Posts about Twitter

Bjorge and Lisle both left the agency earlier this year. Since then, tweets to DDOT have been answered slowly, or not at all. When these latest boilerplate tweets started coming out on Monday, the backlash was palpable.

DDOT spokesperson Monica Hernandez insists that the agency is trying to get back on top of its Twitter game and has no intention of letting its social media presence continue to slide. "Those responses don't represent a new direction we're taking," she says, and went on to state that the automated replies are "not effective" and are "being addressed."

The concerns they've heard have hit home for the agency. "This brings to light the role our followers play when it comes to our communication here," says Hernandez. "They are our eyes and ears, and their feedback is critical."

That's a great outlook, but it's even better when put into practice. Since Twitter has played such a vital role in communication between DDOT and District residents over the past few years, I hoped that the department would recognize the value in bringing on other social media-literate employees after the staff changes took place. Instead, District residents have lost one of the most reliable means of communicating with the city about transportation issues.

Hernandez was unable to say whether Bjorge and Lisle had undergone any special social media training, or what kind of training is being provided to those currently at the feed's helm. She mentioned that DDOT's goal was to have more than just two people running its Twitter account, as questions and requests could be answered faster if there are more hands on deck.

Whatever the method, let's hope that DDOT's social media growing pains end soon. The agency has a great model for how to do social media right—its own past. Many agencies may face a long road building the in-house capacity to use social media well, but it's sad to see one so quickly lose its expertise and success.

J. T. E @jtedc

"The only constant is change. Unless you get a small group of neighbors together to stop it."  — Heraclitus

SharrowsDC @sharrowsdc

"Be the obstruction you wish to see in the world."  — Mahatma Gandhi
 

David Alpert @alpert

"If they have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; now, argue they violate zoning."  — Henry David Thoreau

David Alpert @alpert

"Life has no smooth road for any of us; but at least it has no overhead wires."  — William C. Doane

David Alpert @alpert

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door, but only as long as it's not visible from the street."  — Milton Berle

Brandon Essley @No_Brand_Hero

"If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him and preserve your property values."  — Lin Chi

The Greater Marin @theGreaterMarin

"The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the other woes of mankind, is a parking minimum."  — Thomas Huxley

Emily @stayawaystars

"Ask not what your community can do for you; ask what your community can not do for anyone else."  — John F. Kennedy

Emily @stayawaystars

"Whenever God closes a door, he keeps out undesirable elements that bring down the property values."  — Maria, in The Sound of Music

Marc Mitcham @TwoWheelsDC

"Good fences make good neighbors as long as they're no taller than 7 ft and made of period-correct materials."  — Robert Frost, based on a proverb

Aimee Custis @AimeeCustis

"Inaction may not always bring happiness ... but there is no happiness without inaction."  — Benjamin Disraeli

Emily @stayawaystars

"If I have seen a little further, it is because of the height limit and absence of overhead wires."  — Isaac Newton

Ron Knox @ronmknoxDC

"It is by acts, and not by ideas, that people ensure the bar down the street cannot have a patio."  — Anatole France

Emily @stayawaystars

"Let he who would move the world, first complete an environmental impact assessment and a 90-day public comment period."  — Socrates

mikezdc @mikezdc

"Give a man a fish and you feed him a day. Move the food kitchen off your block and it's not your problem anymore."  — Proverb

Emily @stayawaystars

"Better to light one small candle than to allow one small solar installation."  — Proverb

♭oſsi @thisisbossi

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I don't want a stop sign. That would make all the difference."  — Robert Frost

Chewy @CapCityChewy

"It takes a village to raise a child, but only if all of the structures are of a neutral palette."  — Proverb, popularized by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Marc Mitcham @TwoWheelsDC

"Home is where the heart is, unless you don't have a permit for it."  — Proverb
 

J. T. E @jtedc

"How many roads must a developer walk down, before they accept the amenities package?"  — Bob Dylan

Jacqueline Dupree @jacdupree

"We shall fight in parking lots, we shall fight in empty fields and on wide streets, we shall never surrender."  — Winston Churchill

Kevin Bourne @kevinrbourne

""Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of condos."  — Martin Luther King, Jr.

SharrowsDC @sharrowsdc

"I've been to the mountaintop. Because it blocked my view and it never should been approved in the first place."  — Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Greater Marin @theGreaterMarin

"A man's home is his castle, and his neighbor's home is his moat."  — Proverb
 

Eric C. @transbay

"For what do we live, but to make sport by subjecting our neighbors to endless discretionary review for minor additions?"  — Jane Austen

Randall Myers @ranpuba

"The best laid plans take 40 years to complete."  — Robert Burns
 

Mr. T in DC @MrTinDC

"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself, and main street turning into another Adams Morgan."  — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Randall Myers @ranpuba

"All the world's a stage ... and you better have a zoning variance or it's coming down."  — William Shakespeare

Eric C. @transbay

"If you would build something, you must first be something. But really, it's better just to not build anything."  — Goethe

Christopher Kidd @BikeBlogChris

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win, then they build nothing."  — Mahatma Gandhi

Tim Rood @Rood4Piedmont

"If we are together, nothing is possible."  — Winston Churchill
 

Randall Myers @ranpuba

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you—unless they covet a sidewalk—then hit them with an injunction."  — Proverb

Tim Rood @Rood4Piedmont

"If they can dream it, you can stop it."  — Walt Disney
 

Emily @stayawaystars

"Never tell me the sky is the limit when the zoning code clearly imposes a stricter limit."  — Paul Brandt

SharrowsDC @sharrowsdc

"A house divided (into multiple units) cannot stand."  — Abraham Lincoln
 

Tiffany Bridge @tiffany

"Teach your children well, so they don't live in off-campus group houses and throw loud parties while I'm trying to sleep."  — Graham Nash

Mr. T in DC @MrTinDC

"A chicken in every pot, NOT in every backyard!"  — Herbert Hoover
 

City Beautiful 21 @citybeautiful21

"Scuttle no small plans. They have no magic to stir single issue individuals into a group of people against everything."  — Daniel Burnham

What would you add?

Three pyramids suddenly appeared in Burtonsville, Dan Reed revealed, and DC Metrocentric broke the news about a million square foot development on Roosevelt Island, in the Potomac.

Besides the "passengerless cars" we reported on, Google took another step in their driverless car program by partnering with NASCAR to develop autonomous race cars.

Planetizen noted that a San Francisco pop-up store has qualified as historic. Cleveland, unable to afford a bicycle sharing program, launched a bicycle stealing program.

New York introduced a left-handed turnstile, says Transportation Nation, Project for Public Spaces started a new campaign to give public spaces rights just like people and corporations, and Philadelphia announced new sidewalk lanes for people texting.

In not-fooling April Fool news, DC's political Twitterati concluded that, as it happens, the 2014 primary election in DC will actually fall on April 1, unless the council takes action to modify the ridiculously early primary date they established beginning this year.

Did you see entertaining articles not listed here? Post them in the comments.

As Curt explained, the urban conversation in Indianapolis hasn't come as far as it has here. As a result, Urban Indy plays a large role in introducing Indianans to planning concepts. Curt recounted an instance where the print media came to him about a bike path. He was able to help the reporter (and the readers) to get the terminology right and understand was was at stake.

And that's really how I see the role of Greater Greater Washington. Not as a way of bringing people over to our opinion, but as a way to give people the tools they need to be a productive participant in the conversation.

And while transforming the dialog is a great thing, social media can fill other roles, too. Metro's Nat Bottigheimer mentioned in a panel an idea for a social media network geared toward transit users. It could let transit riders share their experiences, and could help new riders to learn how to get started. While a new social medium may or may not be forthcoming, it is possible to leverage the platforms that already exist.

We heard from representatives of several public sector agencies about the role social media plays in their communication strategies. The Utah Transit Authority has a strong presence in cyberspace; using Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Foursquare, YouTube, and with three blogs catering to different user groups.

I was impressed with the idea of using Foursquare and blogging to help riders (and potential riders) find things they could use transit to get to. Foursquare has always been one of the social media tools I've not found much use for. But as a spatial tool, it could prove helpful to transit agencies.

UTA's representative, Tauni Everett, also talked about using Twitter to engage the public. A recent spate of hearings about a fare hike drew less than 20 attendees to the 7 meetings held in the six-county UTA service area. But an online public hearing using Twitter generated hundreds of comments, all of which were counted in the public record.

We also heard from people from goDCgo and Nashville's MPO about different initiatives to reach out and use new tools. For planning to be effective, it needs public participation. In today's fast-paced world, it can be difficult to engage people in traditional ways. Using social media is proving to be a way to connect with new voices and regular participants alike.

In our region, agencies are using new strategies for communication as well. Metro, for example, has started to engage riders on Twitter. And the planning department there has started its own blog to help broaden the dialogue.

How do you see the role of social media and blogging as a part of the planning conversation? How could agencies like DDOT and WMATA improve? And what's the next generation of social media?

Washington Life Magazine listed Walls as one of the "Titans of PR" last year. He ran Walls Communications prior to becoming the head of communications at FEMS. (It appears that the regular website of his firm has been scaled back, with a more detailed site residing here.)

The site boasts of "transforming [communications] challenges into successful and measurable results." Is less communication with residents the kind of results the city is looking for? (Incidentally, Walls is on Twitter, but he doesn't appear to have mastered use of it as a communication forum.)

Put simply, Pete Piringer ran a fantastic service while working at FEMS. I'm one of the three people who worked on compiling the Struck in DC (@struckdc) twitter feed, and we relied on timely information from @dcfireems to keep people aware of how many pedestrians and cyclists had been victims of incidents involving vehicles in the city for over a year. Without the information that Piringer supplied, our service has withered on the vine.

In September, the feed went silent. Concerned reporters and blogs initially thought Piringer had just gone on vacation, but officials later revealed that they'd stopped the feed.

Walls told DCist, "I'd rather be slow and right than fast and wrong," and, "Social media is for parties. We ain't givin' parties." Instead of a sneering, derisive taunt, Walls should be able to see, as a communications professional, the value of actually "communicating" with citizens.

In response to objections, the Mayor promised on September 22 that @dcfireems would not be "filtered" or "silenced." This temporarily assuaged frazzled nerves, but the goodwill was short-lived. The @dcfireems feed has not mentioned a single struck pedestrian or cyclist since August 29. While it would be wonderful if no such crashes have occurred since then, we already know that's sadly not the case.

Since September 22, @dcfireems has tweeted more about the fire chief's weight and pictures of the mayor with McGruff the Crime Dog than the information it was known for prior to September 1. That's a shame. A valuable service is gone.

Meanwhile, Piringer has been moved to work for the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia, where he will work on publicizing things like ceremonial documents.

Because Pete Piringer was busting his butt, he got busted down a notch (contrary to what Lon Walls would like to have us believe). Instead of other agencies stepping up their game to try to match his, we instead get the lowest common denominator. It's depressing to think that might be official policy from the executive branch.

Members of the Gray administration have essentially declared that those who perform above and beyond the call of duty will be punished for their hard work. If Mayor Gray himself does not see this for the "buck stops here" situation that this is, we can only assume he condones such thinking. If I were an ambitious employee looking to make my name as a civil servant, I certainly would look somewhere besides the District of Columbia to ply my trade.

Cross-posted at The District Curmudgeon.