Rock Creek Roundup (January 22 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Jan 22, 2010 0 Comments

In this week’s Rock Creek Roundup, the White House releases an app, the Department of Defense uses social media to make a difference, Gov 2.0 Camp LA lets people vote on the agenda, and a Senate race is won based on social media:

—Want to watch President Obama’s latest press briefing, but need to head out the door? No problem. Thanks the White House’s latest iPhone app, you’ll be able to stay up-to-date as long as you have your iPhone or iTouch. The official White House app is available as a free download on iTunes, and offers access to live streaming video of White House events and speeches.

—The Department of Defense has a fantastic blog post outlining some of the ways that government has able to use social media to help with the relief situation in Haiti. For example, the Department of Defense has been blogging updates about what’s happening on the ground, as well as information about how people can help. They’ve also been developing and releasing shareable video clips, and have served as the host for several Haiti blogging roundtable events where they invited members of the blogging community to share their opinions and concerns with members of the DoD. It’s a great example of the true power of social media.

—Looking for a way to enrich your knowledge about Gov 2.0 and want to talk about new media topics with like-minded people? If so, the Gov 2.0 Camp LA may be for you. This free camp, held in Los Angeles from February 5-7, will bring together new media professionals from government, nonprofit and private industry to discuss ways to make government more accessible and transparent to citizens. Registration is available online, and participants can even vote on which sessions they’d like to be presented at the camp. Rock Creek is a sponsor of this event—hope to see you there!

—In the tight Massachusetts Senatorial race, social media helped give Scott Brown the victory, according to many social media followers. In a recent research study by the Emerging Research Media Council (published by the Wall Street Journal [PDF]), Brown was able to effectively use social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to increase his name recognition. Through frequent and personal messages to his supporters, Brown rallied considerably more YouTube video views and Facebook fans than his opponent. Social media experts suggest that government agencies can learn lessons by taking a closer look at Brown’s social media efforts.

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Meagen Ryan

Director of Strategy

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