Social Media's Role in Economic Development

Let me start off by saying, "I am not an economist nor do I pretend to be one."  Okay, now that I have gotten the necessary disclaimer out of the way; this topic has been weighing heavily on my mind for quite a while now.  Whether you live in a metropolis or a the smallest of villages, economic development is something government officials have been struggling with since the beginning of time.  But, I will not bore you with the history lesson or, even, with the partisan political  rhetoric on the subject.  This is simply a posting of my personal observations.  

The use of social media in boosting economic development appears to be gaining a foothold.  I have recently seen an uptick in its use on Twitter, Facebook and Google + by offshoots of local government entities.  While these new entrants into the world of social media can initially be considered positive in nature, are they a little too late and, if not, are they targeting the right audiences?

My personal beliefs on the subject have always been that you cannot grow a community's economic base (businesses and jobs) without involving the prime stakeholders of the community in the process.  Boosting local economies through the promotion of business development while maintaining a sense of community involvement is by all accounts not an easy path to follow.  There needs to be a concerted effort of maintaining a balance between the business and residential communities.  This is not always an easy thing to do, under the best of circumstances.  However, there is one social media campaign that does deserve special mention.

Blueprint Binghamton is a "citizen-driven effort to plan for Binghamton's future and move our city FORWARD TOGETHER."  It is a major campaign by this upstate New York city to solicit the community stakeholders' input in the development of a new comprehensive plan.  While I can go on about their goals and what they want to achieve, that is for another time and place.  I only bring them up as an example of how they have embraced social media in a way that has not been done before by this particular community.  They have been able to access the power of Facebook,Twitter and YouTube in a way that should be used as an example by all those with a stake in economic development and community planning.  Through their use of offering the community a voice and sense of empowerment on how the area should grow and prosper, many of the negative attitudes that normally surround local governments and their efforts are minimized.

Granted, there are many more examples out there on how social media is being used to promote the economic growth potential and community involvement of various urban and rural communities.  This is just one example of many.  

Local communities, both their elected officials and the residents they serve, have been given a gift from the world of Social Media.  It is up to them on how they use the tools provided to them. That task I will leave up to them.