As cities increasingly find ways to utilize technology in order to reach citizens and address their concerns more efficiently, it’s also likely there will be a shift in the way services are delivered by replacing government Web sites with popular platforms like Facebook. So the question arises as to whether or not cities will continue to rely mostly upon detailed Web sites if Facebook eventually becomes the primary way people access the information they need. Facebook is certainly popular and in many ways is replacing email and other forms of communication. As a result, cities may increasingly consider the platform as a way to connect, especially when the site already has so many active users. For instance, Government Technology reports that San Francisco’s Facebook page already has 260,000 “friends.” The Chief Intelligence Office for the city of San Francisco, Chris Vein, said the following of Facebook’s influence on how cities will relay information:
“On the city Facebook page, we have enabled all of the services that are available on our Web site. For instance, you can pay your parking ticket on the city Facebook site. "We‘re looking at this as just another portal into the city. It's an experiment."The so-called “experiment” is bound to change the way local governments organize and present information when compared to the maintenance of traditional city Web sites, as well as ease access and delivery of services for citizens.
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