is profoundly changing how communication is done as reporting is increasingly following the Twitter mode of very short and very frequent updates. As a result, audiences expect and demand that agencies communicate frequently with brief, factual and relevant messages. Such updates are replacing press releases as the standard form

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of agency and emergency communications.

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Twitter and Government Communications A PIER Systems, Inc. White Paper

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The Future of Government Communications Although it is unlikely that Twitter will endure in the ever-evolving world of communications, it is all but certain that the innovation in communication Twitter represents will be with us for a long time. Even now it is not necessary to use Twitter to enjoy the fast, direct and efficient communication it offers. The basic function of using text messages to deliver content to Web sites and connected groups of people has been incorporated into a wide variety of Web-based tools including Facebook and the PIER System. These options will only expand in the future and with them the daunting challenge for government communicators to keep pace by continually

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adjusting their strategies and practices.

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