What is your e-mail address?
My e-mail address is:

Do you have a password?
Forgot your password? Click here
close

Close

FBI expands use of social media

Bureau seeks to connect, share information with users

The FBI is looking for fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter to expand its ability to share information with millions of social media users.

The social media programs supplement other information technology tools the bureau has deployed in recent years to make it easier for people to submit tips and get news from the FBI, bureau officials said May 15. In addition to a Facebook page and tweets sent via Twitter, the bureau also has a YouTube page and is testing the usefulness of the virtual world Second Life.

Disseminating information on such sites about fugitives, missing children, threats and scams is an extension of the bureau’s longstanding effort to enlist support and help from the public, said John Miller, head of public affairs at the FBI.

“To reach out to the public, we need to be where people are, and we know tens of millions of people spend their time in social media sites," Miller said.

FBI officials also said the widgets the bureau has released have been popular, and they plan to release new ones in the coming weeks. In addition, more than 350,000 people in 80 countries have downloaded a privately designed “Most Wanted” application for iPhones and iPod Touches that is based on an FBI widget.

About the Author

Ben Bain is a reporter for Federal Computer Week.

Reader comments

Please post your comments here. Comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately after submitting. We will not post comments that we consider abusive or off-topic.

Your Name:(optional)
Your Email:(optional)
Your Location:(optional)
Comment:
Please type the letters/numbers you see above

eSeminar

  • Where Cyberwarfare and Cybersecurity Meet

    We invite you to attend the third event in this three-part series on Cybersecurity. 1105 Government Information Group will present a panel of government and cybersecurity experts including Gregory T. Garcia, the nation's first presidentially-appointed Assistant Secretary for CyberSecurity and Communications with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2006-2008; and Jeffrey Carr, cyber strategies consultant and author of Inside Cyber Warfare, in this editorial webcast on Tuesday, April 13 at 11 a.m., where they will discuss the cyberwarfare threat to both industry and government, as well as strategies to consolidate the wider cybersecurity mission. Read more

Federal Computer Week eNewsletters

  • Subscribe to Newsletters Subscribe

    Federal Computer Week's eNewsletters deliver the latest policy and management news to your inbox.

Highlights from the current issue