Why has the City of Greensboro reinvented the wheel by establishing a second Twitter account to promote the Google initiative?

The city’s original Twitter account can be found at http://twitter.com/greensborocity. Looking at the account you’ll see that they are following 4 people (not a best practice) and have a total of 1,430 followers, which is a sizeable amount.

A new Twitter account has been established for the Google initiative and can be found at http://twitter.com/GoogleGSO. In comparison with the original account this one is following 110 people and has 46 followers.

46 followers compared to 1,430 followers…

I appreciate branding, but reinventing the wheel and ignoring a mass means of communication that is already established would not have been my recommendation.

Furthermore, the Twitter account will be actively promoted during this initiative and the City could have used this opportunity to grow the base of their original account. Had a second meeting been scheduled to discuss social media/marketing ideas this could have been easily flushed out.

PS – I’m still wondering where Mayor Bill Knight is… maybe he prefers Bing.

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“What ifs” about Trudy Wade’s Council Seat

by ryan shell on March 4, 2010

As you’ve probably heard by now, the District 5 council representative Trudy Wade has entered the NC Senate District 28 race. Wade, who is no stranger to the campaign trail and fundraising, is “going to win” according to one of her supporters that I recently spoke with.

It’s time for some “what ifs” so I sent Pat Boswell with the City of Greensboro the following question,

“Hypothetically speaking, if Trudy Wins the State Senate seat, what is the process for finding her replacement mid-term? Also, once that replacement is found and council votes, what happens if the vote is 4 yes’s and 4 no’s? Who is the deciding vote?”

Pat’s response (forwarded from legal) is below,

“Ryan, here’s what I’ve been able to get you. At the current time the only portion Legal can answer is that the Council must name her replacement.  There are several other issues such as the “tie” issue; can she vote for her replacement if she is not yet sworn in as Senator; etc.  They’ll get to those in the immediate future.”

If a tie was to take place, and with this council anything appears to be a possibility, could the Governor be breaking a tie in Greensboro? I’ll let you know what Legal has to say.

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Dilapidated Home Virtually Unchanged in 3 Years. Acceptable?

March 3, 2010

ShareThere are many parts of Greensboro that a lot of people never see or get exposed too. Some of these areas in particular are plagued by crime, drugs, prostitution… and a lot of rundown houses. One thing I’ve tried to do for some time is highlight the areas in question and highlight things that may [...]

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Where is Mayor Knight?

March 2, 2010

ShareGoogle’s high speed network is a popular topic of discussion amongst various members of the community and the City, but is that the case for Bill Knight, the Mayor of Greensboro?
Knights campaign Web site lists the following items under the “What do I offer as a candidate for mayor?” section:

Fresh leadership (Has he provided leadership with [...]

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About the Second Google Meeting

March 1, 2010

ShareI previously highlighted the need for a second Google meeting and highlighted several objectives for that meeting. Unfortunately the City isn’t on board. I just received this from Denise Turner who is heading up the project,
“Ryan, I don’t think our timeline allows time for a second meeting. I understand your concern and am working diligently [...]

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Happy Birthday to Councilmember…

February 26, 2010

ShareHappy Birthday to At-large Councilmember Nancy Vaughan. She turns 36 today.

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Another Google Public Meeting

February 25, 2010

ShareI would like to see another Google public meeting called – possibly sometime within the next week, to discuss the ultra-high speed network initiative.
The purpose of this meeting is to:

Bring all interested parties, and their resources together
Discuss what is currently in the works (if anything)
Brainstorm ideas on how to make Greensboro stand out (this should be [...]

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Google Meeting and Various Notes on the Project thus Far

February 25, 2010

ShareTwenty or so people attended last nights public meeting (Fox 8 coverage) about Google’s ultra-high speed broadband network.
I attended the meeting and tossed out the idea of creating a municipal Wi-Fi network that would provide revenue for community based projects. My reasoning for suggesting an idea of this nature was to highlight the need to come up with [...]

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Video: Why You Should live/Open a Business in Wilson, NC

February 24, 2010

ShareNo, I’m not saying you should pick up and move to Wilson, NC, but I am highlighting how Greensboro could use things like video to help promote the many great things the city has to offer.
Wilson, NC is a city of around 50,000 people and is about one hour from Raleigh. They’ve created the video [...]

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Greensboro Coliseum Budget: Could it be Reduced?

February 24, 2010

Share“Councilwoman Trudy Wade argued that if the coliseum had room in its budget to fund a new project like the outdoor theater, the money might be better off being given back to the city at the end of the fiscal year.
“We as a council need to look at that,” Wade said. “You are already working [...]

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