From the my earliest days in public service, I have kept with the rule that the private cannot be divorced from the public. That practice is a challenge with social media. I experimented with Facebook before taking command of an Army garrison (think small city) and then thought twice about using this as a messaging platform.

Moving from a "personal" Facebook personna to a "professional" one was a difficult transition as I couldn't seem to purge my views on from the public arena.

My credo is now to not be a Fan of a company or cause unless it is a business unit within the organization based on Federal Ethics rules for endorsement. In addition, it just makes good sense.

John, excellent advice and thanks for responding.

Personally, I try to stay away from businesses or causes which are in the community I serve to avoid any appearance of impropriety. However, I have been known to be a "fan" of services, products or companies that are far removed from the community and my career.

I dislike that the term "fan" is used because of the implication. I like twitter's use of "follow" much better.

I think those in city management should be connected to their community and receive newsletters and updates about what is going on but without providing an endorsement. I am only a student for now but I try to follow the ICMA code of ethics and other guidelines out there. I don't accept requests from political candidates but I do become a "fan" of all elected officials in the area just so I can see what is going on in the community and if anything coming up may have an effect on my area. But for someone that doesn't use facebook and the news headline reads "City manager is a fan of John Doe on facebook" sends the wrong message. So it is a hard one.

Just my $.02

Have any of your thoughts or opinions changed now that Facebook has changed their format for business pages? Now you can "Like" a business rather than being a "fan" of the business.

I posed the original question because this aspect of social media is new territory as it relates to ICMA and the Code. And the change to "like" rather than "fan" is plowing more new territory!! For businesses and other organizations (like ICMA), Facebook and other social media is a way to spread the word about your work. So the platform is definitely designed for marketing and advertising. But what does it imply to say you like something? Or if you "suggest to friends"? If it is totally unrelated to your work in local government, it seems to me to be fine. But what's the implication if you "like" a retailer in your town, bar or other business? Can you "suggest" the engineering firm to a friend who managers a city? Sorry...no answers, just more questions!

I believe this does violate our guidelines in the strictest sense. Whether we like it or not, our profession forces us to a higher standard of conduct then other professions. I sometimes think this is unfair, but it is what it is and I love what I do, so I figure it is a small sacrifice to make.

Has anyone considered the option to 'like' what organizations you see fit, but to change your privacy settings so that only your friends can see what pages you have 'liked'?