Anti-Social Feds

The Obama administration still hasn't issued its directive on how agencies should pursue transparency, collaboration and participation with the public, but it may want to first encourage federal managers to use these tools.

According to a survey that the Government Executive Business Council (a Nextgov sister organization) recently completed, 50 percent of federal mangers didn't use Facebook, with another 14 percent using the site less than once per week. For the professional social networking site LinkedIn, nearly 60 percent of federal managers hadn't signed on at all, with another 23 percent using it less than once a week. And Twitter? Forget about it. More than 80 percent reported they don't Tweet - ever. Seven percent log on less than once a week.

Now, those usage rates pretty much match those for the public at large. But that isn't too comforting. First, federal mangers are professionals, and professionals as a whole tend to be more open to social networking sites. Second, the survey asked subscribers to Government Executive and Nextgov publications -- the kind of managers who would tend to be hooked into the latest technologies and management philosophies, and more likely to try new things. So the numbers should be higher than for the public on average.

What has been your experience using social networking sites, if you do at all? And how does that play into your expectations for how the open government directive will be received by your agency?