How are government bodies using blogs?

Brent Leary author of Barack 2.0, was a guest speaker at the TypePad Small Business Center on Wednesday. He covered some of the lessons small businesses can learn from the hugely sucessful Obama election campaign online. Obama clearly believes in the power of this medium and his views are now spreading. It seems government bodies are now embracing this media. Researchers at the National Defense University now even view the use of social media as essential

Here are some examples of government bodies using TypePad blogs as the central point of their social media strategy.

DOT (Dept of Transport) have been blogging with us for a little while. They use their blog to address topical issues relating to transport like hybrid technology, motor safety and other initiatives. Their blog is a great way to add a personal and authentic voice to a large government agency, not to mention a way to extend the reach and impact of the work they do every day. You can also follow them on Twitter and subscribe to their posts by RSS or email

FEMA in Focus (Federal Emergency Management Agency) delivers details on natural disasters and emergency initiatives. Most importantly their TypePad blog will allow them to react swiftly to media and public demand for details when a disaster strikes.

Local government here in San Francisco is also realizing the benefits of TypePad. Their ethics commission blog is a great example of how they are embracing this media to their best advantage. TypePad provides a very easy interface that any one of their staff can use to post new content on the site. Check out the latest minutes from the ethics workshops, as well as the latest relevant research and  their updated agenda. Adding this content no longer has to go through the IT team.

All these agencies use TypePad Business Class for its account management and priority support. They know they can rely on us to host the conversations which allow them to connect more effectively with their readers.

Do you know any other examples of government bodies using blogging and social media tools to good effect? or a government agency that could use a web 2.0 wake up call? Let us know in the comments.