Facebook wants governments to talk

It was the tool that facilitated the fall of several autocratic regimes in the region, but now Facebook is encouraging governments to make use of its platform to engage directly with its citizens.

In a region where censorship is sometimes more readily exercised than freedom of speech, talking directly with your local legislator may seem bizarre if not dangerous. But attitudes are changing according to Facebook, whose mission is to make the world a more open place.

As the largest social network in the world, Facebook is hoping to become the government’s communications tool of choice, not just in the Middle East, but across the world.

The US-based social network has introduced specific tools for verified government accounts to facilitate better communication including a question and answer tool that allows a public figure to respond to questions that have been ranked the highest by users.

“We are helping governments understand how better to engage and connect proactively with citizens. They can get feedback and advice which can be useful to them,” said Elizabeth Linder, politics and government specialist at Facebook. “In a place like Dubai people are already using social media to figure out if there is delay on the freeway, or where they need to go if they arrive newly in the country - it is in that space, in light of the smart government initiative that we can do something.”

After messaging and making calls, Facebook is the third most utilised application on smartphones around the world. In the UAE, 58 per cent of the total population uses Facebook.

“Social media is very valuable to government organisations as it is an almost free marketing tool that allows them to reach their target audience groups effectively and efficiently and create wide-spread awareness of the services they offer,” said Saeed Al Dhaheri, an independent researcher. “In the Middle East, more than 12 million people interact with governments via social media channels, sending as many as 140,000 tweets in Arabic and 270,000 in English.”

Dubai Police and the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) are already active members of Facebook and other social media accounts, updating their followers regularly on any road accidents or major traffic incidents in the city. More than half of all traffic fines in Dubai are now paid via mobile phones.

As usage of smartphones increase, Facebook may be used as a way to log into government services instead of signing up with an email account.

“We’re going to see a lot more use of mobile products and services with Facebook integration,” says Ms Linder. “We will see a lot more idea generation before policy is enacted, even Sheikh Mohammed (ruler of Dubai) used social media to ask the people what they wanted him to do for Ramadan. The people chose a new orphanage in the poll. Involving people in discussions gives them more potential to be part of society rather than be separate from it.”

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