Social Media Usage and Policies

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Staying Informed and Involved Online

To highlight our commitment to transparency in government, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has launched 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 or complaints regarding agency services should be directed to Krista Selmi (617-626-1109) or Reginald Zimmerman (617-626-1052) and questions or complaints regarding agency services should be directed to Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs at ENV.Internet@State.MA.US (617-626-1000). 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"), Twitter, Flickr, and RSS Feeds.

Please note, that Records Retention Law of the Commonwealth requires the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 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.

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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.

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). 

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).

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To both increase transparency and save money on video hosting and streaming, we publish all of our video content to our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/MassEEA and embed the videos back on our site.

While we encourage you to subscribe to our videos, share them, comment on them (please note our YouTube Comment Policy), and embed them in your own sites. We often include additional context and information on our website that you might find helpful. Take some time, search around, and let us know if you can't find what you're looking for.

Also note that this video share is hosted by YouTube and is governed by YouTube's separate website policies, including its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These policies apply to your use of YouTube.

YouTube Comment Policy

We expect conversations to follow the rules of polite discourse and we ask that participants treat each other, as well as our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that include:

• Profanity and vulgar or abusive language
• Threats of physical or bodily harm
• Sensitive information (for example, information that could compromise public safety)
• Offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as they relate to the topic of the video. We will not post comments that include:

• Off-topic comments (If you have off-topic comments that are relevant to the Office of the Governor, please submit them via our contact page at www.mass.gov/eea/contact-us.html )
• Questions from the media
• Identical comments by the same user (please don't submit over and over expecting the post to show up faster) or multiple users (a group of people sending identical messages or one person submitting under different aliases). In the case of identical comments, we will approve the first submission.

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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 Secretary's Office as another way to keep citizens informed about what we're doing and as another way to get feedback.
 

You can follow Secretary Richard K. Sullivan and the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs on Twitter at twitter.com/MassEEA

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by EEA staff.
• Tweets marked with the letter R are sent by Secretary Sullivan.
• 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 EEA by another method (especially if what you have to say requires more than 140 characters!).
• While the EEA staff 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 energy or environmental issues but don't reference our account, " @MassEEA", 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 Executive Office of Energy and Environmental 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 Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, please visit the Contact Us page of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs website.

You can follow Commissioner Gregory C. Watson and the Department of Agricultural Resources on Twitter at twitter.com/MDARCommish

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by Commissioner Watson 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 Commissioner Watson but don't reference our account, "@MDARCommish", 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.

You can follow the Department of Conservation and Recreation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MassDCR

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by DCR 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 Conservation and Recreation (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 DCR and Commissioner Lambert but don't reference our account, "@MassDCR", 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 Conservation and Recreation 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 Conservation and Recreation, please visit the Contact Us page of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, website.

You can follow the Department of Energy Resources on Twitter at twitter.com/MassDOER

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by DOER 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 DOER by another method (especially if what you have to say requires more than 140 characters!).
• While DOER staff tweet directly and 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 Massachusetts DOER but don't reference our account, " @MassDOER", 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.
• DOER will not respond via Twitter to press inquiries, resident questions or complaints, or other constituent matters. For instructions on appropriate methods for contacting the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, please visit the Contact Us page of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, website.

You can follow follow Commissioner Ken Kimmell and the Department of Environmental Protection on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MassDEP

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by MassDEP staff.
• Tweets marked with the signature K are sent by Commissioner Kimmell.
• While we may follow people who follow us, a follow does not constitute a formal endorsement or approval of opinions or ideas expressed by the followed account holder.
• While we may retweet other content, a retweet does not constitute a formal endorsement.
• While we are interested in engaging with our followers on Twitter, please contact MassDEP by other means for comments or issues that do not fit very well in 140 characters. Twitter is not an appropriate method to provide formal public comments. MassDEP continues to accept formal public comment via email and postal mail for regulatory, permitting and other matters.
• While MassDEP staff tweet directly and the Commissioner and staff watch and update Twitter as much as possible, please recognize that we also monitor and maintain many other channels for feedback, outreach and engagement, both in-person and online.
• 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 energy or environmental issues but may not reference our account, "@MassDEP", and let that user know about our account. We periodically perform these searches to enable us to more effectively listen to and engage with constituents.
• While users may choose to comment via Twitter in order to ask questions, make complaints or provide information on constituent matters, MassDEP may chose not to respond back via social media to such inquiries or comments. MassDEP endeavors to respond to comments and inquiries in the manner most appropriate to the issue(s) raised.
• All press or media inquiries should be directed to our Public Affairs Office. MassDEP will not respond via Twitter to press or media inquiries.
• Your use of and comments to MassDEP on Twitter are also subject to the MassDEP Site Policies, including the Social Media Usage and Comments and Appropriate Use of Social Media Policies.
• MassDEP on Twitter is a micro-blog hosted by Twitter and is also governed by Twitter’s separate policies, including its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These policies apply to your use of Twitter as well.

You can follow Division of Ecological Restoration on Twitter at twitter.com/MassEcoRestore

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) staff.
• Tweets marked with the letter T are sent by Director Tim Purinton.
• 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 DER by another method (especially if what you have to say requires more than 140 characters!).
• While DER staff tweet directly and 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 ecological restoration issues but don't reference our account, @MassEcoRestore 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 Division of Ecological Restoration and the Department of Fish and Game will not respond via Twitter to press inquiries, resident questions or complaints, or other constituent matters. For instructions on appropriate methods for contacting DER, please visit the Contact Us page of the DER website.

You can follow Energy Smarts on Twitter at twitter.com/MAEnergySmarts

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by EEA 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 EEA by another method (especially if what you have to say requires more than 140 characters!).
• While the EEA staff tweet directly and 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 Energy Smarts but don't reference our account, " @MAEnergySmarts", 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 Executive Office of Energy and Environmental 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 Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, please visit the Contact Us page of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, website.

You can follow The Great Outdoors on Twitter at twitter.com/MAGreatOutdoors

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by EEA 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 EEA by another method (especially if what you have to say requires more than 140 characters!).
• While the EEA staff tweet directly and 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 The Great Outdoors but don't reference our account, " @MAGreatOutdoors", 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 Executive Office of Energy and Environmental 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 Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, please visit the Contact Us page of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, website.

You can follow Department of Fish & Game on Twitter at twitter.com/MassDFG

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by the Department of Fish & Game (DFG) staff.
• Tweets marked with the letter M are sent by Commissioner Mary Griffin.
• 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 may follow people who follow us, a follow does not constitute a formal endorsement or approval of opinions or ideas expressed by the followed account holder.
• While we may retweet other content, a retweet does not constitute a formal endorsement.
• 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 Fish & Game (especially if what you have to say requires more than 140 characters!).
• While DFG staff tweet directly and 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 DFG and Commissioner Griffin but don't reference our account, @MassDFG 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.
• All press or media inquiries should be directed to our Public Affairs Office. DFG will not respond via Twitter to press or media inquiries.

You can follow MassGrown & Fresher at twitter.com/MassGrown

Please note:

• The account is maintained and monitored by Department of Agricultural Resources’ 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 DAR 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 MassGrown & Fresher but don't reference our account, @MassGrown, 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.

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The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs posts all of our photos to Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/MassEEA/sets/.

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is responsible solely for the content uploaded to the official Flickr site, and not for any related videos or linked photos linked from other users, nor for any advertising or other content contained on the Flickr website.

If you'd like to use any of our photos for a story, blog post, printing, etc., we ask that you credit, "Photo Courtesy of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs."

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) posts its photos to http://www.flickr.com/photos/MassDEP/sets/.

MassDEP is responsible solely for the content uploaded to the official Flickr site, and not for any related videos or linked photos linked from other users, nor for any advertising or other content contained on the Flickr website.

If you'd like to use any of our photos for a story, blog post, printing, etc., we ask that you credit, "Photo Courtesy of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection."

Also note that this photo share is hosted by Flickr and is governed by Flickr's separate website policies, including its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These policies apply to your use of Flickr. For questions, please contact Kellie Ingram at Kellie.Ingram@State.MA.US or 617-292-5744.

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) posts its photos to http://www.flickr.com/photos/47802933@N06/.

MassWildlife is responsible solely for the content uploaded to the official Flickr site, and not for any related videos or linked photos linked from other users, nor for any advertising or other content contained on the Flickr website.

If you'd like to use any of our photos for a story, blog post, printing, etc., we ask that you credit, "Photo Courtesy of MassWildlife."

Also note that this photo share is hosted by Flickr and is governed by Flickr's separate website policies, including its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These policies apply to your use of Flickr. For questions, please contact Ellie Horwitz at Ellie.Horwitz@State.MA.US or 508-389-3605.

Also note that these photo shares are hosted by Flickr and are governed by Flickr's separate website policies, including its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These policies apply to your use of Flickr. For questions, please contact For questions, please contact Catherine Williams (617-626-1809) or Reginald Zimmerman (617-626-1052).

The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) posts its photos to http://www.flickr.com/photos/DER_Riverways/.

DER is responsible solely for the content uploaded to the official Flickr site, and not for any related videos or linked photos linked from other users, nor for any advertising or other content contained on the Flickr website.

If you'd like to use any of our photos for a story, blog post, printing, etc., we ask that you credit, "Photo Courtesy of Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration."

Also note that this photo share is hosted by Flickr and is governed by Flickr's separate website policies, including its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. These policies apply to your use of Flickr. For questions, please contact Chris Leuchtenburg at Christopher.Leuchtenburg@State.MA>US or 671-626-1547.

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Newsletters

The Great Outdoors Newsletter

This is a blog newsletter dedicated to engaging and informing Massachusetts residents and visitors about the Commonwealth's outdoor activities and events, wildlife, state parks, and local agriculture.

To subscribe to our newsletter simply send email to join-env-magreatoutdoors@listserv.state.ma.us

Energy Smarts Newsletter

This is a blog newsletter dedicated to engaging and informing Massachusetts residents and visitors about the Commonwealth's commitment to clean energy.

To subscribe to our newsletter simply send email to join-env-maenergysmarts@listserv.state.ma.us

CZ-Mail Newsletter

The monthly electronic newsletter from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), which provides information on major CZM initiatives, available tools and publications, upcoming workshops and events, grants, contracting opportunities, job openings, coastal legislation, and other news of interest to people working on coastal issues.

To subscribe to CZ-Mail, send a blank email to join-env-cz-mail@listserv.state.ma.us. For an electronic copy, see mass.gov/czm/czmail/currentczmail.htm.

Green Communities Updates & Newsletter

This email service supplies timely updates and newsletters related to the Green Communities Division of the Department of Energy Resources (DOER): Green Communities designation and municipal renewable power and energy efficiency grants;  informational webinars and events across the Commonwealth; resources for municipalities; energy management services; MassEnergyInsight; and more.

To subscribe to Green Communities updates and the newsletter, fill out this short form.

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While you can always check our site for regular updates, it's often easier to have information come to you. RSS lets you do just that. When you subscribe to an RSS feed, updates come to you as we post them.

We offer RSS feeds of our various department "News and Updates" listings of press releases and media advisories.

If you're unfamiliar with RSS Feeds and how to use them, please visit What is RSS?