Facebook Bureaucracy and Citizen Participation(2)

8/3/2019 Facebook Bureaucracy and Citizen Participation(2)

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FacebookBureaucraciesandCitizen

Participation

ByVincentHarris


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Introduction

Over156millionAmericanshaveFacebookaccountssoitseemsnaturalthat

largegovernmentagencieswouldbeonFacebookaswell-right?Withrecent

studiesshowingwebsitetrafficdecliningasFacebooktrafficincreases,itmakes

analyticalsensefortheGovernmenttoflocktothemammothsocialnetworkinan

efforttoreachconstituentsandfosterparticipation.AsDarrellWestmentionsin

DigitalGovernment:TechnologyandPublicSectorPerformance:unliketraditional

structures,whicharehierarchical,linear,andone-way,internetdeliverysystems

arenonhierarchical,nonlinear,two-way,andavailable24hoursaday,sevendaysa

week.ThenonhierarchicalcharacterofInternetdeliveryfreescitizenstoseek

informationattheirownconvenience,notjustwhenagovernmentofficeisopen.

Westsforward-thinkingbookwaspublishedinJanuary2004,beforeFacebookwas

evenfounded.Whilehisidealismstillringstrueamongstthosepromotingamore

digitalizedgovernmenttoday,itremainstobeseenwhetherornotgovernment

agenciessharehissentimentsandaretrulyembracingaparticipatory,two-way

usageoftheInternet.

Theory

Bureaucraticorganizationsarebydesignself-sustainingreplicative

systems(Garston).Itisbecauseoftheirinnatenaturethatbureaucracieshave

lookedtoexpandtheirreachintothetechfrontierandspecificallyintothesocial

mediaspace.PeoplearespendingtheirtimeandmoneyonFacebook,wherethe

publicdiscussionoccurs.Inordertoadapttothesehugeshiftsinculture,


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bureaucraticinstitutionshavesetuptheirownFacebookpages.Facebookservesas

amarketingtoolforbureaucraciestocatertotheirindividualissuepublicand

interestgroups.ThetenlargestbureaucracieseachhaveanindividualFacebook

page,buttheirusageofthesocialnetworkasamediumofcommunicationhasnt

beenthoroughlydiscussed.ThispaperlookstoanalyzehowAmericaslargest

governmentagenciesareutilizingAmericasmosttraffickedwebsiteandwhether

theyarefosteringanincreasedinterestintheirstatedmissions.

LiteratureReview

Relevantliteraturecentersontheconceptofe-governmentorhowour

governmentutilizesthewebtoconnectwithcitizens.Alotofthepopularworkwas

publishedintheearly2000sbeforetheprominenceofsocialmediawebsites,and

specificallybureaucracysdailyuseofsocialmedia.Despitebeingadecadeoutof

date,manyofthethemesmentionedwereextremelyrelevantforthispaper,

specificallythenotionthatdigitalgovernmentbringsgovernmentfunctionsdirectly

tothepeople,whichinturnempowerscitizensandstrengthensDemocracy.

NeilGarstonwarnedbackin1993abouthowharditisforestablished

organizationstoembracenewtechnologiessimplybecauseoftheslowrate

bureaucracyschange.Hispointthattechnologiescanonlybefullyutilizedifthese

technologiescanbefullyintegratedintoanorganizationalstructurewillbecome

criticalinunderstandingsomeofthefindingslaterinthepaper.Bureaucraciesare

large,lagginginstitutionsthatdonotadaptquicklytoanysortofchange.

AsmentionedbyCarolineTolbert,RamonaMcNeal,andDanielSmithin

EnhancingCivicEngagement:TheEffectofDirectDemocracyonPolitical


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ParticipationandKnowledge,pluralistscholarshavelongarguedthatwidecitizen

participationensuresthatdiverseinterestswillhaveinputinthepoliticalprocess.

ThisstatementencompassesanidealviewofadigitalDemocracywhere

governmentencouragesmassparticipationthroughFacebookorotheronline

initiatives.Pluralistsbelievethatthemorepeopleandthemoreinterests

becomminginvolvedingovernment,thebettergovernmentwillbe.Thisview

centersonthenotionthatwithoutadiffusedanddiversegroupofpeopleengaging

ingovernment,narrowspecialinterestswillbeempowered.Facebook,witha

captive,activeaudienceseemslikeanaturalplacethentoachievegreater

participationingovernmentfunctions.

Thewordparticipationiskeyasitservesasabenchmarkofsuccess

concerninggovernmentsusageoftheInternet.Ifagenciesareinvestingtimeand

monetaryresourcesintoarobustdigitalpresence,theywanttobeachieving

somethingintheshapeofincreasedparticipation.Thegoodnewsforthemis

researchhasshownthatcitizensareparticipatingatanincreasinglevelwiththe

governmentonline.Theseparticipatoryactionsincludeeverythingfromregistering

anewcar,payingparkingtickets,andfillingoutpassportrenewals.

InTheBottom-upDesignofe-Government:ADevelopmentMethodology

basedonaCollaborationEnvironment,theauthorsstate:Governmentsworldwide

realizee-governmentisthemeanstomodernizepublicadministrationandto

achievesocialparticipation.Thereseemstobeanagreementthatthenotionofe-

governmentdoeshavemanybenefitstobroadsociety,butdespitethe


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aforementionedwork,therehasbeenlittledonetoassesstheeffectsthatlarge

bureaucraticinstitutionshaveoncitizensthroughtheusageofsocialmedia.

Specifically,howagenciesareutilizingFacebookasameansofcommunicationand

methodofreachingthepublicatlarge.

BackgroundonFacebook

SincemuchofthedataandanalysissectionscenteraroundFacebook,itis

importanttoprovidesomebackgroundonthesocialnetworkandhowitfunctions

today.Foundedin2004,Facebookisthelargestsocialnetworkintheworldwith

over600millionmembers.Facebooksadvertisingplatformrevealsthereare156

millionAmericansusingthesocialnetworkandtheseusersareactive.Arecent

NielsensurveyconductedinAugust2011showedtheaverageFacebookuserinthe

U.S.spent15.5minutesonthesiteeveryday;thatissevenhoursand46minutes

permonth.ThereisnodoubtthatFacebookplaysahugepartinAmericanslives

whichhasledmanybrands,organizations,andpublicfigurestoflocktothesocial

networktodisseminateinformation,shapeopinion,andselltheirproducts.Users

onFacebookopt-intoreceivingcontentfromabrandororganizationbylikinga

page,whichinvolvesonlyasingleclickofthemousebytheuseronceloggedinto

theirpersonalFacebookaccount.

Therearethreemainwaysauserdiscoversapageinordertolikeit:the

pagebeingsharedinafriendsstatus,aninvitationtolikethepagewhichcanonly

bemadebypageadministrators,orthroughapaidadvertisement.Paidadvertising

hasincreasinglybecomethemostcommonwayforapagetogainfans,asFacebook

hasevolved,ithascentereditsbusinessmodelaroundadvertising,andthushas


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madeithardforpagestogainfansexceptthroughadvertisingthem.Thewebsite

eMarketer.comestimatesthatin2011Facebookwilltakein$3.8billionin

advertisingrevenue,anumberthatmanyprojecttocontinuetoriseinthecoming

years.Facebooksdependenceonadvertisingasasourceofrevenueisimportantto

noteforlaterwhendiscussingthesizeofpagesintermsofnumbersoflikes,as

largepagestendtousuallynoteausageofadvertising.

PublicmetricsonFacebookareconstantlychanging.InOctoberof2011the

companyreleasedanewpublicmetrictheydeemedtalkingaboutthis.Thismetric

isupdatednightlyatmidnightandincludesaweeklysummationofusershaving

interactedwithspecificpagesthoughlikes,comments,andsharesofstatus

updates.Thismetricwasreleasedinordertoencouragepageadministratorsto

pushinteresting,interactivecontenttotheirfans.Thismetricisveryimportantto

thispaper,asitwillbeusedtoshowcasetherateatwhichcitizensareactively

participatingwithcontentonindividualbureaucraciespages.Thetotalnumberof

Facebookuserswhohaveoptedtolikeapageisalsopubliclydisplayed.Thesetwo

metricsofferalotofinsightintoanorganizationsreachandalsoitsabilityto

updatetheirfanswithinteractivecontent.

ThepiecewhichisconfusingbutcriticaltounderstandisFacebooks

EdgeRankSystemwhichisusedbythecompanytodeliverindividualpagesstatus

updatestotheirlikes.Thisuniquesystemmakesalotofsenseonceexplainedbut

isseverelymisunderstoodbybrandsandgeneralFacebookusers.E-mailisstill

widelyusedasamethodofcommunicationsandservesasagreatcomparisonto

FacebooksEdgeRanksystem.Imaginethataparticularorganizationhas50,000


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Facebooklikesandalso50,000e-mailaddresses.Iftheorganizationsentane-mail

toits50,000persone-maillistusingamasse-mailsystem,itwouldknowtheexact

numberofe-mailsdelivered,thetotalnumberofpeoplewhoopenedthee-mail,and

evenspecificinformationoneache-mailopen(suchasthetimethee-mailwas

openedandwhatlinkstheuserclickedon).Facebookdoesnotoperateinasimilar

way.Ifthesameorganizationpostedastatustoits50,000likes,notall50,000

peoplewouldseethestatusautomatically;thereiscurrentlynowayforan

organizationtoknowexactlyhowmanyofitslikessawanindividualupdate.

TheEdgeRanksystemwasputinplacetohelpindividualFacebookuserscut

throughtheclutterontheirhomenewsfeeds,wheretheyaremostlikelytointeract

withastatus.Insteadofbombardingindividualuserswithcontentfromalloftheir

130friends(onaverage)plusanypagestheyhaveliked,Facebookservesthem

contentfrompagestheyhavepreviouslyinteractedwith,orcontentthatotherusers

makerelevantbytheirinteractions(throughalike,comment,orshare).Asseen

laterinthepaper,somebureaucraciesareembraceFacebooksEdgeRanksystemby

encouraginginteractionsintheirstatuseswhileothersappearalooftoitsexistence.

ThetermnewsfeedmentionedaboveisthehomescreenseenbyaFacebook

useroncetheylogintotheiraccount.Anexampleisseenbelow:


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UnderstandingthenewsfeedandtheEdgeRanksystemisimportant

backgroundbecauseusersspendalargeshareoftheirtimeonthesocialnetwork

simplyengagingthroughit.ArecentCBMConsumerPulsestudyshowcasedthat

45%ofaFacebookuserstimeisspentontheirmainnewsfeed.

IndividualFacebookpagescanalsobecustomizedthroughtheadditionof

landingpagetabsthatallowstaticcontentonapage.Similartostaticpageson

websites,thesetabsenhancethepagesbyallowingfordatacapturethroughforms.

Theadministratorofindividualpagescontrolscontentonthesepagesandputting

upabasictabdoesnotrequireanadvancedknowledgeofHTML.Laterinthepaper

willdiscussathowcertainagenciesareutilizingtabstopromotetheirmissionsand

garnerdata.

DataandDesign

Buildinguponpreviousliteraturediscussinge-government,thispaperwill

lookathowmodernbureaucraticinstitutionsareutilizingthecountrysmost

traffickedwebsite,Facebook.com,tointeractwithcitizens.Facebookpagesoffer

manydatapointsfromwhichtoconductresearch.Thispaperlookstoquantifythe


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reachofthetenlargestbureaucraticagenciesaswellasqualitativelyassesshowthe

agenciesarefosteringparticipationamongtheirrespectiveFacebookaudiences.

Withthosegoalsinmindthedatawillcenteronsizeoftheindividualpages,

participationoflikeswiththeagenciespostedcontent,andusageofFacebooktabs

asasignofanadvancedsocialmediapresence.

ThetablebelowreflectspublicdatafromtheDepartmentofLaborciting

FederalGovernmentcivilianemployment,exceptU.S.PostalService,November

2008.

TABLE1Agency TotalEmployment

VeteransAffairs 280,000

Army 244,000

Navy 175,000

HomelandSecurity 171,000

AirForce 149,000

Justice 108,000

Treasury 88,000

Agriculture 82,000

Interior 67,000

SocialSecurityAdministration 64,000

Thesetenagencieswillserveasthebasisofthepaperwithmostdata

discussedbeingpulledfromtheirofficialFacebookpages.Itisimportanttonote

thatthedatainTable1onlymentionscivilianemploymentofthemilitarybranches

anddoesnotincludeactivedutysoldiers.

Subsequentdataandanalysiswillshowcasethenumberofpubliclikesfor

eachagencyaswellastheirtalkingaboutnumber.SincenumbersonFacebook

fluctuatedaily,thedatasetusedwaspulledontheeveningofNovember25th,2011.

Asdiscussedinlengthearlierinthispaper,thesemetricsservetoidentifythesize

andparticipatorynatureofapage.Thesizeofeachindividualpagewillbe

comparedtothenumberofcivilianemployeesfoundateachbureaucraticagencyin


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ordertobetterevaluateeachagencysoperatingprocedureconcerningthesocial

network.

Mostrelevanttotheliteraturereviewwillbethedataconcerningpublic

interactionsoftheagencieswiththeirpagesasreflectedinthetalkingabout

numberaswellasiftheagenciesaretakingthetimetoengagecitizensinthe

commentsectionsofeachpage.Interactionsoftheagencieswithcommentersinthe

lastthreestatuseswillbereflectedinatableanddiscussedatlength.Finallythe

respectiveagenciesusageoflandingpagetabsasamethodofmarketinganddata

capturewillbeanalyzed.

Results

Thetenbureaucraciesmightbethesimilarintermsofsizeofemployment

buttheydidntreflectmanysimilaritiesintermsofFacebookusage.Beforewebegin

tobreakdownthedataitisimportanttoreflectonthevastlydifferentmissionsand

issuepublicsofeachagency.Theagenciescouldbebrokendownintotwodistinct

categories:militarybranches,andotheragencies.Thethreebranchesofthemilitary

(Amy,Navy,andAirForce)rantheirFacebookpagesverydifferentlythantheother

agencies.Everythingfromtheirlargernumbersoflikes,totheiruniquely

developedFacebooktabs,showcasedmuchmoreofaself-marketingmentalitythan

theotheragenciesdid.

ChartAcomparesthesizeoftheagenciesin2008accordingtothe

DepartmentofLaborandtheircurrentFacebookaudience:

ChartA


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Aswasmentionedpreviouslyandisshownabove,theArmy,Navy,andAir

Forcereflectalargediscrepancybetweentheirtotalnumberofcivilianemployees

andFacebooklikeswhichmaybepartlyexplainedwhenaddingintheadditionof

activedutysoldiers.AlsoimportanttonoteisthatintheDepartmentofLabors

numbersfortotalcivilianemployment,theycombinetheNavyandMarineCorps

civilianworkforcebothfallingundertheNavysbanner.Becauseofthis,theMarine

CorpsFacebookdataisnotincludedamongthedataset.

ThelargestFacebookpagesintermoflikesareallmilitarybranches.As

discussedpreviously,Facebookhasmadeithardforadministratorsofpagesto

growtheirpagesorganically.Becauseofthelimitsinwaystoexpandapagesreach,

manypageadministratorsareturningtoFacebookadvertisingasawaytogrow

theirpagesaudienceandpromotethem.TheArmy,Navy,andAirForcehavelarge,

activeissuepublicswhichcouldexplaintheirmuchlargerpresencesasseenin

ChartA,butevenwiththeirlargeaudiences,itwouldntexplainthehugepagesthey

haveamassed.TheArmy,Navy,AirForce,andVeteransAffairshavingacombined

total19timesthesizeoftheothersixagencies.Eventhesmallestpagesofthe

previouslymentionedfour,VeteransAffairs,hasmorepeoplelikeitthanthesix

0

200,000400,000600,000800,000

1,000,0001,200,000

TotalEmployment

"Likes"


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otheragenciescombined(151,556to115,775).Onlyanaggressiveadvertising

campaigncanexplainthevastdifferenceinthesizeofthepages.Witharecent

Webtrendsstudyshowcasedthecostofacquiringalikethroughadvertisingat

$1.07,itseemstheseagenciesspentaprettypennyinmarketingthemselves.Table

2reflectsthetenpagesbrokendownbypageswithsimilarnumbers.Thenatureof

Facebookadvertisingasameanstogainlikesseemstocoincidewiththeagencies

respectivemissions.

Table2

AggressiveAdvertising TotalLikesArmy 1,046,620

AirForce 594,763

Navy 404,251

VeteransAffairs 151,556

PossiblySomeAdvertising

HomelandSecurity 30,735

Justice 30,651

Agriculture 28,369

SocialSecurityAdministration 17,337

LikelyNoAdvertising

Treasury 4,649

Interior 4,033

Exceptwhenthedraftisenacted,theArmy,Navy,andAirForcesustain

themselvesthroughrecruitingefforts.Recruitinginvolvesheavymarketing

campaigns,whichinrecentyearshasincreasinglyincludeddigitalefforts,including

microsites,Facebookadvertising,andwebvideos.ThenumbersreflectedinTable2

reflectthispurposefulallocationoftimeandmonetaryresources.

StandinginsharpcontrasttothemilitarybranchesaretheTreasuryand

InteriorDepartments.Thepaltrynumberoflikesreflectedbybothagenciesshows

anobviousaversiontoinvestanyresourcesinsocialmedia.Foralarge,important


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agencytoreflectsofewlikesshowcasesalackofattentionbythestaff,andit

seemsclearFacebookisnotviewedasasitetofosterparticipation.

Thetenagenciesdiscussedallhaveverylargecivilianworkforcesandwith

over50%ofAmericanshavingopenedFacebookaccounts,itseemedinterestingto

analyzeanypotentialcorrelationbetweensizeoftheworkforceandtotalFacebook

likes.ChartBbuildsuponChartAbyshowcasingthepercentageoflikesas

comparedtothenumberofcivilianemployees.

ChartB

SinceFacebooksEdgeRank

systempromotespageswithalotofinteractions,itwouldbenefitanyemployer

lookingtopushtheirmessagetoalargeraudiencetohaveapolicywhichembraced

Facebookandencouragedparticipationwithstatusupdates.Itseemsmostofthese

agenciesdonothavesuchfavorablepolicies,ifanypolicyatall.Despitehaving

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

VeteransAffairs

Agriculture

Justice

SocialSecurityAdministration

HomelandSecurity

Interior

Treasury

%of"Likes"toEmployees

%of"Likes"toEmployees


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morethan88,000employeestheDepartmentoftheTreasuryhasonlyamassed

4,649likesonFacebook.

Onecouldarguethatpromotingitselfisnotimportanttotheoverallmission

oftheTreasuryDepartment.Accordingtoitswebsitetheagencyexistsforthe

purposeof,collectingtaxes,advisingondomesticandinternationalfinancial,

monetary,economic,tradeandtaxpolicy,ManagingFederalfinancesamong

otherlistedduties.Thestatedmissionrequiresaneedforcompliancebutnot

supportfromthepublic.Therecouldevenbeanargumentmadethatpublicopinion

isnaturallynegativebecauseoftheInternalRevenueService.Despitebothofthese

notions,theTreasuryDepartmenthasobviouslyspendalotmoretimeand

resourcesintotheirmainwebsitescomparedtoFacebook,despitestatistics

showingFacebooktrafficbooming.

Thesizeofanagencyspageisimportantasapublicshowingoftheirmindset

concerningtheimportanceofthesocialnetwork.Butsizeisnteverything.Facebook

hasputanincredibleemphasisonrewardingpageadministratorsforposting

interactivecontentusingtheirEdgeRanksystem.Thissystemencouragesactive

participationbytheuserbase.

Thepublictalkingaboutnumberreflectsusersinteractionswithindividual

statusupdates.ChartCreflectsthetotalnumberoflikesonapagedividedbythe

numberofthosetalkingaboutit.Insimpleterms,itreflectsthepercentageoftotal

pageuserswhoareengagingwithcontentpostedbytheindividualpages.

ChartC


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Unlikethesizeofapagewhichreflectsmonetaryresourcesspentinto

advertisingtoexpandgrowth,thetalkingaboutpercentagereflectswhich

bureaucracyispostingparticipatorycontent.Theagencywiththehighest

percentage(3.4%)istheDepartmentofHomelandSecurity.Theirpageisupdated

withavarietyoftimelysafetymeasuresandusefultipssuchashowtopackatravel

bagbeforeheadingthroughairportsecurity.Thepagealsoutilizesgraphicsbranded

specificallyforHomelandSecurityandasksengagingquestionsofreaders.Theuse

ofbrandedimagesshowcasesaverypurposefuleffortbytheDepartmenttopost

uniquecontent.

TheNavyandArmybothhadabove3%interactionsamongtheirpages.Both

oftheirpagesreflectedmanyofthepositivecontent-engagingqualitiesofHomeland

Securityintermsofpostinginteractivequestionsandphotographs.

TheDepartmentofAgriculturetendedtopoststatusupdateslinkingtonews

storiespromotingAmericanfarmsandproduce.Oftenthesenewsstorieswere

postedontheirwebsiteandlinkedtofromFacebook.Theagencyalsosetupits

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

4

TalkingAboutPercentage

TalkingAboutPercentage


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Facebookaccountwiththepopularlocation-basedapplicationFourSquarewhich

allowsuserstosharetheirphysicallocationswiththeirfriends.Whoeverwas

managingthesocialmediaaccountfortheDepartmenthadchosentolinktheir

FourSquareaccounttotheirFacebookpage.Theentirestatusispostedinits

entiretybelow:

Aspreviouslymentioned,Facebookusersinteractwithstatuseslargelyin

theirnewsfeed,sotheaverageuserwouldseethestatusabovebyitselfamongst

updatesfromtheirfriendsandotherpagestheyliked.Thestatusbyitselfis

incrediblyvague,andutilizesterminologymeantforthemicro-bloggingwebsite

Twitter(#hashtags).Bazaaralsoisthefactthataphysicalagencyisutilizing

FourSquaretocheckintoalocationotherthantheirmainaddressinWashington,

D.C.Itmakesitseemasifthephysicalagencywasonatourofthecountryinsteadof

theagenciesstaff.Importanttoalsonoteisthatadministratorscantargettheir

statusupdatesbylocationsoiftheagencyweretryingtopromoteaneventin

Virginiatheycouldhavepostedtheupdatejusttotheirlikeswhoself-identifiedas

livinginVirginiainsteadoftoeveryone.


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TheDepartmentofJusticehadthelowestpercentageofinteractionsat

1.86%.Unsurprisingly,theirpagewasamongthemostmundaneofthegroupin

termsofcontent.Statusupdateswereoftenrepeatedmultipletimesandthe

administratorutilizedTwitter-language(#hashtags),thatdoesntmakelinguistic

sensewithinFacebooksinfrastructure.Belowisanexampleofarepeatedstatus

postedfivedaysapart:

Ifencouragingparticipationingovernmentisoneofthemajorreasonsfor

utilizingFacebook,twoadditionaldatapointsshouldbelookedat.Everystatus

updatetoFacebookallowsuserstoleavecomments.Thesecommentsofteninvolve

acitizensopinion,comment,orquestion.Theadministratorsofthepageshavethe

abilitytorespondtotheserealcitizenscommentsjustastheywouldviaanyother

communicationsmedium.Table3looksatdatapulledonNovember26th,2011from

thelastfivecontentpoststoeachpageandshowsthatnoneofthepagesresponded

toanycitizensleavingcomments.


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Table3

Agency

Interactingwith

Commenters?

UtilizingAdditional

Tabs?

VeteransAffairs NO YES

Army NO YES

Navy NO YES

HomelandSecurity NO YES

AirForce NO YES

Justice NO NO

Treasury NO YES

Agriculture NO NO

Interior NO NO

SocialSecurity NO YES

ManybrandsandorganizationshavebeenutilizingtabsonFacebookasa

waytofurthermarketthemselvesthroughvideoanddatacollection.Manyofthe

agenciesutilizedtabsbutonlytoputuptheirofficialFacebookcommunications

policies.Themilitarybranchesledthewayconcerningutilizationofthesespaces.

TheArmyutilizedtheirlandingpagetabsasstaticwebpageswould,havingtabs

titledSeniorLeaders,JoiningtheArmyFAQ,Videos,andHOOAHwhichservedas

theirdefaultlandingtabforpeoplevisitingthepage.Thatspecifictabisseenbelow

andservesasagreatexampleofadvancedgraphicanddevelopmentworkthatcan

assistinbrandingapagetobetterinteractwithFacebookusers.

FurtherAnalysis


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Bureaucraticinstitutionsplayacriticalroleinthelivesofeverydaycitizens

andshouldbeconstantlytryingtobetterstreamlinetheirprocessesandfoster

increasedinputfromthepublicatlarge.Facebookisalargepartofamajorityof

Americanslives,specificallyservingasaplacetoreceivecontentandinteractwith

information.Sincethisisthecase,bureaucraciesshouldutilizeFacebooktobetter

servenotjusttheirnicheaudiencesbutinformtheAmericanpublicabouttheir

missionsandsolicitfeedbackintotheirprocesses.Manylargebureaucraciesarenot

doingthat.

ThebestdeterminantofwhetheranagencywasutilizingFacebook

successfullyseemedtobetheagenysmission.Themilitaryagencieshaveatangible

needthattheothersdonot:recruitment.Allbureaucraciesneednewemployeesbut

theArmy,Navy,andAirForcearebentonrecruitingactivedutysoldierstotrain

andsendintobattle.Manyoftheserecruitsareyoung,whichmatchestheoverall

demographicsofFacebook,soitfitsperfectly.Theaggressiveapproachbythe

militarybranchescanmostclearlybeseenintheirallocationofmonetaryresources

indigitaladvertising.Duringthecourseofwritingthispaper,Ipersonallywas

servedadsfortwobranchesofthemilitarythatcouldhavetargetedmeanything

frommypersonalintereststoage.ThelargediscrepancyinsizeoftheFacebook

pageoftheArmywithover1,000,000likestothatoftheDepartmentofInterior

withbarely4,000likesistrulystaggering.

Besidesthedifferentinherentreasonsfortheseagenciesbeingactiveon

Facebook,anotherinterestingsetofdatatoanalyzewouldbetolookattheaverage


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ageofthelikesonbothpages.Onlythepageadministratorswouldhaveaccessto

thisdatabutitcouldshedsomelightonpageactivity.

Whilethequestionofanagencysmissionandissuepublicwouldseemto

haveaneffectontheorganicsizeandactivityontheirFacebookpage,itdoesnot

reflectwhatappearstobeapurposefullackofattentiontoFacebookbysomeofthe

discussedbureaucracies.Perhapsanexplanationdiscussedbrieflyearlieristhat

bureaucraciesareslowtochangeonalllevels.Buildingonthisnotion,itwould

makesensethatanolder,institutionalizedworkforcemightnotbethebestat

embracingsocialmediacenteredonayoungergeneration.

FewagenciesaffectAmericansonadailybasis,asdoestheDepartmentof

HomelandSecurity.Whetheritisairportsecurityorsecuritythreats,theagencyhas

averyimportantroleinsociety.Despiteitsrole,theagencyhasonlybeenableto

garneraround30,000likes,roughlythesizeofJuneau,Alaskaaccordingtorecent

populationestimates.Thepotentialbenefittosocietybyreceivingsecurityhazards

andupdatedtravelwarningswouldbehugeiftheDepartmentwereabletoreach

morepeoplethroughitspage.Itwouldbebeneficialtofindouthowmoneyinthe

communicationsshopattheagencyisbudgetedandifthereisaspecificreasonthat

theagencydoesnotspendmoremoneygrowingtheirreachonFacebook.

Thispaperdidnotdiscusstheformalsocialmediapoliciesofeachindividual

agencybutitdidlookintotheratioofFacebooklikestototalcivilianemployment

ateach.Inmanycasesevenif100%oftheFacebooklikecompositionofanagency

weremadeupofitsemployees,itwouldfallwellbelow50%ofthetotalnumberof

employeesonstaff.Certainlynoteveryemployeewantstoliketheirworkplace


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butitisinterestingtheincrediblylowpercentageateachagencywhoseemwilling

totaketheverysimpleactionofclickingthelikebuttonfortheplaceof

employment.Thiswouldmakeforaverygoodfollowuppaperonthemoodsand

patternsofacareerbureaucratonsocialmedia.

Ifasmentionedintheliteraturereview,agoalofincreasedgovernment

transparencyonlineistofostersocialparticipation,thenitseemsmanyofthese

agenciesaredoingsomethingwrong.ThemissionstatementoftheDepartmentof

Justicementionstheirpurposeastoensurepublicsafetyagainstthreatsforeign

anddomestic;toprovidefederalleadershipinpreventingandcontrollingcrime.

Thatisapowerfulstatementforanincrediblypowerfulagency.Despitehavinga

robustandinteractivewebsite,theagencyhasobviouslynotinvestedresourcesinto

promotingitsmissionthroughFacebook.Itisoneofonlythreeoftheagencies

mentionedthatdidnothaveasinglestaticFacebooktabdiscussingitsmissionorto

solicitfeedback.Italsohadthelowesttalkingaboutpercentage,largelybecauseof

theirrepeatedpostingofpressreleases,hardlyincitingparticipationamong

citizens.

Everyoneofthesebureaucraciescertainlyhasanexpansive,skilled

communicationsstaff.Theyalsolikelyhavelowerlevelstaffthatanswerse-mails,

letters,andfaxes.ItiscuriousthenthatcommentsleftontheirFacebookpagesgo

unanswered,evenwhendirect,relevantquestionsareaskedoftheagency.This

certainlydoesnotfosterparticipation-onecouldevenargueithindersit.Why

createaforumfordiscussionifthereisnotangiblediscussion?Answering

commentstakestime,butveryfewoftheothercommunicationsmediumswith


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theseagenciesarepublicwhichwouldseemtolenditselftoaneedfortwo-way

communicatingsoasnottoseemlikeavoidingpeople.

FacebooksEdgeRanksystemhasbeendiscussedthroughoutthepaperand

iscriticaltounderstandinghowthesocialnetworkpromotescontentofonepage

overanother.Sincethemorepeoplewhointeractwithastatusmeansthemore

peoplewillseethestatus,itcertainlybenefitsagencieswillingtoinvesthuman

resourcesinmakingcontentasinteractiveaspossible.Veryfewoftheposted

statuses,evenamongthemilitarybranches,soliciteddirectfeedbackfromFacebook

users.Thismeansveryfewstatusesaskeduserstolike,share,orcommenton

thestatuswhichraisesthenumberofinteractionsandthusthetalkingabout

number.Themoreinteractionsmeanthefurtherthereachofthepieceofcontent.If

theagenciesbegantomakepurposefulcallstoactionintheircontentpoststhey

wouldcertainlyseealargerresponserate.

Everyoneofthetenagenciesdiscussedhasawebsitewithmultiplestatic

pagesandinteractivecontent.Itseemsoddthenthattheagencieswouldnotwant

toutilizetheabilitytopoststaticcontenttoFacebookontabs.Overalltheusageof

tabswasseverelyunderutilizedacrossthetenbureaucracies.Notonlyweretabs

notappliedwellinmostcasesbutalsotheagenciesshowedalackofmonetary

resourcestodevelopingbrandedapplications,whichcouldfosterparticipationon

Facebook.Forexample,theDepartmentofHomelandSecuritycouldpostatab,

whichdiscussesairportsecurityproceduresandsolicitsfeedbackontherules.Not

onlywouldtheybeabletogaine-mailaddressesanddataonthosegivingtheir


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feedbackbuttheywouldbeproliferatingcontentthatalreadyexistsontheir

website.

Conclusion

AlltenofthelargestAmericanbureaucracieshavecheckedthenecessarybox

ofsettingupaFacebookpagebuttheirindividualusesofthesocialnetworkvaries

tremendously.Itseemsthemissionandnatureoftheagencieshassomeimpacton

thewaytheyapproachFacebook,whethertomarketthemselvesaggressivelyor

simplypostpressreleases.Thewidegapbetweenthosewhohaveinvestedmoney

intoarobustFacebookpresenceandthosewhohaventisreflectedbothinthe

publicsizeofapagebutalsointermsofadvanceddevelopmentworkonspecialized

tabs.

SocialmediawillnotbegoingawayanytimesoonandtherecentArabSpring

revolutionshaveevenputmoreemphasisontheneedforGovernmentsacrossthe

worldtoengagetheircitizensviatheseimportantmediums.Ascultureandcitizen

preferencesonwhereinformationisconsumedchange,itisultimatelytheroleof

governmenttoneedtoadjustwheretheyaresharingcontentinordertofostera

moreeducatedpopulace.

Facebookseemslargelytobeusedasacommunicationstoolforeachofthe

agenciesdiscussed.Rarelyisfeedbackbeingsolicitedandinteractionsofthe

agenciestoaveragecitizensarevirtuallynon-existent.HopefullyasGovernment

continuestoevolveinitsusageofdigitalmediumstoreachcitizensitwillmakea

determinationonwhetheritwantstoactuallyengagefullyinthechosenplatforms

orsimplydipitstoeinthewater.Sofaritseemsapparentthatunlessthereisa


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compellingself-interestedreasonforarobustFacebookoperationtoexist,the

agencieshavebetterthingstodo.


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Resources

Publishedworks:

AnalyzingtheRepresentativenessofInternetPoliticalParticipationSamuelJ.BestandBrianS.Krueger

PoliticalBehaviorVol.27,No.2(Jun.,2005)(pp.183-216)

Bureaucracy:ThreeParadigmsNeilGarston.Springer,1993TheBottom-upDesignofe-Government:ADevelopmentMethodologybasedonaCollaborationEnvironmentLeoAnthopoulos,PanagiotisSiozos,AlexandrosNanopoulos,I.A.Tsoukalas

e-ServiceJournal,Vol.4,No.3(Summer2006),pp.3-24

DigitalGovernment:TechnologyandPublicSectorPerformanceDarrellM.West.PrincetonUniversityPress,2005

EnhancingCivicEngagement:TheEffectofDirectDemocracyonPoliticalParticipationandKnowledge.CarolineJ.Tolbert,RamonaS.McNeal,DanielA.SmithStatePolitics&PolicyQuarterly,Vol.3,No.1(Spring,2003),pp.23-41

Socialmediafacts&figures:

DepartmentofLabor-GovernmentEmploymentStatisticshttp://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs041.htmNielsen-AverageTimeSpentonFacebookhttp://mashable.com/2011/09/30/wasting-time-on-facebook/FacebooksAdRevenueshttp://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008598AverageamountoffriendsperFacebookuserhttps://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

AgencyFacebookpages:

Agriculturehttps://www.facebook.com/USDA

AirForcehttps://www.facebook.com/#!/USairforce

Armyhttps://www.facebook.com/usarmyHomelandSecurityhttps://www.facebook.com/homelandsecurity


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Interiorhttps://www.facebook.com/USInteriorJusticehttps://www.facebook.com/DOJ

Navyhttps://www.facebook.com/#!/USNavySocialSecurityAdministrationhttps://www.facebook.com/socialsecurityTreasuryhttps://www.facebook.com/ustreasury

VeteransAffairshttps://www.facebook.com/VeteransAffairs

Facebook Bureaucracy and Citizen Participation(2)

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