The TSA Blog: Best Practices

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The TSA Blog Best Practices Challenges
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Time to Vent!!!
Over 2000 Comments On First Three Days
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Why Did TSA Start a Blog

• http//www.tsa.gov/blog
• Why?
• Engage the public (and TSOs)
• Debunk myths
• Explain the why of security
• Humanize workforce

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TSA Blog Statistics

• Launched in January 2008
• 168 posts
• 852,417 visitors
• 20,904 published comments
• 1,223 rejected comments
• Technorati Ranking 19,775

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Roadblocks for Web 2.0

• Number One Reason someone will tell you NO
• They dont understand Web 2.0 or what youre
  trying to do.
• Where are the roadblocks?
• IT
• Budget
• Legal
• Privacy
• Public Affairs
• Records Management
• Upper Management

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Blog Approach
IT Found the right IT people who understood Web
2.0. They worked IT security issues and built
the tool. Budget Used free software on existing
website infrastructure. Legal Asked them to
write the comment policy and review posts as
needed. We also ask them to blog from time to
time. Privacy Used a tool (blogger) that didnt
require people to register on our site and
allowed anonymity. Public Affairs Showed the
value of blogging. (kill media stories, correct
myths with all the facts.) Records Management
Met to explain the blog and crafted a policy that
reflected how blogging works.
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The Secret Sauce

• Find an internal champion
• Show leadership what others are doing
• Build support internally
• Develop a strategy
• Assemble your bloggers
• Thick Skin Humor a Must
• Develop SOP for the blog team

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The Secret Sauce (Continued)

• Keep it real no press releases!
• Refrain from tooting thine own horn.
• Capitalize on little victories
• Write to the reader, not the commenter
• Be Responsive
• Establish a relationship with readers
• Admit when you make a mistake
• Link to other blogs in your posts
• Dont be a robot
• Recruit guest bloggers in the agency (Chief
  Counsel, officers, etc.)
• Take the negative comments in stride you can
  learn something

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Key Features Meet Our Bloggers

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Key Features TSA Blog Comment Policy
This is a moderated blog, and TSA retains the
discretion to determine which comments it will
post and which it will not. We expect all
contributors to be respectful. We will not post
comments that contain personal attacks of any
kind refer to Federal Civil Service employees by
name contain offensive terms that target
specific ethnic or racial groups, or vulgar
language. We will not post comments that are
spam, are clearly off topic or that promote
services or products.TSA does not endorse,
support or otherwise promote any private or
commercial entity or the information, products or
services contained on those Web sites that may be
reached through links on our Web site.
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Key Features Delete-O-Meter
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Twitter Like a stone in a pond
We use Twitter to let people know what weve
posted on the blog. They can retweet to share
the info with their followers. We also handle
questions about posts.
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Use Information from your Blog.
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Kudos

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Transparency

One of the biggest challenges for a government
blogger is to be transparent. There is some
information that you just cant share.
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Posting Moderation Controlling Content

• Use SMEs to vet posts prior to posting technical
  info
• Develop a fast vetting process for posts
• Moderate all comments (Prevents Information
  Leaks)
• Allow anonymous commenters
• Dont delete comments simply because you dont
  agree with them
• Allowing your critics to comment shows
  transparency

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Blogging Benefits
Just one month after launch
Infrequent flyer said... Wow, reading this blog
actually makes me think that TSA might know what
they're doing. February 11, 2008 943 PM
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Comments
You thought my banana was a bomb. It was a
delicious and nutritious fruit.
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Comments
What is TSA doing to address the supernatural
threat? Ghosts could be breaching your
checkpoints all day long and youd never know it.
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Comments
Please ban all nail clippers from airplanes. Im
tired of stray clippings bouncing off of my head!
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The Feedback
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The TSA Blog - Feedback
You may not like some of the answers, but you
sure have to give TSA credit for taking the time
to answer them in detail -- even the ones that
were borderline rude. I think this blog has gone
a long way in TSA's goal of making itself more
accessible to the traveling public.
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Web 2.0 Next Steps
You have the President on your side. Educate and
bring your roadblocks along to your point of
view. Be friendly, not confrontational. But
dont give up. Find bloggers around you and show
that your employees, stakeholders and the public
are already blogging and your agency is not
currently part of the conversation. (work at
TSA on Google).
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Contact Information

• Curtis Bob Burns
• curtis.burns_at_dhs.gov
• tsablog_at_dhs.gov
• _at_tsablogteam
• http//www.tsa.gov/blog

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Thank You
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