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ITD exploring use of social media to serve customers
Development of new Internet sites provide government agencies with a variety of communication options that didn’t exist a decade ago. Among them are Facebook. MySpace, Twitter, Linked-In, Youtube and Flickr.
Like many transportation departments across the country, ITD is assessing how social media sites can help reach new, technology-sophisticated customers. ITD communications specialist June Sparks explained the potential to members of the department’s executive team Monday. (Click on logo to visit ITD's YouTube site.)
“We are evaluating the various new media applications as part of our overall effort to get information directly to the customer, and to make them aware of the many positive programs and safety campaigns happening at ITD that are not always covered by traditional media,” Sparks explained.
She recently researched the use of the alternative media across the country and found:
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29 states use 511 services to communicate highway, travel and weather conditions
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19 have e-mail updates/alerts/RSS feeds
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18 have Twitter accounts to convey short messages (140 characters or less)
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9 have Youtube (a site for short video segments)
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2 have Flickr (primarily a repository for still images/photos)
6 have Facebook
3 have blogs, and
2 do “podcasting,” recorded messages tailored for I-Pod and similar technology
8 states do not use social media to convey messages
Following is a state-by-state overview of how they use the emerging technology:
Alabama: None |
Montana: 511, RSS feeds, Twitter |
Alaska: e-mail updates, text message, 511 |
Nebraska: 511, Twitter |
Arizona: e-mail updates, 511 |
Nevada: 511 |
Arkansas: Twitter |
New Hampshire: 511 |
California: 511 |
New Jersey: 511 |
Colorado: 511, Twitter |
New Mexico: 511, RSS feeds |
Connecticut: e-mail updates and traffic alerts, Trips 123 |
New York: 511, webcasts, email news alerts |
Delaware: e-mail updates, RSS feeds, Flickr, Twitter, Youtube |
North Carolina: Youtube |
District of Columbia: Facebook, Twitter, traffic alerts, newsletters |
North Dakota: 511 |
Florida: e-mail updates and traffic alerts, 511 |
Ohio: None |
Georgia: 511 |
Oklahoma: None |
Hawaii: None |
Oregon: Radio news and videos on server |
Idaho: 511, Twitter, Youtube, e-mail updates |
Pennsylvania: 511 |
Illinois: e-mail updates, Twitter, Facebook |
Rhode Island: Twitter, blog, Facebook, MySpace |
Indiana: RSS feeds, mobile updates |
South Carolina: None |
Iowa: “Staying Connected” 511, Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, e-mail updates, Youtube, newsletters |
South Dakota: None |
Kansas: 511, mobile updates |
Tennessee: 511, Twitter, monthly column - In Motion |
Kentucky: Twitter 511, RSS feeds |
Texas: Facebook, podcasting, Youtube, Twitter |
Louisiana: 511 |
Utah: Twitter, text updates, RSS feeds |
Maine: 511, e-mail alerts |
Vermont: 511 |
Maryland: None |
Virginia: 511, Youtube, Twitter |
Massachusetts: 511 |
Washington: “Stay Connected” blog, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, RSS feeds |
Mississippi: Evacuation alerts on Twitter |
West Virginia: None |
Minnesota: 511, e-mail updates |
Wisconsin: 511 |
Michigan: RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, 511 |
Wyoming: 511, 511 notify alerts |
Missouri: Facebook, Twitter, Blog, YouTube, podcasting, widgets |
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