Taking a look at Twitter

Falkirk Council is taking part in a 24-hour social media event called ‘What we do' next week using the social media platform ‘Twitter'. On September 27, Falkirk will be one of 28 councils from across Scotland will tweet about services using the hashtag #whatwedo.

It is designed to raise awareness about the range of services councils provide across Scotland and to many different user groups.

It is also an opportunity for councils to experiment with what is rapidly becoming an important mechanism for service delivery - for example, during the severe weather last winter we used Twitter to update about school closures, road closures and other service updates.

With an estimated 100 million users worldwide, Twitter is a micro-blog allowing you to share information with your followers in a short form using no more than 140 characters. Falkirk currently has nearly 2000 followers and it is hoped that there will be a better understanding of ‘what we do' as well as greater sharing of information.

Cllr Craig Martin, Leader of Falkirk Council said:

‘We provide hundreds of services around the clock, 365 days a year. Sometimes people have a view that we only provide some services like refuse collection, roads and schools, and we are sometimes criticised for the money we spend. This exercise will give service users a chance to see one day in the life of a council and the full range of services provided. We face challenging times with budgets but it's important that people understand the kinds of services we provide".

Follow Falkirk Council on Twitter @falkirkcouncil

 www.falkirk.gov.uk

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