1. Chatter

Salesforce.com’s Chatter is useful for internal collaboration. Government agencies that use Salesforce for managing data whether for contacts or community development applications or financial processes can talk real-time using Chatter.

2. Facebook

Facebook is a good way to build an online community and keep citizens updated. Best practices are to have a person dedicated to keeping Facebook up-to-date and to respond to comments. San Francisco, California uses Facebook well http://www.facebook.com/SF?v=wall as does Town of Waxhaw, North Carolina http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waxhaw-NC/Town-of-Waxhaw/104347134162 and City of Edmonton, Alberta http://www.facebook.com/cityofedmonton

More Facebook best practices information:

• http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/11/05/10-ways-facebook-pages-can-help-local-governments-better-serve-their-constituents/
• http://www.socialgovernment.com/2009/03/17/facebook-pages-and-government-best-practices/

3. Twitter

Twitter continues to grow in popularity and government agencies are using twitter to share information and to promote views and events.

Cities are using twitter for many communications such as: spreading the word about an upcoming city council meeting; announcing a road closure; or inviting input on a topic. Mashable.com has a list of cities on twitter http://mashable.com/twitterlists/cities/

Govtwit has a list of of government agencies and elected officials on Twitter, tracking state/local, federal, contractors, media, academics, non-profits and government outside of the U.S.

Politwitter has a list of Canadian government officials on Twitter.

Twitter best practices information:

• http://www.socialgovernment.com/2009/02/16/twitter-in-government-agencies-best-practices/

4. Linkedin

LinkedIn has over 70 million users worldwide and it continues to grow. Market Connections 2010 Social Media Study findings show that LinkedIn has emerged as the most popular social networking site (source http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2010/07/06/amtower-july-2010-column.aspx).

Search by organization or titles. Join groups and participate in discussions.

Linkedin 101 for Government:

• http://www.slideshare.net/canada30/linkedin-101-for-government-1525078

5. YouTube

YouTube tips:

• Use a recognized, official and trademarked brand mark as your profile picture
• Claim authenticity in the information section of your profile
• Link to your .gov domain by entering into the website section of your profile
• Whenever possible, include links in video description sections to a version of video hosted on your .gov domain
• Example: This video from EPA on YouTube includes a link to a page on EPA.gov where an accessible version of the video is embedded

6. More helpful and interesting web links for social media and government

• http://www.socialgovernment.com/2009/03/17/facebook-pages-and-government-best-practices/
• http://govsocmed.blogspot.com/
• http://corporate.bangthetable.com/2010/07/06/100-ideto-help-engage-your-community-online/
• http://cpd.org.au/article/web20-tools-gov20-beginners-practical-guide

500,000 or more population:
1st: Montgomery County, Md.
2nd: Prince George’s County, Md.
3rd: Palm Beach County, Fla.
3rd: San Diego County, Calif.

250,000-499,999 population:
1st: Chesterfield County, Va.
2nd: Loudoun County, Va.
3rd: Clackamas County, Ore.

150,000-249,999 population:
1st: Hanover County, Va.
2nd: Cumberland County, Pa.
3rd: Doña Ana County, N.M.

Less than 150,000 population:
1st: Charles County, Md.
2nd: Nevada County, Calif.
3rd: Franklin County, Va.

Expediting permits in municipalities means better use of taxpayer money and better service to businesses and residents. Municipalities are finding ways to issue permits faster using reviews and technology.

Expediting Permits for Green Projects

Arlington, Virginia is a municipality that is expediting permits for green projects. They recognize that time savings means cost savings for owners and developers (as reported by Jim Schneider in his “Speed to Green” article).

Expedite Permits with Technology

Many municipalities are using technology and software systems to expedite permit processes.  City of Sonora, California is using web-based software (also known as cloud computing or software-as-a-service / SaaS) to more efficiently manage its permits and inspection process.  Read more.

Expediting Permits with Peer Review

Fairfax, Virginia has implemented a peer review process to expedite permits. The program involves private sector design professionals that peer review construction plans for code compliance prior to submission to the county. Then peer reviewed plans are given priority and permits accelerated.

watch Fairfax County permit video

This blog post summarizes a few highlights of the Gov2.0 Expo event and links to YouTube videos to watch the presentations.

1. Tim O’Reilly talks about government moving to platform providers and where the marketplace finds and build businesses.

2.  Jack Dangermond with ESRI presented about “Geoenabling Gov2.0”. It is a fascinating presentation that talks about how GIS is evolving and becoming mapping for the masses.  ESRI has launched a new website arcgis.com that is a cloud-based environment to share maps – check it out.  Watch video

3. Kate Lundy with ACT, Australian Government outlined 3 pillars of Gov 2.0: democratizing data (open data format); citizen centric services (easy to use); participatory government (collaboration, consultation.  Watch video

4. Marie Davie with GSA (General Services Administration) talked about how they are changing the $530B contract processes with its “better buy project” to achieve better results for tax payer money.  Watch video

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, put out their report about foreclosures.

As reported in Business Week we are still not at the peak.

U.S. home foreclosures reached a record for the second consecutive month in May, with increases in every state, as lenders stepped up property seizures, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Bank repossessions climbed 44 percent from May 2009 to 93,777, the Irvine, California-based data company said today in a statement. Foreclosure filings, including default and auction notices, rose about 1 percent to 322,920. One out of every 400 U.S. households received a filing.

“We’re nowhere near out of the woods,” Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac’s senior vice president for marketing, said in a telephone interview. “We’re likely to set a quarterly record for home seizures if June is anything like May.”

Almost 3.1 million properties have been seized by banks since April 2005, Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac’s marketing communications manager, said in an interview today.

“The second quarter won’t be the peak,” Sharga said. “I’m not even sure 2010 will be.”

CNBC listed out the most impacted states …

The ten states with the highest foreclosure rates were little changed from the previous month. According to the RealtyTrac report, Nevada remains No. 1 with one in every 79 properties in the state getting a foreclosure notice, five times the national rate.

Arizona ranked second with one in every 169 households receiving a notice, followed by Florida (one in 174 households), California (one in 186 households) and Michigan (one in every 223 households.)
(See the full list in CNBC’s slideshow.)

Code enforcement software helps governments manage  property complaints from foreclosures ….

A  survey conducted last year found that the most frequent complaints related to foreclosures were:

• overgrown yards; property damage
• broken windows, gates, etc.
• garbage dumping

Survey also found that software was a good solution for cities/ towns to manage code enforcement process and help municipalities stay on top of the foreclosure property code regulations.