3.1: New and Social Media Tools

Use Energy.gov, Facebook and other new media tools to educate and engage the public about the Department’s plans and priorities

Other Information:

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and the Department of Energy are using Energy.gov, Facebook and other new media tools to educate and engage the public about the Department’s plans and priorities. Secretary Chu’s Facebook page offers readers a series of regular updates and perspectives from the Secretary on a range of issues, and gives Facebook users the chance to comment, discuss, and offer feedback. Similarly, the Department’s YouTube Channel gives the public another way to learn about the Department and our National Laboratories, including how Recovery Act funding is spent. Recent videos include: * Kill-a-Watt Competition at University of Central Florida * Face of the Recovery Act: Sun Catalytix * Investing in Clean, Safe Nuclear Energy * Secretary Chu Speaks at the 2010 Washington Auto Show * Face of the Recovery Act: Johnson Controls * Energy Savings You Can Savor In addition, a number of Department of Energy program offices have Facebook pages, including: * National Nuclear Security Administration * Office of Renewable Energy and Environmental Efficiency * Office of Fossil Energy DOE utilizes machine-generated captioning which can be toggled on and off by the end user on all of its YouTube videos. Additionally, the Department partners with social media companies and the General Services Administration (GSA) to maintain user-friendly social media websites. For example, DOE’s Open Gov comment webpage collaborated with Ideascale which made modifications to the website interface to make it more accessible for screen readers.

Stakeholder(s):

• Secretary of Energy Steven Chu

Indicator(s):

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