Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler has pulled the plug on his plans to hire a new staff member to use Facebook, Twitter and other new media to help the county communicate with citizens.
After KPTV (channel 12) broke the story on May 8th about the $70,000-a-year job and national blogs followed up, Wheeler said he was deluged with hundreds of responses both for and against the hire.
Many of those responses, of course, came through his own Facebook and Twitter pages.
Some of the strongest words came from county staffers who face layoffs in the current budget crunch. Wheeler says some felt they were forced from their jobs so he could hire someone to Twitter, which was not the case.
But over the weekend, Wheeler says, he and his staff decided they’d lost control of public perception on the issue. When he was confronted by angry county staffers at a brown-bag lunch he attended on Monday, Wheeler told them he no longer intended to fill the position, which still is advertised on the county’s website.
“I agree there is an issue of sensitivity and timing,” Wheeler says. “We knew over the weekend that because of the way this had been presented to the community, it would overshadow our budget process.”
Wheeler may have lost the battle, but he says he hasn’t abandoned his larger strategy.
He says after the news of the job offer broke, he received support from around the world for the idea of using new media to make county government more accessible. He says he’ll continue to pursue that goal, but without a new hire.
“Frankly, I’m proud that Multnomah County is leading the way. It’s going to make us more responsible to our citizens,” he says. “They’re going to have a direct opportunity to communicate with us.”
See tomorrow’s WW for more on this story.
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Tags: Facebook, Ted Wheeler, Twitter
Good for you, Ted! What exactly are the advantages of Tweeting to the constituents during the recession, anyway? Got some “frost bitten strawberries you were chomping at the bit to tell us about?
Besides, if you’re buying into the idea that hiring a Tweeting Twitterer will somehow make you more more on top of Multnomah’s problem solving game…we’ve got a bridge in Sellwood to sell you.
Another example of the media (in this case Fox 12) looking for a “controversial” story on a slow news day. The job wasn’t just about Twittering. It was essentially the same PIO (Public Information Officer) type of job that almost every government agency employs, only they wanted someone with a fresh take on communicating that information to the public.
And, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t creating a job during a recession a good thing?
Thanks Fox 12, for leaving myself, and the other hundreds of people out of work in Oregon, with one less job to apply to.
You can learn more about twitter at http://www.twitter.com/
Exactly.
I just checked the Mayor’s Twitter to see what illuminating news he’s been broadcasting lately…
How much were you planning on paying someone to Tweet for you Chair Wheeler? I’ve have a 15 year old niece looking for a summer job. She could do at least as good a job as the Tweets on Sam’s Twitter, and at a huge savings to the tax payers. She’s also a regular donator of chunks of her baby sitting money to Oregon food banks in town, a win win win.
I do my own, but thanks for the kind offer.
[...] UPDATE..There will be no such job. [...]
Anyone remember the job created by the county for a “Klingon” language interpreter? Their long standing tradition for seeking to communicate with the constituency continues, whether they be in cyberspace or outerspace. Way to go Ted.
Why can’t Chair Wheeler assign one of his existing staff members to handle the social networking. Interestingly, Chair Wheeler has 11 staffers in his office alone – which is 10 more than his Washington & Clackamas counterparts. Since most of Multnomah County is covered by incorporated urban cities, what is there to twitter about anyway? Just run the jails, hire the dog catcher, and keep the bridges from falling down. Nothing more and nothing less.
[...] WWeek post [...]