IBM Offering Govt. Social Media Training Courses

The IBM Center for the Business of Government will host a 12-week course on the government’s use of social media starting in February.

According to IBM, the course will provide training on several platforms:

• Social networks like Facebook and GovLoop
• Information networks like Twitter and Quora
• Blogging platforms like Tumblr and WordPress
• Wiki platforms like DokuWiki or MediaWiki
• Ideation platforms like IdeasWalk, Bubble Ideas, Web Storm, or IdeaScale

“They’re actually going to be making wiki-pages, they’re going to be starting blogs, they’re going to be learning how to tag content… all of the things we expect social media practitioners to be able to do,” Gadi Ben Yehuda, the center’s social media director, said in an interview with Federal News Radio.

“I think that having one person really look over social media is probably a good idea, but every single person in the office should know how to use social media,” he added.

Each session will run 1 1/2 hours and include a lecture from an instructor or a presentation from a guest speaker. IBM said the sessions will also include hands-on training.