By NCDOT Deputy Secretary of Internal and External Affairs Ted Vaden
In the past year, @NCDOT, the N.C. Department of Transportation’s main Twitter feed, has grown from about 800 followers to more than 4,000. NCDOT uses this free tool to connect directly with citizens to share real-time travel information, important safety messages and transportation news. Hitting this benchmark is exciting, because it shows people value the information we’re providing in 140 characters or less.
Gov. Perdue has made transparency and accountability a priority in her administration and social media tools offer taxpayers more ways to connect with their state government.
We use Twitter to let citizens know about opportunities to get involved in transportation planning, explain when construction projects may affect traffic, and offer ways to make travel by bike, plane, bus, ferry, or train more efficient and fun. We also used Twitter to connect with citizens after the destructive tornadoes ravaged parts of North Carolina this spring. With Twitter, we quickly passed on critical information on road conditions and closures. We were, in effect, the public’s eyes on the interstates. Twitter gave our citizens a simple way to “know before you go.” The strong increase in the number of people following us is due, in part, to the critical role Twitter played in those kinds of emergency response efforts.
But, Twitter is more than just a way to send information. It is a conduit for conversation between the department and the public. It’s an easy way for citizens to ask questions and get answers. For instance, we’ve been able to better explain why we handle snow and ice the way we do as a direct result of those conversations. Our Twitter dialogue has led to improvements on our DMV website, and it even helped keep a group of pigs loose on I-540 in Durham from causing big traffic problems!
Connecting with NCDOT on Twitter is easy. Visit www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter/ and click on the link for one of the department’s 21 different accounts, which include specific interstate routes, regional areas and the ferry division. You can also follow Gov. Perdue on Twitter.