Sunday, September 29, 2013

Chinese Government's Attitude toward Social Media

Well, this post may be a response to various news about Chinese social media recently...

A few days ago there is incorrect news saying that Chinese government will open up Shanghai for Facebook and Twitter. Two weeks ago a Chinese law came up saying that people whose rumor was retweeted more than 500 times on Weibo (Chinese Twitter) will be arrested. Some weeks ago lots of famous accounts on Weibo were shut down. Some months ago, there are suggestions from central government to local governments to communicate with citizens. Chinese people can always read news about government’s new actions on social media, sometimes positive, and sometimes negative. It is interesting to focus on Chinese government’s attitude towards social media, for it is always changing.

Although Chinese government is always criticized on social media problem, in my opinion, it is getting rapid improvement. Chinese government is trying actively to join in people’s discussion on Weibo. Nowadays, there are thousands of government accounts on Weibo, and the most popular account has more than six million followers. Number of interactions between people and government agencies is growing rapidly in recent years.

As for Chinese government’s self-contradictory attitudes towards social media, I think it is understandable. In fact, the development of social media in China is not only about social media, but more importantly, it is about democracy. After thousands of years of autocracy, Chinese people today are so eager to get democracy that some of them get out of control and just cannot think rationally on any information about the government. Rumors spread faster than any time in the history, and discontent in people can be ignited easily. This actually is a progress for Chinese society for it shows people’s realization of democracy, however, it can also cause chaos easily. For example, last year, some speeches against Japan spread on Weibo, and then some cities broke out demonstrations and soon become violence. After this incident, Chinese government strengthened the restriction of Weibo. Later, it released the restriction for more voice from citizens, and another incident happened. Chinese government does try to be more transparent and democratic, but in such a large country with more than 1.3 billion people, there is also a strong demand of stability. So such “release – chaos - restriction” circles lead to a changing attitude of Chinese government towards social media.   


That is my understanding of Chinese government's attitude toward social media, so I am not sure whether my analysis is right or not. But one thing is sure: China is now standing at a  turning point toward democracy. So let's look forward to its change. 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

post #2 - Social Media Policies

Just some thoughts while reading....
I am a social media advocate, I believe in using social media as the voice of your organization, and appropriately using it to communicate with your organization's audience. Before taking this course I never thought twice about a social media policy, and probably didn't even recognize the importance or significance of such policies. As I was reading and researching social media policies this week, I realized that I may be a little more conservative when it comes to social media than I thought. I no longer felt this strong advocacy for open social media and communication, but realized that there are so many lines that cannot be crossed, that must be very well defined.
In the reading by Kaganer and Vaast, I really did not feel that their ideas could translate across all organizations. While I do agree that organizations should focus their policies less on mitigating risks that could threaten the company's image and focus more on using social media to build their image, I'm torn between how much of that risk mitigation can be compromised or left out. For example, I chose to look at the NYC Department of Education's policy and I think with an organization that deals with children and staff interactions, those "dangers" and "risks" must be clearly identified. Kaganer and Vaast argue that policies should give less attention to what not to do and instead outline what to  do on these social media sites. And again, while I do agree that this is a good point, I just can't help but think, "what if" a staff member thinks that some inappropriate behavior is o.k. because it isn't outlined in the policy? Then what?
So my overarching question to myself this week was, how do you clean up the policies to focus less on the challenges and dangers of social media to allow room for what can and should be shared and said? Where is the balance and how does that differ across organizations?

Sunday, September 22, 2013

By nature, I am not crazy or fond of social media sites-I know it's potential and importance but some how I had no preference for it-if I can meet, I shall not call and if I can call I shall not say "like"!so it was a way of life for me.Now when I am here in Maxwell school of public administration,attending class of social media,at least my prejudice is getting reduced to zero-it is a new world which is knocking the doors every where!so,to my mind,the great lesson I have leasrned so far here is :viewing the world of social media sites differently,say positively! 

Friday, September 20, 2013

In our "Government and Global Civil Society" class on 19th September, we had Jo Becker as a guest speaker, who is a Maxwell alum. Mrs. Becker is presently director of "Human Rights Watch", a non profit organization working for human rights all over the world. As said by Mrs. Becker, action of their organization is devided into three parts, namely (1)Investigate(2)Expose and(3)Change.
Mrs. Becker described Social Media ,among others, as a tool to expose the human rights violation the worldover. Thus it becomes crystal clear that social media is being utilized as a communication and engagement device by all types of organizations, whether they are profit ,non-profit or governance  organizations.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

President Humala, most influential person in Peruvian cyberspace. Politicians not seizing opportunities in the arena.

President Ollanta Humala is the most influential person in Peruvian cyberspace. Yet, other politicians seem not to seize the opportunities and don't seem interested on social media.

For the second consecutive year, a study conducted by the firm Llorente & Cuenca identified President Humala as the most influential person in social media in Peru. This study, conducted last August, presented the list of the most influential people online, including politicians, journalists, celebrities, sportsman and women, CEOs, leaders of opinion, among others.
The lists’ “top ten” lead by President Humala, also includes six journalists –five of them hosting news TV shows, one of them mainly a blogger- two TV celebrities, and a Latin-Grammy award winner.

Interesting enough, besides President Humala, only three politicians appear on the lists’ “top 50”: Peruvian First Lady Nadine Heredia (#18 on the list), a very active and one of the most controversial politicians of the moment, and Susana Villarán (#41), the Mayor of Lima, Peru’s capital city.

This study considers Twitter as the most influential social media tool in Peruvian cybersphere and that takes into account the number of followers on Twitter, the number of retweets, number of mentions, and influence measure based on automated tools.
They say comparisons are odious –especially if we have to consider major barriers such as population, infrastructure gaps and connectivity rates - but they can be helpful to analyze how Peruvian politicians are underperforming online.

President Barack Obama has more than 37 million followers on Twitter, but here we are talking of a totally different scale. Nevertheless, comparing President Humala’s presence on Twitter (just taking into consideration number of followers) with his pairs in South America leads us to believe that social media has not become very popular among Peruvian politicians.
  • President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina): more than 2.3 million followers.
  • President Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia): more than 2.1 million followers.
  • President Dilma Rousseff (Brasil): more than 1.9 million followers, but not active since 2010.
  • President Nicolás Maduro (Venezuela): more than 1.3 million followers. Former President Hugo Chavez, had more than 4.1 followers.
  • President Rafael Correa (Ecuador): more than 1.2 million followers.
  • President Sebastian Piñera (Chile): more than 1.1 million followers.
  • President Ollanta Humala (Peru): 667,568 followers.
  • President Horacio Cartes (Paraguay): more than 96,000 followers.
  • President José Mujica (Uruguay) and Evo Morales (Bolivia) have no official twitter account.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013


Hello I am Fatma TEMIZ from Turkey and an EMPA student at Maxwell. Mr. Sundwall,

1)Public sector organizations are more likely to restrict use of personal accounts for sharing work-related information. What do you think about this  issue?

2) Inadequate responses to online activity can contribute to service disruption and low levels of citizen satisfaction. How can Government manage that threat effectively?

Looking forward to class.

Best regards,
Fatma TEMIZ

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

my first and introductory blog...

Hi,
 I am Vibha G Mishra from India, a country which was earlier known as land of elephants and snake charmers, but now better known as a huge repertoire of IT experts ( what an enormous rise!!!). I was born, brought up and got my education in Allahabad. Allahabad is a city situated on the confluence of three rivers Holy Ganga, Yamuna and mythological Saraswati. The city was once famous for its illustrious lawyers and quality of higher education provided by Allahabad University. Recently, it was in news for successfully holding kumbh mela, a hindu pilgrimage which is held every twelve years. In 2013, about 100 million people gathered during period of 55 days for this pilgrimage. Views, videos and additional information may be found at http://kumbhmelaallahabad.gov.in/english/index.html   

As far as my academic background is concerned, I have done post graduation in Biochemistry. After that I joined research work in the field of genetic engineering but soon discovered that I was not much interested in intricacies of life sciences.

Thereafter, I got job in Finance and Accounts wing of Ministry of Communication and IT in Government of India. When I joined the service in 1997, telecommunication services were being provided by the Government, but in the year 2000, Government withdrew itself from provisioning of telecom services as a service provider and restricted its role as policy maker and facilitator. During this period (2000-2005), I witnessed and managed a lot of change in working of communication and IT sector in India. In the year, 2011, I joined Department of Personnel and Training, where my responsibilities included handling policy matters with respect to personnel of Govt of India and implementation of e-office(paperless office) in my department.

I have joined this course because I want to know about various types of social media tools available. I also want to know how Govt departments can use social media for effective governance and the best way of sharing information through social media without affecting confidentiality and day to day working. Further, this course will help me in knowing about the right kind of social media tools for personal and public information sharing.

Thanks and regards,

vibha

Monday, September 16, 2013

Hallo, I'm Oleg! ..and I come from Moldova. My country is located in the Eastern Europe. But because Moldova was part of USSR, I am understanding the Russian world as well as the Western democratic values. My childhood passed in the Soviet Union and since my high-school years, I lived in the independent Moldova state. I also have a three-year experience of working in Odessa, Ukraine, which is the most cosmopolitan city in the former USSR. I took my license in 1998, in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. I studied finance, banks and stock exchanges. My professional career was focused on airline industry. For ten years I was in charge of the business development with the Moldovan flag carrier and with a private airline in Odessa. During this time, I accumulated a lot of experience in airline strategy, business planning, aircraft financing, management information systems. In 2009, I decided to shift to the public sector, being hired as head of Internal Audit at the Ministry of Transportation and Road Infrastructure of Moldova. My previous experience in the private sector came in very useful at the ministry, because I am focused on results, impact evaluation, efficiency. I tend to identify the most important problems and to draw attention to the available options to solve them. It took me little time to jump on the opportunity to complete my EMPA degree at Maxwell. I felt I need more knowledge about the public sector and Maxwell is one of the best schools in the world to learn about public administration. After graduation, I intend to return to Moldova and make my country a better place. Apart of work and studies, I have a lot of other interests. I love fancy foods and beverages and I often cook. I'm a big fan of classic rock and metal music: from Beatles to Megadeth and from Genesis to Iron Maiden. And I love soccer too, being a fan of London's Arsenal for more than two decades. I also enjoy playing poker or chess. I am quite present in the social media too, you may often find me in facebook. Looking forward to a great experience with #maxmedia13.

Is this just a boring introduction?

I really hope it's not. Yet it probably is.
Anyway, I wanted to introduce myself and give you some insights about me and my purpose here at Maxwell.

For those who want to practice some Spanish and what to learn a little more about my professional and academic background, here's my LinkedIn profile.


Mati and the hungry crocodile.
My name is Rodrigo Villaran (you can pronounce it the American way: /rəʊˈdrɪ.gəʊ/, or just call me Rozingo or Domingo as they like doing on Starbucks). I come from Lima, Peru. I am 32 years old and have a little kid, called Matías, who is 6. 
Lima is a city in the central coast of Peru, so we are crazy about sea food. Our main dish is the world famous ceviche (you may ask Anthony Bourdain if he liked it)

I studied Law (Universidad de Lima, 2005), and took some courses in Ethics and Political Philosophy (UARM, 2007) and Leadership (Georgetown University, 2009)

I worked for a law firm for more than 4 years, until I figured out I wanted to make a change in my career path. In 2008 I started working for several NGO's, particularly focusing on projects related to access to public information. One of the projects I am very proud of was to build an online database containing ATI Judgments. We managed to gather and systematize all the judgments made by the Peruvian Constitutional Court on this particular subject. I am happy with the outcomes of that project, but I think we could have made -and still can- a much greater impact with a more effective social media strategy.

In 2011 I started working at the Prime Minister's Office, in the design of the National Modernization Policy. This was my first experience in the public sector and one that encouraged me to enroll in the Executive Master of Public Administration at Maxwell School. The modernization of the Peruvian state is an on-going process, and while my experiences have provided me with a degree of knowledge and practical skills, I feel the need for formal instruction and an academic perspective in order to enhance my capacity to make a significant contribution to Peru as I continue to work toward a modernized state.

I really hope we can share some interesting experiences and learn from good (and bad) practices this semester. I am looking forward to get to know you better and learn from you.

Best of luck!

Rodrigo.








INTER DEPENDENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY

I am again excited by the thinking on the ideas of relationship among Government, civil society or global civil society and social media. Some of the points emerged in my mind are submitted for the appropriate suggestions and comments.

  1. Social media provides  excellent opportunities to share the views globally about the three interdependent spheres of real life i.e. state, market and society. Connect the concerned people easily.
  2. The speed of spreading the information is amazing but the veracity always or some time remains questionable. How it can be addessed?
  3. There are lots of cultural, social, economic diversity among and between southern and northern NGOs and their value systems, beliefs, process and economic strength. How can all the forms be connected? Whether social media can be tapped for that?
  4. As per my knowledge, UNO's certain organizations like UNESCO has some association or platform to work with certain NGO and like institute. But, there are large number of association and groups do not have access or exposure to the global level phenomenon. What can be done to address to these issues? Certain social media can provide platform to discuss and share the issues. What can be the strategy?
  5. Some people have started to see the dream of civil society as an option of state. However, ground level reality is that still many communities and sections of the larger global society struggle for the real economic and political freedom. Can civil society empower them and support them for their fundamental rights? By which means and what kind of social media will be helpful to them.
  6. There are many learning lessons are available with private, not for profit world organizations and associational life of the global society. How these intellectual property can be tapped and preserved through usage of social media.

A homecoming, both familiar and new

Greetings! My name is Kari (Burke) and I am a native of Syracuse, but have spent the last 13 years living and working in sunny San Diego, California. I am so pleased to be enrolled in this class, as I have been a bit of a Luddite when it comes to social media and I believe it is a promising medium for democratizing decision making in our public institutions.  I am equally grateful to be pursing an EMPA at Maxwell, as the abundant diversity of perspectives and the expertise and experience of faculty and students alike promises a rich learning environment. 

My professional background is in public health, primarily managing community-based, behavioral research studies funded by the NIH, CDC or state agencies. What does that mean? Well, obesity for example, is one of the many factors driving the increased prevalence of chronic disease (diabetes, heart disease, cancer). Behavioral and social sciences research considers some aspect of human behavior (e.g. why are some people successful in losing weight...) often in in the context of their family, organization, or community (...in communities with lots of fast food restaurants?). 

Public health is a multidisciplinary and collaborative field, as many of the issues we address are rather complex. My desire is to learn more about the ways that technology can bridge the divide between public health research and practice, institutions and communities; whether increasing participation and collaboration on the priorities and conduct of research, dissemination of findings and best practices, public policy formation, or increasing institutional transparency.

In that vein, I'd like to propose a final project topic. Under "Obamacare" some states are establishing exchanges where individuals can purchase health insurance beginning Oct 1. The proposal is to design a social marketing campaign for a state-wide campaign (e.g. NY State's Exchange, known as NY State of Health. http://www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/). Young people are a key demographic for this initiative, being relatively healthy with lower utilization rates, their enrollment will subsidize the costs of heavy users (elderly, disabled, chronically ill, etc). Let me know if you're interested and we can possibly form a group, or feel free to propose another topic. 

Introductory blog

Hi all!

I am very excited to be a part of this class because I love social media and I know I have a lot to learn from each of you! So, I thought I would follow suit and use an introduction as my first blog post.

My name is Emily (Essi) and I was born and raised right here in Syracuse. I completed my Bachelor's in International Development and Management in 2012 from McGill University, and moved home for my sister's wedding shortly after graduating. Little did I know that I would be staying in Syracuse, attending the best MPA program in the States!

I have dabbled in different fields and I have internship experience in the public and private sectors. I'm really interested in Social Media because I love that it is becoming transferable and useful throughout all sectors of the professional world. Whether it is a private firm, a local non profit, or a school district, social media is on the rise and becoming extremely relevant everywhere (in my opinion, at least).

I look forward to hearing about all of your life and work experiences and having some great discussions and debates about social media in the public sector!



Emily


Guest speaker: Jed Sundwall, CEO Measured Voice

Jed Sundwall, CEO and co-founder of MeasuredVoice.com, will join us on September 18 in our #MaxMedia13 class. 

In preparation for our (online) conversation with Mr. Sundwall, please review his blog post: How Todd Gloria Governs with Social media and read the required articles available on Blackboard.

Please leave your questions for Mr. Sundwall as a comment to this update (see comment section below this post).

More information on social media:
- LinkedIn
- Twitter

Friday, September 13, 2013

why in some countries people tend to be so corrupt?

After fulfilling the primary requirements of humanbeing,i.e.food,clothes and shelter,one always thinks in term of his or her status in the society,and if financial condition is the strongest criterion for  status in the society,irrespective of means of accumulating the wealth,people tend to be corrupt.So finally it is the standard of recognition in the society,that leads its members to be corrupt.
I am working in provincial government in India as Deputy Secretary(Cabinet).Presently I am in Syracuse for "Certificate of Advanced Studies in Public Administration"at Syracuse University.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

is social media really useful to maintain relations with due depth and maturity....?

When ever I heard praise of social media, I hardly forget 2 things
1-a joke shared by my son with his friend before 2 years:
so, a joke!
one beggar was asking for food from one lady, the beggar said: give me a miscall when food is ready to be given"
The lady said-"see your social media site...............-I shall up date the status!

2- now a true story
an Indian girl, studying abroad,  name x was very active on her social media site-she had number of friends in and out side India'-unfortunately she lost her father who was staying in India-The girl's mother and relatives wanted her to return India with a care that she should not know about death of her father before she reaches India-the family requested one of their relative to pickup her and accompany her up to India-This relative, a mature person took care and booked tickets ,they were on verge to start journey-the girl asked the relative "is my father no more? "on a question how she came to know, she said" I got number of messages from my social media network consoling me ..........."


so social media may be the  blessings ,but, with the precondition of its use

Social Media In Governance

It is really exciting to know that there are many agencies at the global level and organizational level dedicated to promote the use of social media for the sake of happiness and welfare of their clients, customer and citizens.

I am listening since my joining the class that it needs some policy decision and its implications on the part government organization.

But, to my mind, understanding and experiences, the use of social media is the need of the organization as well as citizens. We have to start with the kinds of information we are presently sharing! Just need to have little more aggression towards people friendly approach.

At the second stage, we may add more sharing and interacting after waiving the pros and cons. But I am sure that the experience Government Organizations will have will be fulfilling and satisfying to the involved employees.

I think, It is just a question of implementation of change in the organization.

i would like to have the comments from the fellow classmate and will take this discussion to a greater heights.

hi!when ever I heard the words of praise for social media it reminds me

Diving into the Media Pool

So, I'm a very inconsistent blogger. Like any millennial (is that what we are called?) I have dabbled in blogging in the past. From live journal, to xanga, to blogger pages while I was traveling in college, I have attempted to share my few scattered thoughts with friends and family throughout my 24 years, but I have little experience in continuity and utilizing a blog for professional growth. This is easily one of the most valuable skills I will gain this semester.

Without further ado, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Liz Burman. I grew up in Arlington, VA, a large suburb just outside of Washington, DC. Prior to arriving at Maxwell, I graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, IN. I loved my time in the midwest and the community that Earlham provided. Earlham is similar to Maxwell in the close-knit environment and the emphasis on citizenship, consensus governance, and engagement. I left Earlham with a newfound excitement for service. Fresh out of college and unsure of my place within the world of civil service, I sought out work within the field of social work, knowing that eventually I would return to graduate school for social work or public administration. 

I moved to Rochester, NY and began work in an emergency shelter for runaway and homeless teenagers. This was the best, most challenging thing I have ever done. I learned more about myself and about the world around me in the 8 months that I worked in the shelter than I have at any other venture of my life. I learned that I'm a great counselor, that the world is not what I saw before behind my rose tinted glasses, and most importantly, that I do not have a career as a social worker. I learned that my passion and excitement to serve the young homeless people of the world is better spent in creating programs and making sure that places like the shelter in which I worked stay open than in counseling, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I finished my term of service as a tutor for a program called Upward Bound, where I taught writing, US history, and watched some amazing, driven young people create change in their own lives to make themselves better.

After I finished my term of service with AmeriCorps and moved to Syracuse to be near family and friends. I worked odd-jobs for a year, applied to graduate school, and volunteered within the community. This time was invaluable to me because within this economic climate, it taught me that I am never too good for a job. I made a lot of coffee, learned how to make latte art (I can make a pretty impressive rosetta at this point) I babysat, I hung clothing and stocked shelves, I did data entry, I stuffed envelopes, and I updated donor software for a non-profit. I lived as most Americans do, and I was fueled to move forward so that I can accomplish my goals of serving the poorest in our country and help them to break the cycle of poverty.

When I was looking for graduate programs, the biggest draw for me was the programs that fostered a strong community. I wanted to find a school with an emphasis on citizenship, working to create civil servants, focused on making real change. This is why I came to Maxwell, and every day reminds me that this was the right choice, that this is where I am meant to be.

This semester, I look forward to telling you a little bit about my understanding of Government 2.0 and the roles of social media in the development of government. I look forward to sharing the roles that media plays in our day-to-day lives, and I hope that you can get something out of it.

This is the a news from Turkey about social media

"Government working on draft to restrict social media in Turkey
ANKARA

A regulation for social media crimes are needed, Governor Güler says            

The Turkish government launched yesterday a study to restrict social media, an attempt that has been inspired by the Gezi protests that have spread across the country.

The Justice Ministry has started working on a draft on crimes over the Internet, ministry sources told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. “International implementations regarding the issue are being inspected,” the source said.

Yesterday’s remarks by Interior Minister Muammer Güler also confirmed that social media websites are on the government’s radar, as the protesters who have been shaking the country for nearly 20 days have widely used social media as a tool to organize demonstrations. The police are making efforts on this issue, Güler told a group of journalists in Ankara, noting that some people had been detained in İzmir because of their allegedly provocative tweets during the protests.

Search for senders
“We have a study on those who provoke the public via manipulations with false news and lead them to actions that would threaten the security of life and property by using Twitter, Facebook or other tools of the social media,” Güler said. “Still, we think that the issue needs a separate regulation,” he said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has already taken a bold stance against Twitter, calling the micro-blogging site a “troublemaker” on June 2.

Citizens cannot be permitted to conduct a “witch hunt” over Twitter, President Abdullah Gül said June 7, according to Turkish Bar Association head Metin Feyzioğlu, who met with the head of state over the Gezi Park protests. “In this process, everyone needs to act responsibly and with restraint. I will not allow a witch hunt over Twitter. I will be following the judicial and executive investigation,” Gül said, according to Feyzioğlu.

A state department working against cyber crimes has already started to investigate some 5 million tweets about the Gezi Park protests. "


Emin

am i more sencitive or am foolish?

When ever we use computers let us remind ourselves that there are thousands of people in the world who can hardly get basic needs of their life like food/water/electricity /education and medical facilities-no,by any way I am not supporter of communalism ,but, I hardly enjoy any thing when my sensitivity reminds me: some one is hungry...coincidently today it is 11th sept....
Hi! This is my first blog. I am a student pursuing EMPA at the Maxwell School in Syracuse University.   Enrolled for the course "Social media for the public sector", it gives me an opportunity to interact with you all.

I am from India and frankly speaking, my limited exposure to social media applications before joining this course was restricted to Facebook and You Tube. There are so many options available today, each with its own niche carved out for different application. This course would certainly enhance my knowledge of this field and may equip me to use these applications even beyond socialising in my professional life.

These applications are not seen for most of the Government organisations in India. But there is enormous scope for proactive organisations in the public sector to come out of the hesitation to use them and to take such initiatives and improve their interaction with citizens. There is of course a need to exercise caution in drafting the content. General guidelines for different agencies may be desirable to use these tools efficiently.

I look forward to a great semester ahead and I have a lot to learn from each one of you, particularly the youngsters, who appear to be well-informed and are quite comfortable using these social media options.
Hallo,

I am Milind here. I am a civil service officer from India, pursuing EMPA course at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. Technology is playing a role of enabler to cut across boundaries, caste, creed barriers. It has empowered the common man to have guaranteed access to her/his rights. Social Media is acting as a catalyst to boost up the aspiration of the public. It depends on us, the administrators sitting on the other side how quickly we respond to them. I am looking forward to enhance my knowledge and abilities through this course. Hope to learn as well from the peers.

Bye,

Milind

    
Hello, Social Media in the Public Sector classmates!

My name is Lauren Hill and I am a beginning blogger. A simple introduction will constitute my first official blog post as I am still gathering my bearings. 

I am pursuing an MPA at Maxwell focusing on Public Management and state and local government. I am originally from Frisco, Texas-a northern suburb of Dallas. It sounds small, but Frisco is actually one of the fastest growing places in the country. For those of you who don’t know me, I am very proud of my southern roots and very proud to be a Texan!

I graduated in May of this year from a small liberal arts college in Sherman, Texas (just south of the Oklahoma-Texas line) called Austin College. I received a bachelors of Arts in Political Science. I was very active during my four years in undergrad. I studied abroad to Argentina, Malta, and England studying Spanish and comparative democracies, respectively. I also spent the last two years working as a Social Entrepreneurship for Poverty Alleviation Intern with the city of Denison, Texas. While there, I worked on a variety of projects ranging from making copies, speaking with local business owners, writing a council orientation manual for Denison’s city council, to applying for 501 (c) 3 public charity on behalf of the city’s main street program. This experience made me aware of my heart for service and my passion for local government.

That is just a little about me! Again, I really look forward to getting to know all of ya’ll and learning more about social media opportunities.


Lauren 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

My first blog!

Good Evening everyone!
I am attempting to write my first blog, taking a cue from Ms. Ines Mergel's mail.
I am Ritika Bhatia, from India, pursuing Executive Master's in Public Administration from Maxwell School of Public Administration. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Botany and Law and belong to the SAI (Supreme Audit Institution) of India (similar to the GAO of USA). Prior to coming here, I was working as Director (Administrative Reforms) in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India.
I joined this class as social media is a tool which has taken the world by storm. The opportunities offered by it along with the inherent constraints make for a very interesting study. My endeavor will be to study these tools and also to try and understand how best they can be used in the Indian context to make the administration more transparent, accountable and people-centric. It will also help in improving my communication skills. 

Personal social media strategy(PAI 730)Assignment 1

Develop your personal media policy, as a public service employee

Let me start the assignment with a clarification-what I understood from the written instruction about this assignment is that as a student I am expected to express my self that what would be my
my personal social media strategy as a public service employee. In fact, I am a senior officer in state government and working in chief minister office so even from any assumption sack I ,can not go beyond what I am.I know about "management style memo "but, in government, we use "Noting format" for expressing our views or for submission of any proposal.(in our country, in government business, we use word Memo-for a letter addressed to employee with reference to show cause notice in regard to  disciplinary actions him/her). In short, this is the draft  note I can submit to  chief minister, who is the highest decision making authority of the state.

Submitted for consideration and approval
 After formal approval of the state government ,the  undersigned had been at Syracuse university during which,was given training about "Social  media in public" sector also.as separately discussed at length, social media is being used by various government agenesis in USA which have given positive results in public administration so far, as experts say.
so far our state is also committed for public welfare and good governance, the following note is submitted for necessary decisions and actions.
1-The importance of social media may be properly recognized and in principal decision to introduce social media in public administration may be taken. Before taking such formal  decision, we may decide the dead lines or probable dates for starting such implementation too.
2 as we know many government departments have successfully implemented E governance plans. Based on their experiences and feedbacks, we may initiate this plan in specific sectors to kick start with.For example young generation is more acquainted with social media, so ,major schemes for youths of the state, like registration for employment can be implemented with additional facility of social media)
3-The chief Minister's office  being the highest political office of the state, the program me implemented by this office  ( S.W.A.G.A.T).is well recognized at world level too where a citizen's complain is heard by chief minister him self and the applicant can see the outcome on line This can have the added feature of social media as well.
4 once the in principle decision is taken, we can form a committee which may  consists senior secretaries of the government and media experts as well as technical experts of this field.
5-as I am using social media in personal capacity, I and my counter parts in different departments  may be permitted to use the same with my counter parts in other offices as well for non confidential matters.
 If details or clarifications is needed for any issue raised in above note or related to the subject the undersigned may be intimated.
                                                                                                                          sd/-
                                                                                                                 (Chetan shukla)
                                                                                                                  /Joint Secretary





chief minister(through chief principal secretary to chief minister)