Councils open access to Twitter

Most councils allow employees to access social media compared with only a third two years ago, research by Socitm indicates. All employees potentially have access to Twitter in 44% of councils and some of them in 54%, with only 2% offering no access, according to the findings. Facebook is accessible to a similar level, with all employees having access in 42% of councils, some in 54% and just 4% having no access. YouTube follows closely behind (41%, 51% and 8%), with Flickr, Slideshare and Google Docs slightly less accessible. The findings come from two identical surveys carried out in January 2012, one with chief information officers, heads of ICT and equivalent and a second with web, communications, customer services, service and policy managers. A similar survey published in 2010 was limited to IT managers, however. The two surveys also show that 84% of councils have a presence on Twitter and 73% on Facebook. Socitm said that its research reveals that social media has been incorporated into the activity of almost all councils, with blanket bans on access being replaced by more considered approaches. Its report on the findings titled Social media goes mainstream - but in the right way? says that social media has the potential to play a much wider role in changing what councils do, and how they do it. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Guardian Government Computing network here.