Social Media and eGovernment Lasse Berntzen University College of Southeast Norway

Content The information presented here is based on several years of observation on how social media are used by Norwegian municipalities. We have consulted and helped municipalities on both strategy and implementation.

Web 2.0 Social media is part of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 focuses on: Collaboration Sharing content Interoperability User-centered design But maybe the most important, Web 2.0 is Fun

Web 2.0 Web 2.0 is primarily tools for individuals Tools that allows individuals to create and share with friends and followers Blogs to share opinions and start discussions Facebook for sharing thoughts and photos with friends and followers, with the possibility for audience to like or react on postings LinkedIn to share work-related information with contacts Pinterest for sharing visual images with text YouTube for sharing video clips Twitter to share short comments But Web 2.0 is not only for individuals..

Users of Web 2.0 In addition to individuals, Web 2.0 is used by: Organizations Politicians Government Business Point is: Web 2.0 should be of interest for public sector entities

Why is Web 2.0 interesting? Web 2.0 has regular users* What web sites have regular users? NOT MANY! Most web sites have only sporadic users, e.g. municipal web sites. Information on demand (users visit only when they need some specific information) * Regular users come back, maybe several times every day. Social media have regular users, search engines have regular users, and news(paper) websites have regular users.

Web 2.0 mission Earlier in this presentation we have seen that Web 2.0 facilitates collaboration and sharing between individuals, but is also used by politicians, government entities and businesses. Then, what is the potential for government use?

Maturity model The following model was made to illustrate the typical use of social media by public sector entities. Dialog Mobilization Information Network expansion

Maturity Model Most municipalities that have presence in social media, uses the social media as a channel for disseminating information. The next level is when the municipality uses social media to mobilize citizens for causes The top level (only a few) engages citizens in dialogs to improve the daily running of the municipality The model is not perfect, but it shows the typical change in social media use over time

Web 2.0 opportunities Innovation Customers may take part in product development Citizens may take part in policy making Web 2.0 may be the facilitator

Norwegian users Numbers are from Halogen.no ale-medier/norske-brukere-i-sosiale-medier/ (Updated ) ale-medier/norske-brukere-i-sosiale-medier/ ApplicationUsers Facebook Biip.no LinkedIn Origo Twitter

New groups of users In the beginning, social media was used by students and youths. Today, all age groups are embracing social media

Politicians More than individuals.. Politicians have embraced the internet Obama campaign, fundraising Both previous and current Norwegian prime minister use social media to stay in touch with their electorate What they use: Blogs Facebook Twitter YouTube

Government utilization Show the value of registering Inform them Mobilize them Interact with the citizens

Municipalities on Facebook Three sources: Collaboration with City of Larvik, Norway Research on uptake by municipalities since February 2009 Student project 2011

Municipalities on Facebook The number of municipalities using Internet as a communication channel with their citizens is steadily increasing. Data collected by the author in November 2009 showed that 26 Norwegian municipalities were actively using Facebook to interact with and inform their citizens. Alltogether 73 municipalities were present on Facebook, but the remaining profiles were either established by third ‑ parties or used for employees. In January 2013, 107 municipalities had pages on Facebook In 2016, 184 municipalities have Facebook pages

Case example: City of Larvik, Norway November 2008, discussion and implementation Target group: Age 18 to 30 Targeted information First use: To inform about training for young mothers Facebook was seen as a good channel to inform about this offering

Mobilization Also targeting the same age group: Oil spill accident: Asking for volunteers Volunteers (they were paid) were needed to help clean the beaches. Success, demand was filled within hours Getting volunteers to read for old people Success, high school students volunteered to read for old citizens in nursing homes.

Interaction/Dialog Ask what the citizens want This is particularly relevant to planning processes

Oops If you do not have a strategy, you may find yourself in a strange position Research on Municipalities on Facebook Very interesting results Some municipalities did not know that some citizens had established Facebook presense

What’s next Wiki has a great potential Co-production of knowledge Two important issues: Make seed-content (some content that can be enhanced) Provide support / help line

Use of social media Why use social media? Effective way of interaction Questions and answers are disseminated to all users, not the one that asked the question

Municipalities on Facebook Presence is one thing, interaction is another story Most municipalities use Facebook for news announcements Maturity model: 1. Presence (news) 2. Mobilization (asking citizens to mobilize) 3. Interaction (dialog with citizens)

Municipalities on Facebook Best practice: City of Sarpsborg Facebook monitored by the same people handling first-line interactions Short response time

Social media Social media is also a data source, to be analyzed and used Can provide information on sentiments of citizens And give early warnings when something is wrong