Six seconds of Social Gov

Expect a bit more video – six seconds at a time – via your favorite federal agencies’ social media accounts.

The video application Vine has been approved for federal agencies to use with their Twitter and other social media platforms, joining more than 60 other social media platforms and applications with negotiated federal-friendly terms of services agreements. Vine videos are limited to six seconds.

The announcement is a sign of the rapidly evolving social government community, coming via the General Services Administration New Media office’s Twitter account and via a Vine video.

Justin Herman, new media manager at the General Services Administration's Center for Excellence in Digital Government, wrote in a blog post announcing Vine’s availability to agencies that Vine is just the latest tool in an evolving digital culture that’s continuing to improve how agencies interact with customers and the general public.

Herman noted that the app is free and enables users to record videos with iPhones or iPads and easily share it on Twitter and other social media platforms. "Like Twitter, which limits messages to 140 characters, Vine keeps the process simple and concise while providing an opportunity to engage in a compelling way," Herman wrote. "Government knows that citizens want official information available anytime, anywhere and on any device, and Vine can help agencies engage through mobile video sharing and feedback."

In the post, Herman encouraged agencies to share Vine terms of service (TOS) with attorneys and decide whether the tool can help them meet their mission needs. (Read a list of tools with negotiated federal-specific terms-of-service agreements here.)