How towns use social networking sites

Keith Loris, CEO of Sales Renewal, a company that specializes in Internet marketing, said social networking is about reaching people where they want to be reached.

"In general, information comes out in so many different places that the notion of 'You have to come to my Web site to find out about me' is outdated," he said. "At the end of the day, the easier it is for people to access information, the more people will access it."

And with town government, Loris said, social networking "makes democracy as easy as possible."

Loris said the possibilities with social networking are endless.

"(People) are starting that conversation, the benefits are obvious," said Loris. "It's a question of having the coordination and people who are willing to try it.

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Selectmen last night said they were interested in overhauling the town's Web site to include pages for businesses in town and connections to social networking sites, such as Facebook.

Planning Board Chairman Bill Ambrosino said his board has been looking into alternate options for the Web site so it can put more content up.

"We need to get information to the community, and (with the current Web site) it is nearly impossible," said Ambrosino. "We wanted to look outside the box, and (we found) a pretty good concept."

The Planning Board invited Keith Loris of Sales Renewal Corp. to the meeting, who gave a presentation to selectmen about what a new Web site might look like.

Loris proposed a site for all the town's information and all the boards and committees would be responsible for updating their own pages. In addition, the town's Web site would be linked to a Friends of Mendon Web site, where there would be a directory of businesses in town and each business would get its own Web page.

The Friends of Mendon page would would be members only and probably have a fee attached, Loris said. The site would include a calendar of business deals, a place to purchase "Mendon Money," or money that could be used exclusively at businesses in Mendon, or Mendon gift certificates.

Everything would be done electronically, Loris said. For example, if someone wanted to purchase a gift certificate for the Mendon Greenhouse, the money would come out of the buyer's account and go directly to the business' account.

Loris said the Web site would be able to connect with people on Facebook or Twitter, so people who don't typically go to the town's Web site could still get updates on sites they regularly visit.

Anyone who wishes to edit the Web site would receive administrative rights, said Loris, and those rights can be as limited as the town chooses.

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