Thursday, April 23, 2015

How social media is transforming government agencies in South Korea


While some government agencies still tend to employ the "broadcast" model when using social media, many agencies are engaging through hashtags, community building initiatives, and geo-location analysis. These efforts are helping to better inform the public and alert them to public safety emergencies in real-time.
Creating a Transparent Community
At the most basic level, social media is about community building. Government agencies have adopted this mindset to varying degrees as a way to foster trust and dialogue with people. I feel that It is truly a national town hall that has never been attempted during a disaster
At the local law enforcement level, Web 3.0 technology has been implemented in some departments to give people details about what officers have been up to. At any Police Department in South Korea, Twitter is used to solicit help from the public and Facebook is used as a comment and complaint board for residents.
Tracking and Creating Hashtags
Law enforcement and emergency response agencies alike are also becoming more sophisticated in how they use Twitter. While monitoring hashtags is commonplace, some agencies are creating them to denote specific social media priorities particularly, getting users to document certain events.
To be more specific, Busan police department has done hashtag campaigns in South  Korea. Abuse Prevention Campaign "Don't Hit Just Hug" #byhand #kids #toddler #totschool #kindergarten #preschool #childabuseprevention #campaign #busanpolice
 
A Real-Time Investigation and Response Tool
While the more traditional means of sharing information with people, such as press conferences or releases, will always be necessary to brief the public in detail about events, agencies are turning to social media to keep the public informed in real-time.
On April 3rd, Detective Chief Inspector of the Seoul Police in the South Korea used Tweetdeck to keep an eye on demonstrations involving two controversial and politically opposed groups "This is groundbreaking stuff for policing in the South Korea. We have used social media as a broadcast platform during protests in the past, but we have not had immediate updates from officers on the ground, enabling two-way conversations," the Chief Inspector wrote after the event.
Conclusion
For government agencies, social media not only sends and gathers information instantaneously it fosters relationships and trust, while encouraging users to share important information. While not all social media use needs to be creative, agency engagement with these platforms can help show people that government organizations are listening.
 

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