It’s time we had a social media minister!

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It’s time we had a social media minister!

Embracing the changing times, the politicians of today have got down to doing what they like best – talk! And what can be a better medium than the ever-growing social media world. Moving away from the traditional media of press conferences and television statement bytes, the government agencies all over the world have changed their way of keeping in touch with the masses. Right from Barack Obama in the US, to Shashi Tharoor in India, everyone has made it a point to be alive and kicking on various social media websites including Facebook and Twitter. Moving ahead with the new medium, our leaders are now online participants in many areas where their audience is gathering to collect views, news and opinions about everything they want to.

Using the social media as a platform to foster trust and dialogue with people, Government agencies all over the world plan to use websites like Twitter to alert the masses about national emergencies and safety precautions during times of need. Implementing the same, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in India has decided to develop fan pages, communities and accounts on various social media websites, wherein the basic idea will be to generate mass awareness about traffic rules, and hence reduce road traffic accidents by 50 percent.

The police forces in various countries are also affected by the addictive social medium of communication. In a recent incident a Chief Detective in the United Kingdom used Hashtags on Twitter to keep an eye on the activities of two groups, which were politically opposed to each other on their views. He checked out Facebook rumors of stabbings and vandalism, and posted on Twitter when the information was found to be false — potentially suppressing violent backlash. This use of the social media platform by the police is like a breakthrough in the entire security of any nation, as there is a constant two-way interaction amongst officers, hence creating a transparency in the entire working scenario.

Making optimum use the social media strategies at a whole new level, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has also developed a series of cellphone application and online widgets based on geo-maps, along with having accounts on all famous social media websites, to make the audience aware of what’s what there. The head of the FBI believes that by opening their minds to this new area of communication, spreading information about wanted fugitives or missing children will be a task which is much easier than before. Also, they believe that the social media will prove as an excellent tool to serve as a recruitment tool for the agency. The FBI has also gone to the lengths of putting up posters in the virtual worlds including Second Life, making people aware of the cyber-criminals they are looking for.

Catalyzing a tremendous cultural shift, the social media has proved to be extremely vital in the development of a basic infrastructure of government agencies all over the world, slowly and steadily giving rise to the concept of making the government more transparent and communicative.

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