Metro Government goes on Facebook to increase communication with public
Metro’s Facebook page attracts more than 1,000 ‘fans’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 31, 2010) -Mayor Karl Dean and Keith Durbin, director of Information Technology Services, announced today that the Metropolitan Government of Nashville has officially joined the world of social networking with the creation of a Metro Nashville page on the popular website Facebook.
Mayor Dean discussed the benefits of Nashville’s Facebook page with Durbin during the budget hearing for ITS, which was held today as one of a series of public meetings the mayor is conducting this week with Metro departments as part of the annual budget process.
“Facebook is an alternative online tool cities across the country are using to communicate with constituents,” Dean said. “The page was launched in mid February, and already we have over 1,000 people signed up as fans. I think that shows the strong interest the public has in getting updates about the programs, meetings and issues related to their local government. We are here to serve the public, and Facebook provides a new opportunity to communicate with them more frequently and easily.”
In addition to the general Facebook page for Metro Government, several departments have created pages to communicate about their services and public events including the Nashville Public Library, the Farmers Market and Metro Water Services. The Department of General Services has launched a Facebook page to advertise items available through eBid, the online resource for selling surplus Metro equipment to the public.
“Facebook is being used by Metro departments as a means by which we can communicate news to a constituent group that we might not normally reach, through a tool that is increasingly being used as a vital source of information,” Durbin said. “Though we hope to never use Facebook in this way ourselves, other cities have also found it to be an important way to communicate in times of disaster, whether snowstorm, tornado or earthquake.”
The public can access Metro’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MetroNashville. A link to the page is also available on www.nashville.gov. The signature Facebook icon is next to the search tool in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.
For media inquiries contact:
Bonna Johnson
615-862-6461
bonna.johnson@nashville.gov