How Much Work Should Washington Put Into Social Media?

The General Services Administration has put out a request for a research firm to look into how the public views Facebook, YouTube, and other social media. How much do Americans want the government to communicate with them through social media versus other channels?According to an announcement on FedBizOpps.gov, the GSA is looking for a company to do a $2.5 million online market research survey to measure citizen communication channel preferences, determine how much citizens trust the government with privacy and security issues, and find out whether citizens think that social media could enhance government services. Proposals are due by Feb. 26. The GSA also wants to know if Web services could be improved in conjunction with phone, e-mail, printed material, emerging technologies, and other channels.

It's a great question. Facebook, YouTube, and other social media have had a powerfully transformative effect on communications -- for people who use them. Social media will likely get even more powerful over time, eventually becoming as mainstream as e-mail and the Web are today. But they're still emerging technologies -- how important are they today? And how much resources should the federal government give to social media, given everything else it has to deal with -- the banking crisis, mortgage meltdown, rising unemployment, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the normal issues of running government for the most powerful nation in the world?

(Via Federal Computer Week.)