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Social and Digital Media at GAO

Posted on March 25, 2014
GAO supports the Congress in meeting its legislative responsibilities and helps improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. As our audiences—Congress, congressional staff, and the American people—become increasingly active on social and digital media platforms, we are also looking to those platforms to bring GAO’s work to them where they are. For social media, we use Twitter to share daily report releases, to announce our subject matter experts’ testimonies, and to help inform conversations around news and current events. On our Facebook page, we try to provide a glimpse into at least one of the reports published each day, using an image and a few short sentences to convey the message. We also use Facebook to announce events such as our AskGAOLive webchats. In addition, we have a presence on the professional networking website, LinkedIn, where we publish select job announcements, as well as other employment-related content. The digital media we use include platforms such as YouTube and Flickr to share video and images from our reports. We also produce podcasts in which we interview GAO officials on significant issues or recent reports. Because we recognize that our audiences are often on the go, we have also developed apps for Android and Apple devices, which are available on iTunes and Google Play. Bloggers and developers can also share GAO content with their readers by using our sharing widgets. We hope that having GAO’s information available on these social and digital media platforms will make it easier for our audiences to find and use the results of our work. Check them out and stay connected with GAO.
  •   Questions on the content of this post? Contact Chuck Young at youngc1@gao.gov.
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About Watchblog

GAO's mission is to provide Congress with fact-based, nonpartisan information that can help improve federal government performance and ensure accountability for the benefit of the American people. GAO launched its WatchBlog in January, 2014, as part of its continuing effort to reach its audiences—Congress and the American people—where they are currently looking for information.

The blog format allows GAO to provide a little more context about its work than it can offer on its other social media platforms. Posts will tie GAO work to current events and the news; show how GAO’s work is affecting agencies or legislation; highlight reports, testimonies, and issue areas where GAO does work; and provide information about GAO itself, among other things.

Please send any feedback on GAO's WatchBlog to blog@gao.gov.