Puppet Master or Social Media Savvy?

The White House press corps is in a tizzy over the White House's preference for using social media rather that mainstream news media to reach the American public.

Politico bloviated on the topic Monday with its usual sense of outrage, fueled by quotes from angry White House correspondents.  The article, headlined "Obama, the Puppetmaster," stated that the White House "has taken old tricks for shaping media coverage (staged leaks, friendly interviews) and put them on steroids using new ones (social media, content creation, precision targeting)."

Bypassing the national media in favor of going directly to the public is simply good public relations, as PR Newser describes in an analysis of the Politico story.  A basic tenet of communications theory is the direct to public approach.

Yes, the President is bypassing the media, which, as a recovering journalist I abhor.  Is using Twitter, YouTube and other social media tools an effective way to reach the public unfiltered by the media?  Here's a way to figure that out.

The General Services Administration this week released a set of recommended social media metrics for use by Federal agencies.  According to GSA, the metrics "provide a framework for agencies to measure the value and impact of social media in addressing agency message and goals.  The aim is to move beyond obscure results of social media activities towards more sophisticated and more accurate assessments, leading to better informed decision-making."

The release of the recommended social media metrics is a clear indicator of the maturing of the Administration's Digital Government Strategy.  When my agency first began exploring the use of Facebook and YouTube nearly three years ago, I and other new media advocates were hard-pressed to illustrate a clearly-defined return on investment.

These metrics help quantify ROI. They are worth a read.