More than 65 percent of the Internet-using public uses social networking sites. In May, having reached more than 900 million users, Facebook issued one of the largest IPOs in history. Twitter has become so popular that tools like Klout are available to rank and monetize users’ influence on the world. For a city government to fail to consider using social media to connect with the public would be to miss the opportunity to take advantage of this revolution in how people interact with one another.
For cities, these technologies present both risks and benefits. The benefits are clear: Social media provides a way to connect with constituents, to announce events in advance, to respond to concerns and to promote information about the city. Best of all, in an era of diminishing tax revenue, using social media is largely free. However, like many new technologies, this one can present some legal risks.
