Twitter

#SomosSocial: Bilingual Twitter Chats—How to Do Them Effectively

There are 11.7 million + reasons to be on Twitter—the approximate number of Hispanics in the U.S. who are using the platform. And out of those 11.7 million, 43% tweet in English and in Spanish. Hispanics over index their counterparts when it comes to digital technologies and services, but how do you reach them and

Victoria Bitzer-Wales

Jan 08, 2016

Twitter Town Hall Tips from the VA

I work for the Department of Veterans Affairs in a national benefits office that oversees Veterans life Insurance programs. Our office has held a couple of successful Twitter Town Halls. They get a little smoother each time because we make a point of adjusting our style based on our lessons learned. After answering a question

Melodee Mercer

Dec 18, 2015

Interested in Using the New Poll Feature on Twitter? Here’s What You Need to Know!

Twitter polls allow you to tweet out simple A or B style opinion polls. These polls can spark some great engagement, but you’ll want to keep a few things in mind before getting started: To stay within the social media

Mary King

Nov 16, 2015

USCIS Twitter Office Hours

On September 1, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) hosted our first Twitter Office Hours, a Twitter chat for USCIS customers. The purpose of this pilot event was to offer our customers a different way to engage with us. We aimed to leverage Twitter to answer questions on our agency’s programs and policies and to

USCIS Staff

Nov 06, 2015

Hispanics are one of fastest growing demographics in the U.S. But like any demographic, there are important nuances to consider when connecting with this audience. Insight into your audience’s motivations, behavior and preferences is key for anyone trying to engage with the public. We know every day that more and more Hispanics are on social

Leilani Martinez

Jessica Milcetich

Edgardo Morales

Victoria Bitzer-Wales

Nov 05, 2015

The Content Corner: Twitter, Apple News and the Importance of Our Websites

First, McDonald’s started serving breakfast all day. Now, Twitter announced it is dropping its 140 character limit for tweets. Black is white, up is down. Or is it really that big a deal? Is Twitter just keeping itself relevant in the battle for your content? LinkedIn and Facebook were first with their strong push for organizations to

Tyrus Manuel

Oct 26, 2015

Innovation

The White House, Back To The Future Day, and the Road to Innovation

The White House is marking Back to the Future Day with a series of conversations with innovators across the country. Follow along here.

Toni Bonitto

Oct 21, 2015

The Content Corner: Harness the Power of User-Generated Content

As of 2015, Millennials spent 30% of their time consuming user-generated content (UGC), and 54% of that group find UGC more trustworthy than content generated by a specific brand. This covers everything from user-generated reviews on Yelp! to short-form videos. Another benefit of UGC is that it helps crowdsource the burden of feeding the content

Tyrus Manuel

Sep 21, 2015

On DigitalGov, we frequently talk about some of the most popular app experiences, and research almost always shows that mobile messaging and social apps are the most frequently used. Pew Research released a new report specifically about

Will Sullivan

Sep 01, 2015

Celebrating Parks, Creating Connections: NPS Prepares for 2016 Centennial

Planning your next national park adventure (from the comfort of your couch) is easier than ever with a new website, Find Your Park.com. Launched on April 2nd, the mobile-friendly FindYourPark.com was designed and launched by the National Park Foundation (NPF), the

Ashley Wichman

Jun 30, 2015

As the World Churns: Earthquake Detection via Twitter

When one thinks of social media, usually it is thought of as a tool to keep in touch with friends and family. Behind all the social networking lies vast amounts of data that can be used in a multitude of ways. This data is an opportunity for government agencies to improve the services they provide

Kendrick Daniel

Jun 26, 2015

Real Internationalization Isn’t Just Geographic: It’s Linguistic

Twenty years ago, the chances of watching an NBA game with commentary in a language other than English were small. Today, the NBA transmits games in 47 languages to 215 countries across the world. This is a perfect example of how organizations have evolved over time to meet the demands of their audiences. Evidence like

Jessica Milcetich

Leilani Martinez

Victoria Bitzer-Wales

Edgardo Morales

Jun 19, 2015

ICE Wields Smartphones in Fight Against Child Exploitation

Armed with a smartphone instead of a badge, ordinary Americans are helping law enforcement officers capture child predators. After exhausting all investigative leads, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents turn to the public for help to

Kevin Downey

May 28, 2015

How a Twitter Chat about Healthy Aging Reached More than 4 Million People

There are multiple health-related Twitter chats every day of the week. There are chats focused on specific conditions, on the healthcare system, on treatments, on products and on practices. If your agency or organization is interested in leading a conversation in this

Yasmine Kloth

May 15, 2015

Increasing Engagement and Website Visits with Twitter Cards

May is #WorldTradeMonth and each year the U.S. Trade and Development Agency celebrates the month by highlighting the partnerships it has with 39 state and local organizations that promote U.S. exports in their home states through an initiative called #MakingGlobalLocal. What that means is that those 39 organizations with social media accounts, especially Twitter, will

Steve Lewis

May 07, 2015

Trends on Tuesday: 10 Tips for Mobile Live Streaming

Mobile video is starting to hit its second wave for both consumption and creation, and government agencies can prepare now to ride this new channel for mobile and social engagement. Fueled by mobile bandwidth and cellular stability steadily increasing and consumers’ comfort

Will Sullivan

Apr 14, 2015

Multiple Languages, Single Platforms: the World Digital Library

Multilingual does not always mean multiple accounts or websites. Increasingly, multilingual content is delivered in an integrated way, with two (or more!) languages delivered on the same website, app, or social media platform. The World Digital Library (WDL) is one example of how multiple languages can be incorporated on single platforms. The WDL is a

Ashley Wichman

Apr 09, 2015

Creating a tweet, posting a photo, or updating a status may take mere seconds. However, a well-thought-out social media strategy is needed for long-term success. In fact, the recently released U.S. Public Participation Playbook mentions strategy in its very first play: clearly define and communicate your objectives. Knowing what you hope to accomplish and how

Ashley Wichman

Apr 03, 2015

Like private sector organizations, U.S. public sector organizations have experienced shifts in how they use both the Internet and social media to interact with the public. The mid-1990s onwards saw an increase in the number of websites helping individual members of the public learn more about various public sector organizations and initiatives directly from

Corina DuBois

David A. Bray

Mar 18, 2015

Busting Myths and Building Partnerships: National Drug Facts Week

Myth-busting isn’t just for television. And through a multi-faceted, tech-savvy campaign based on strategic partnerships, one federal office has found a winning strategy for combating misinformation. National Drug Facts Week (NDFW) is a health awareness week for teenagers, with the goal of debunking

Ashley Wichman

Mar 10, 2015

News and Events on Twitter