By Patrick Adrian
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CLAREMONT — After years of requests by community members, the city of Claremont has officially joined Facebook.
The city launched its new Facebook page — City of Claremont, NH Government — on Monday to provide a new vehicle for open communication and sharing information with the public.
Given the role of Facebook and social media as an informational tool in today’s world, “not having a social media presence does the community a disservice,” City Manager Ed Morris told the Eagle Times.
Morris pointed to the posts this past winter by the city’s Public Works Assistant Director Jeremy Clay as an example of how social media can both inform and strengthen the communicative relationship between citizens and the municipality.
Last December, Clay began posting announcements on community Facebook pages like What’s Up Claremont, keeping residents informed about the department’s road treatment plan ahead of upcoming storms and updated information about the work progress and road conditions. The posts have been resoundingly well received by the community, based on their responses of appreciation for the information and personable style of the messages.
Clay’s posts also shared details about projects and undertakings within the department. One post in particular about the department’s switch to a new type of molasses-based road treatment, caught the attention of local residents and organizations including the Eagle Times.
“His posts have been really welcomed by the community,” Morris said.
Two city departments — Parks and Recreation and the police department — already have their own Facebook pages, which they actively use to share public information. The Department of Public Works also created a Facebook page, though the page does not appear to be currently active.
Morris said that the Claremont page will be a hub for all the city departments to share news and information.
As for posting privileges, Morris said that while only city departments may add posts to the page, community members “for now” are allowed to comment.
“Our city staff will not be monitoring or replying to public comments,” Morris said. “We probably will be watching periodically [for inappropriate content], but we won’t be putting city staff on the job.”
Citizens who post should understand that the page’s intent is not for the city to have online exchanges with residents, but to make the city more open and engaged with the public.
Only five days since its launch, the page has 273 likes and 283 followers as of Friday afternoon. Morris first announced the new page publicly at the Claremont City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Residents have suggested a city Facebook page for several years. In absence of one, the community has relied on private-created pages. Arguably the largest of these pages is What’s Up Claremont, which city native Kipp Ryan created in 2014 with a stated mission to, “increase communication and awareness in regards to education, artistic and family-oriented functions in Claremont.” Today, What’s Up Claremont has over 12,000 members, including present and former residents as well as people from the surrounding area.
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