Two and a half years ago, the City of Toronto didn’t have somebody in its communications division specifically focusing on communications online. Today, that person is Francine Antonio Forte.<\/p>\n
Forte has no small task: \u00a0in total, City of Toronto departments runs more than 120 accounts, profiles, and pages<\/a> on a variety of social media platforms. Forte, a 10-year veteran of the City\u2019s communications department, doesn\u2019t write each post: instead, she\u2019s in charge of administrating the City’s digital world. Her official title is \u201cDigital Communications Manager,\u201d a position that has only been around since Forte took it on in February 2013. It\u2019s been a big change for the City of Toronto, which highlighted increased city social media use in this year\u2019s budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSocial media provides this incredible opportunity to build and maintain public trust and transparency,\u201d Forte says. Various entities at the City of Toronto run: 56 Twitter accounts, 47 Facebook pages, 11 Youtube channels, four Flickr accounts, four Instagram accounts, two Pinterest accounts, one LinkedIn company page, and two Linkedin groups. The content of each is produced by the civic entity concerned, but Forte drafted the policies<\/a> that govern their use. She also trains staff in how to use social media, and works to make sure it\u2019s only used when necessary. \u00a0making videos for Youtube or running a Twitter account takes time, after all.<\/p>\n Still, the way the City\u2019s social media accounts are used shows that they fill a need. They form a large body of information and knowledge about the city that has far fewer physical barriers to access than, say, a trip to City Hall.<\/p>\n It’s also worth noting that while the social media material is in English, the City uses Google Translate for its website and social media platforms. “As with other communication channels, there are budget considerations that factor in to the City’s ability to translate messages and materials into the various languages spoken by Toronto residents,” Forte says.<\/p>\n For instance, there\u2019s @311Toronto<\/a>, which provides information about common problems like flooding, but also responds to queries and problems tweeted to it by people around Toronto.<\/p>\n .Report flooded road and sidewalk problems to 311. Basement flooding prevention: http:\/\/t.co\/auNMwPPEAA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 311 Toronto (@311Toronto) April 9, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n