[An Inside Facebook post]
The U.S. Census Bureau is launching a huge nationwide campaign incorporating social media, broadcast media and print to encourage people to fill out their census forms this year. In the U.S., a census to count the population is mandated by the Constitution every 10 years principally to apportion federal representatives, but also for funding purposes like money for schools, roads and other infrastructure.
We reported in January that the Census Bureau had decided to incorporate Facebook into its campaign in a big way, principally to reach out to minorities and young people; at the time the Page had 360 fans, today it has more than 20,000. Today the bureau added a My Community application to their Page, with the help of page management company Context Optional. It enables the user to learn facts about their community, as well as get an idea for who else is supporting the census where they live.
My Community is a tab on the Census Bureau Facebook Page where users enter their zip code in order to see a Google Map of their community, as well as an animated graph of their community’s census results over time, starting in the 1800s. The app also asks users to publish their use of the app to their Wall and invite their Facebook friends to use it as well…[See the full post here]
