1. Social Media and Government: The Potential and The Pitfalls David Schuff (David.Schuff@temple.edu) Department of Management Information Systems David Schuff (David.Schuff@temple.edu) Department of Management Information Systems

2. Social Media and Web 2.0 What’s changed Co-creation of content Everything is “viral” Basic shift in how we communicate And relate to each other For good and for bad

3. The Potential Building new types of communities A new campaign channel The Pitfalls Polarization of discourse Uneven adoption

4. The best blogs are interactive Be open but contain chaos “Lightly moderated” Foster leaders Building new types of communities Projects: Corporate blogging (Schuff, Wattal, Mandviwalla) Leaderless organizations (Johnson)

5. Blogs get attention and impact polls Blogs boost well- known candidates YouTube boosts less-known candidates A new campaign model Project: Social media use in 2008 Presidential Campaign (Wattal, Schuff, Mandviwalla)

6. People filter when overwhelmed Threat of “groupthink” Simplify content consumption Polarization of discourse Project: Promoting discourse in the blogosphere (Schuff)

7. Access is not adoption Universal access is impractical Need social structure Foster public/private partnerships Uneven adoption Project: Digital divide (Wattal, Mandviwalla, Hong)

8. Social Media as a Mobilizing Force Real-World Action Voter Turnout Polls Participation Use of services Social Media Blogs and Twitter YouTube Facebook, LinkedIn Traditional Media Newspapers Television Radio Contexts: E-services Campaigning Fund raising Legislative support Citizen engagement Contexts: E-services Campaigning Fund raising Legislative support Citizen engagement

9. Where are the opportunities? Citizen engagement Crowdsource public policy New campaign strategies Use social media to mobilize Encouraging diversity of content Create open, friendly forums for discourse Bridging the digital divide Make technology part of the culture