The same issues are here in Canada, where federal IT and Comms shops continually struggle to understand their respective roles for their digital channels. One point about your proposed model: "monitoring success" is but one part of the performance management facet. To be a legitimate player in any organization, you also want to actively and reliably demonstrate results for the C-Suite crowd who need to grasp how a campaign translates into success and supports their program goals and priorities.

I think the challenge for government is reacting in real-time to news events/trends with content that aligns with what they’re trying to do – their mission. While I think the patch.com analysis is interesting – i think it really underestimates what people are willing to discuss online.

It takes some creativity and speed – and research – to be ready to take advantage of when news hooks in whatever category pops up.

Thanks again. – Mike

Great insight and spot on post.

Why would the public want to follow some huge faceless Acronym Agency in Washington? What's the benefit? I have the perception that federal agencies are simply too distant from most people's daily lives. The story isn't being told how a federal agency has impact at the local level. So instead of one primary EPA account, why not one for @EPA_NYC, @EPA_STL, @EPA_SEATTLE, etc. Drill down into neighborhoods and communities with content that matters. Not some latest or greatest proclamation from a cabinet secretary the majority of people have not heard of.

At the local level, I preach publishing social media content that is relevant, timely and actionable. We can do this at the local level rather easily, but obviously this is harder for feds. It's not impossible, though. But Acronym Agency can't rely on its org charts to break down info. For example, I follow FEMA very closely and it is trying this localized approach I noted above with distinct geographic Twitter accounts by regions. But by FEMA regions that only make sense to FEMA org chart gurus. And if you visit a FEMA region Twitter page, it does not tell you what "Region 2" means: https://twitter.com/#!/femaregion2

Frustrating.

#Fail.

At the local government level, we try and do a good job of staying relevant, timely and actionable with content, but it's not always the greatest stuff in the world because we are the government. A recent analysis of hyperlocal Patch.com sites shed some light on a way forward (maybe, who knows!):
http://www.slate.com/id/2297927/

Of the many notes of interest in this article, this one by the author hits home:

"…I'm convinced that Web users are more interested in hypercoverage of their interests—sports teams, hobbies, food, vacations, family, games, et al.—than they are of the starving-artists exhibition at the farmer's market, increasing parking-meter rates, the city budget, local real estate prices, or many of the other topics covered in Patch."

So if that statement is generally true (people do care about government when it impacts them greatly), is the trick for all levels of government to engage the public with compelling, localized content about hobbies and interests (with some official stuff tossed in…and in reader-friendly ways as Ari points out)?

My $0.03.