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I was quoted a time or two in the February, 2010 issue of Parks and Recreation Magazine in an article about social media. In developing the article, several park and recreation professionals were asked to respond to a few questions about social media and how they are utilizing it in their department. I thought I'd share my answers with everyone:

Which mediums are you using?

We have placed our main emphasis on our website and have integrated many social features on the site itself (such as commenting, emailing articles to friends, and subscribing to content). We have recently begun using Twitter and Facebook and have integrated those feeds into our website. We are in the process of launching a new website that will take this a step further by automatically updating our social networks whenever we, or a visitor, posts new information to our site. The aspect of the new website I am most excited about is the online brochure. Each program in the brochure can have a photo gallery, video, user ratings, comments, a link to register online, and the ability for visitors to share the program page on any number of social networks. We are also considering adding our own facebook-like social network on our site where community groups can be formed (for example: a walking club that updates members on where they will be walking, a pick-up soccer group, a group for our investing club, etc.).

Why did you choose those?

If you are looking to start with a social network, Facebook is probably the best place to start as it has the most users (over 350 million). In deciding whether it would be a good move for us, I found that Vermont has 173,680 people on Facebook, with 109,800 within 25 miles of Burlington. That is incredible for a state with a population just over 600,000! I like Twitter because of how simple it is to update. If you embed your twitter feed on your homepage, you have an easy way to post important updates to your site quickly.

How are they different (in reaching different audiences or delivering different information)?

You will likely have the largest and most diverse audience on Facebook. Facebook, by nature of how it is designed, is about personal relationships and sharing personal information about yourself or your family. Twitter, on the other hand, is about sharing information. On Facebook people follow their family and friends. On Twitter people follow those with similar interests (usually strangers). For this reason, recreation departments should view Twitter primarily as an information sharing tool, and Facebook as a way to form deeper connections with people.

What’s worked and/or what’s bombed?

What has worked: The first week that we started posting twitter updates I was unsure how effective it would be in our community. That weekend, which was the start of our youth basketball program, a mother approached me on the first day of our youth basketball program and said that if it weren’t for our twitter updates, she never would have had her child registered in time for the program.

What has bombed: As I mentioned, we allow visitors to comment on articles on our department’s website. This has been moderately successful; however we frequently have some people that do not understand what comments are, they think it is a way to send a message to our staff…not to the world. So, we sometimes get comments like: “When the brochure comes out, could you please send a one to our home at: [they state their home address].” We review all comments before posting to the site, so the strange ones don’t make it to the site.

What’s the impact it’s had on the bottom line?

It is too early for me to comment on that in relation to Facebook or Twitter. However, we have had a lot of positive comments about our website and online registration. The website has been very instrumental in marketing our programs, and we have a significant amount of registrations that take place online.

Are there any other emerging technologies you’re using that you expect to be the next Twitter?

I use Tumblr for personal use. It is a micro-blogging platform (as is Twitter) that allows you to easily share articles, photos, and video. I don’t expect it to be the next twitter, but it is a great way to start a blog as it is very simple to use. It seems to be popular with a younger audience.

I expect that the next big thing will be location-based services and geosocial networking. With the proliferation of power mobile phones/devices, there will be a lot more social networking taking place where people can interact based on their physical location. Twitter has actually incorporated this as users can “geotag” their posts. This means that people can see the location from which the post was made. The hit game Foursquare (not what you used to play on the playground) is a great example of how this technology can be used. We will also see a lot of development in the area of “augmented reality” – which is layering digital information (maps, reviews, historical or factual information about a location, etc) over one’s view of the physical world, when looking through a mobile device (or eventually glasses or perhaps contacts). There are a handful of apps that currently use this technology on some mobile phones. I can imagine a variety of ways that recreation departments could take advantage of this technology, but I think it will be several years before it is worthwhile to invest the time and resources into it.

A few other thoughts:

Social networking is about being accessible and transparent. It should be viewed as a customer service tool just as much as it is viewed as a marketing tool. As a customer service tool, it requires commitment to interact with and respond to users. Along those lines, don’t just publish the positive comments. If someone leaves negative feedback publically it is an opportunity for you to be real and demonstrate publically that you care about what they have to say and that you want to resolve the issue.

I feel that a lot of departments use social media as an excuse to neglect their website. I think this, in part, is because a lot of departments feel locked into using their municipal website or feel unable to invest in a new site. In addition, social media provides a lot of the features (easy to update and share information, posting photos, video, starting discussions) that their sites do not currently have. While this is good, you have to get these people to your site (or into your office) in order to make a sale. Are you encouraging people to interact outside of your site rather than directing them to it? What happens if you’ve been relying on facebook for the majority of your online advertising and facebook is no longer “cool” or the company goes under? Social networks are customer service and marketing tools. They shouldn’t be the entirety of your online presence. Ultimately, your website is the only thing you “own” and can be sure will be there in the long run.

Generation Y is a generation that doesn’t recall life without a computer. They are the first generation to grow up with computers in their homes and schools. Most had cell phones before they went to college and were the first to begin texting, blogging, and joining social networks. More and more members of Generation Y are starting families and are becoming our target market. They expect companies to be with the times and the field of parks and recreation needs to be ready for them. They want to get a text message or twitter update about a program and register their kid with a couple of clicks on their iphone…all without having to roll out of bed. Are you ready for them?