It’s been almost a year since the Obama administration launched their version of whitehouse.gov, featuring a blog and videos embedded from YouTube. The White House social media folks also manage an active Facebook page as well as a presence on six other social media sites. So connected!

Here we 11 months later and I’m wondering if the social media habits at 1600 Pennsylvania have trickled down to the Cabinet. “Look, Mr. President, I’m blogging, too!” So today I made visits to each of the 15 executive departments that make up the President’s Cabinet to see which were engaged in social media.

Here’s the list—following each I indicate which they employ: a blog, Facebook (FB), YouTube (YT), Twitter (TW), Flicker (FL), MySpace (MS), or others.

Participating in Social Media

• Agriculture: Blog, FB, TW, FL
• Defense: Blog, FB, YT, TW, FL, other
• Education: Blog, FB, YT, TW
• Energy: Blog, FB, YT, FL, other
• Homeland Security: Blog, YT, TW
• Housing & Urban Development: Blog, FB, YT, TW, FL
• Justice: Blog, FB, YT, TW, MS
• Labor: TW
• State: Blog, FB, YT, TW, FL
• Veterans Affairs: FB, TW

Still in the Stone Age

• Commerce: They have a Videos page that doesn’t include a single video for all of 2009!
• Health & Human Services
• Interior
• Treasury
• Transportation

I was impressed to see 10 of the 15 are making a concerted effort to change with the times and take advantage of new (free) tools to engage with and serve this country’s citizens. I’m really surprised to see a few still in the Stone Age, particularly Health & Human Services. Now, they do run Flu.gov, which is active on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, but still, there are other health issues in the world, eh?

If government is of the people, by the people, and for the people then what better way to support that mission than to engage directly with the people? Agencies employing social media are not just keeping up with the President, or chasing a trend, they are actually better prepared to meet mission. The immediacy of information exchange provided by social media allows agencies to more quickly disseminate and respond to information. It makes it easier for the people to interact, too. One great example is an exchange I saw on the Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Facebook page:

Diane H.: I just found out that my daughter is living with a couple that has section 8 housing. My daughter is not part of their lease. They are having her pay to live with them. They have been caught in the past for section 8 fraud. What can I do?…

HUD Response: Hello Diane If you suspect section 8 fraud, please contact HUD’s Office of Inspector General at 1-800-347-3735. Please let us know if this information helps. [plus a link to the hotline website]

Voila! Easy for Diane—as easy as saying hi to any other friend on Facebook—and easy for HUD to put her in touch with the correct authority. Government in action.

Or how about this one:

Tammy A: How does one get a list of HUD housing or apartments in their community?

Brian M: Try HUD.gov, I believe this is the link you want: http://www.hud.gov/renting/local.cfm

Here we have two Facebook users exchanging information via the HUD Facebook page—the HUD page is the vehicle but no HUD folks even got involved. The Facebook page serves as both information vehicle and community. Good stuff.

Now, come on Interior, how about some YouTube videos or weather tweets about my favorite national parks!