Local Government should Twitter because there’s currently no better way to connect with voters. One at a time (person, over the phone or in person) or even group interactions through community forums are great ways to talk with constituents. Yet they can waste too much time and money.

There are so many different ways to use twitter now, JoCo uses it to find merchandise table workers for his shows (they get in for free!), Businesses use it to advertise job openings, and to answer customer complaints. Local Governments are missing out on a prime opportunity to show their value to the people they serve. The question ‘What are you doing?’ has special signifigance when applied to our elected officials.

If you turn to Twitter and Facebook Fan Pages as a more direct system of conversation with your residents, you will find yourself truly in tune with the needs of the people. They will not hesitate to share what they think are the most important issues to them. I’ve seen a recent article in the local paper about local police departments running Facebook Fan Pages and using them to catch the town’s ‘most wanted’ criminals. This would work for all sorts of community involvement instead of merely the police.

The very best part of the system is that Twitter and Facebook are a two-way conversation! You have a invaluable opportunity to spotlight everything about your town to the world! Facebook fan pages can act as a huge tourist and business draw. What makes your city attractive to businesses? To current and potential residents?

You can tweet and promote the current and upcoming community festivals, farmers’ markets, trade conferences, and even local businesses to patronize! Charity Poker Runs, Marathons, Cancer Walks and Bike Trails! Where is the nearest bed and breakfast? Restaraunts, Coffee Shoppes, Seamstress/Tailors, Flea Markets, Groceries and Garage Sale Days! What recreational opportunities does your community offer? Do you have the best park system in the county? Is it a short drive to major entertainment destinations such as Cedar Point or Clay’s Park? Are there open, developable properties available for new businesses? Do you have a young, educatable, older and experienced, or a healthy mix of such local job applicants to entice companies to locate in your city? For goodness sake, BRAG about it!

There are almost no end to the possibilities.

You can sit down and formulate winning strategy with each of the city departments that are going to tweet. Target various issues to educate the public about, and share links to online content such as NEW state requirements for tree trimming or water drainage standards. These are issues that affect residents and they should have an opportunity to understand the reasoning behind such laws and regulations. As public officials, it’s already your duty to remain abreast of current events in your field, you may even gain new perspective on issues facing the city from talking with other officials from nearby, or even far away!

Twitter can be an excellent tool to educate and influence voters. Let’s be clear that ABSOLUTELY NO CAMPAIGNING should be done from the town twitter accounts. But if you are stuck using old, outdated city water systems, let the people know! Tweet photos and explain the situation to them, then present a plan to them, showing the costs and benefits of a new, safer water system. Also be ready to show the extra costs associated with running outdated equipment. Sometimes, the repair costs over a decade or two could be much higher than an upgrade and may approach the price of a fully NEW system!

The Street Department can take reports of issues with potholes, non-functioning street lights or snow clearing issues. Were the lights (every other one) turned off because of budget woes? If the town is experiencing a budget problem, you can explain the situation in clear terms, and even invite ideas from residents if a decent solution cannot be found “in house.”

You can also introduce the town residents to their employees. Show them who the officers are that are protecting and serving them. You can spotlight a different employee each week! Firefighters, Clerks, Councilmembers, a photo and a short blurb can familiarize the citizens with their representatives and those people who keep the city running smoothly.

The only problems that might crop up are someone hacking the account, and any elected official that doesn’t care. Because if they can’t justify their jobs to the people they are supposed to be serving, then they should resign and let someone who needs a job, and who will do their best to serve the people take their places.

Sure, there may be chronic complainers and people who try to bring stupid feuds with neighbors into the digital space, but knowing about these things and talking to the parties involved may prevent the need for police action in the future. How are chronic complainers different online from those who call up the Mayor’s office every week to gripe, or persons complaining about animals?

To make a long post short, with the abundance of positives, and dearth of negatives, your local government needs to be asking itsself ‘Why aren’t we on Twitter/Facebook?”

Oh, and the ‘timewasting’ excuse is just that, an excuse. You can easily budget time, even setting online timers so that you don’t get too distracted during the day. Check twitter when you come in for the day, write replies, schedule some tweets for the day, and then get down to the business of governance. Sounds like a BIG win to anyone who wants to leap in to one of the best feedback tools so far this century!

Note: This is a expansion of a blog comment I left to Matt, a commenting guest on Justin Kownacki’s blog here–Open Letter To My Audience

Tags: Citizens, Feedback, Government, Government Twitter, Novel Use of Twitter, Twitter, Voters, Why Local Government Should Twitter