Social Media in the Public Sector: A Guide to Participation, Collaboration and Transparency in the Networked World

Grounded in solid research, Social Media in the PublicSector explores the myriad uses of social media in the publicsector and combines existing practices with theories of publicadministration, networked governance, and information management.Comprehensive in scope, the book includes best practices, thestrategic, managerial, administrative, and procedural aspects ofusing social media, and explains the theoretical dimensions of howsocial behavior affects the adoption of social mediatechnologies.

Praise for Social Media in the Public Sector

"Mergel has produced a foundational work that combines the bestkind of scholarship with shoe-leather reporting and anthropologythat highlights the debates that government agencies are strugglingto resolve and the fruits of their efforts as they embrace thesocial media revolution. Social Media in the Public Sectoris a first and sets a high standard against which subsequentanalysis will be measured."

--Lee Rainie, director, Pew Research Center'sInternet & American Life Project

"Mergel is an award-winning author who again wields her storyskills in this book. She excels in explaining in concrete, practical terms how government managers can use social media toserve the public. Her book puts years of research into one handyguide. It's practical. It's readable. And it's an essentialread."

--John M. Kamensky, senior fellow, IBM Center for TheBusiness of Government

"Mergel moves beyond the hype with detailed, comprehensiveresearch on social media technologies, use, management, andpolicies in government. This book should be required reading forresearchers and public managers alike."

--Jane Fountain, professor and director, NationalCenter for Digital Government, University of MassachusettsAmherst

"Comprehensive and compelling, Social Media in the PublicSector makes the case that to achieve Government 2.0, agenciesmust first adopt Web 2.0 social technologies. Mergel explains bothhow and why in this contemporary study of traditional institutionsadopting and adapting to new technologies."

--Beth Simone Noveck, United States Deputy ChiefTechnology Officer (2009-2011)