This Just In…City of PGH Joins Facebook

Just got an email from Joanna Doven – the press secretary for the mayor of Pittsburgh.

Is the Mayor’s Office ready for this kind of technology

Here is an email about this new technology but no link to the new Facebook page?  This email also came in just the text format – not the usual fancy HTML email that press releases are usually sent in.

Subject: City of Pittsburgh’s Facebook Page is Officially Published

The City of Pittsburgh’s Facebook Page is officially published. Become a fan now and help to promote the page!

Search City of Pittsburgh – we are identified as a government organization. We have a picture of the City with a banner which includes a City seal.

The City will be posting information on City related events, programs and general good news. We would be happy to consider posting positive information related to your group or organization. Just send me an email!

Building off of our plan to further utilize social media, a new City website which promotes more two-way interaction between government and citizens will be launched this summer. A sneak peak on the new format isavailable on the Facebook page. Stay tuned!

Thank you,

Joanna

Is Facebook a good tool for the City?

Is Facebook a good way to communicate with city residents? Don’t know – seems like this could have great potential for sharing important info and educating residents about what is happening in their city.

The bigger question, is the city ready for this kind of open online conversation?  Most of the time the city makes it pretty difficult to find out what is happening when – and has not been quick to share feedback from citizens.  For example, the city of Pittsburgh doesn’t publish 311 reports – it would be very interesting to know how many people have called in about what issues from what neighborhoods.  Is the mayor’s office ready to see the type of feedback that will be coming to them from Facebook.

The Link

We think this is official city of Pittsburgh Facebook Page.

Tags: doven, facebook, Facebook Page, joanna doven, pgh facebook page, social media, technology