Social Media Policy

Staying Informed and Involved Online

To highlight our commitment to transparency in government, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is using several new Web-based tools for outreach, education and information. These tools are not intended to replace the channels currently in place for press and constituent communication. Press inquiries should be directed to Catherine Williams at catherine.williams@state.ma.us or 617-626-1809 or Lisa Capone at lisa.capone@state.ma.us or 617-626-1119 and questions or complaints regarding agency services should be directed to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources at 617-626-1700. Rather, these tools are meant to enhance our ability to educate, empower, and inform the residents of Massachusetts.

Below are some of the many ways we encourage people to stay informed and engaged, including Commonwealth Conversations: The Great Outdoors weblog (“blog“), and Twitter.

Please note, that Records Retention Law of the Commonwealth requires the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to preserve records created or received by a state employee. Pursuant to this retention requirement comments posted or messages received via an official state agency page on a third-party web-site (such as an official agency profile on a micro-blog such as Twitter) will be treated as state governmental records and may be permanently archived. Information that you submit voluntarily through social media sites associated with this agency where such information is publically available, including your name, city or town, and the substance of anything that you post may be disseminated further by being posted online at this website or be  publicly discussed by a  member of the administration.

Commonwealth Conversations:
The Great Outdoors weblog (“blog“)

Launched in November, the Commonwealth Conversations: The Great Outdoors weblog ("blog") http://environment.blog.state.ma.us/blog/ is the official blog of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The blog provides information and a forum for activities, events, and fun facts about wildlife, agriculture, parks and outdoor happenings across the state. We encourage you to visit this blog often and participate by subscribing to and commenting on our posts. Please review The Great Outdoors description and the blog comment policy pages to learn more about how this blog is and is not used by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Commonwealth Conversations:
Energy Smarts weblog (“blog“)

Launched in April 2010, the Commonwealth Conversations: Energy Smarts weblog ("blog") http://energy.blog.state.ma.us/blog/ is the official blog of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The blog provides information and a forum for exchange of ideas about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and state energy programs and policies relevant to citizens and small businesses in Massachusetts. We encourage you to visit this blog often and participate by subscribing to and commenting on our posts. Please review the Energy Smarts description and the blog comment policy pages to learn more about how this blog is and is not used by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Also note that this blog is hosted by Six Apart and is governed by a separate Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Click here for Six Apart's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These policies apply to your use of the Commonwealth Conversations: The Great Outdoors weblog. For questions, please contact Catherine Williams (617-626-1809) or Reginald Zimmerman (617-626-1052).

Twitter

Twitter is a free social networking site that allows users to send and read other users' updates of up to 140 characters in length.  While people use Twitter in many different ways for both personal and professional reasons, we are using Twitter at the Commissioner’s Office as another way to keep citizens informed about what we're doing and as another way to get feedback. 
You can follow Commissioner Gregory C. Watson and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) www.twitter.com/MDARCommish

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by Commissioner Soares and his staff.
• We follow people back who follow us.  If you’d rather we not, send us a direct message and we’ll be happy to comply.
• While we try to respond to questions on Twitter as much as possible, if you have a question, concern or comment, you may still want to contact the Department of Agricultural Resources (especially if what you have to say requires more than 140 characters!).
• While the Commissioner does tweet directly and he and his staff watch and update Twitter as much as possible, please recognize that we also monitor and maintain many other channels of feedback, outreach and engagement, both in-person and online.
• To ensure that everyone's opinions and ideas are heard, feedback on Twitter is incorporated with feedback from public meetings, email, letters, phone calls, and in-person visits.
• Unless you protect your updates, messages you post on Twitter are public.  Because not everyone knows that we are on Twitter, we occasionally search for ‘tweets’ that talk about Commisioner Soares but don’t reference our account, "@AgCommishSoares", and let that user know about our account. We’re not trying to stalk anyone. We just want to let as many people as possible know that we’re listening and engaging.
• The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Affairs will not respond via Twitter to press inquiries, resident questions or complaints, or other constituent matters.  For instructions on appropriate methods for contacting the Department of Agricultural Resources, please visit the Contact Us page of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, website.

Also note that this micro-blog is hosted by Twitter and is governed by Twitter’s separate website policies, including its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.  For questions, please contact Catherine Williams at catherine.williams@state.ma.us or 617-626-1809 or Lisa Capone at lisa.capone@state.ma.us or 617-626-1119.