1. Facebook and Twitter for Public Schools Michael Sponhour and Megan Herring SC Budget and Control Board SC/NSPRA Winter Workshop January 21, 2010

3. 350 million active users worldwide 958,220 South Carolina users older than 18 126,000 teen users in South Carolina 2.5 billion photos uploaded monthly 3.5 billion links, stories, notes shared weekly

4. Why it Matters to Schools

5. 62% are 26 or Older

6. Facebook as a Tool Repurpose all announcements, photos, events, press releases to Facebook Encourage participation – you want parents and students to become involved by making comments, leaving suggestions, posting their own pictures Answer comments – Facebook must be a two-way communication platform. Monitor – Even if you don’t think Facebook is for you, you need to monitor what others are saying about you.

7. A microblogging site 140 character maximum Not a young person’s medium 58 million users worldwide, 21 million in the US Grew fast, slowed down, but appears to be growing again Very popular with reporters, opinion leaders Great way to repurpose content and share things that don’t merit a release Easy to get started

8. Things to Consider Target Audience With SM – Parents, PTA/SIC leaders, teachers Seek interaction Can your organization deal with a negative comment on Facebook? Set guidelines for who can post for the district.

9. Measuring Your Work Find similar school districts to yours throughout the state and country and see how you stack up. Pay attention to the level of interaction on both Facebook and Twitter – do people seem involved with your sites or is it more one-way? Compare quality and quantity – do you have a good number of followers from your demographic? Are your followers local or spammers?

10. No Matter What, Your District Needs a Social Media Policy

11. Things to Consider for a District SM Policy Who can create a SM site – district, school? What about student and/or support groups? How do you consistently brand and monitor? How do you deal with personal SM sites – FOIA How do you deal with personal SM sites – teacher/student interaction