Social Media Keeps Residents Informed

On May 10 the Hyattsville City Council adopted a social media policy. On May 11, the city's Facebook page was launched.

It's that important, according to Communications Director Abby Sandel.

"It's unrealistic to think that residents are going to stop and pick up their newsletter and read it from cover to cover," she said. "We're trying to be respectful of the fact that peoples' time is limited."

And having a Facebook account, a Yahoo! Listserv and Crime Reports available online allows the city to keep up with residents and news, which changes from moment to moment.

The city found out during the large snowstorm earlier this year what a challenge it can be to keep residents in the know.

"We found out that residents sign up for the daily digests [on the city listserv] so they [weren't] getting immediate updates," Sandel said.

Recently, the city's Facebook page has provided information about summer camp, volunteer opportunities and the farmer's market.

"It's just a way to tell a fuller picture of the work that the city does," Sandel said. "It really lets us give people more flavor for what's happening in the city."

The city doesn't yet have a Twitter account – largely because of the amount of staff time it would take to update it – but Sandel said there are plans for how it will be launched.

Meanwhile, on July 15, the city launched an EMMA newsletter for the department of recreation and the arts. Residents can sign up for this monthly update by visiting www.hyattsville.org/enews.

Other arms of e-news for city residents include the Hyattsville Wiki and the HOPE Listserv.

In 2005, Hyattsville resident Jim Groves transferred what was then the HOPE listserv to a Yahoo Groups listserv.

"It took a little work and some nudging of the those on the old one, but in looking at how the listserv was being used and what the potential of it's use could be, I thought it was the right thing to do. I was able to move the 80 or so emails onto the listserv and teach people how to use it. Today, we are at over 600 emails."

Groves said there are probably fewer than 200 participants, though.

"A lot of people get the Daily Digest which is one e-mail a day with all the messages of that day," he said. "Some days there are one or two e-mails, other days there are dozens. Just depends on the topic du jour."

Resident Chris Condayan created the Hyattsville wiki in 2006. Groves got involved and created the majority of the pages and content based on his own ideas and ideas of others.

"… Someone on the HOPE listserv started a discussion about where to eat," Groves said. "I then created the Stop Whining, Start Dining page. I'm an environmentalist, so I started all the environment pages."

Groves envisions a combined "Northern Prince Georges" or "Route One Corridor" wiki.

"So much of the information on the Hyattsville Wiki is just relevant to someone in Riverdale Park and Greenbelt," Groves said. "Why not have a shared site with a separate page for each specific town and all the other pages would be shared? Sounds like a good idea to me."