I was listening to NPR in my car and heard a small segment on Facebook's new Town Hall feature. I was intrigued. I decided to check it out later that day. I searched Town Hall on face book and found the following:
When you click on the link, you are directed to the pop-up screen shown below. Now, I suddenly felt unsure. What did it mean if I entered my address? Would it be added to my profile page? Who would be able to see that information? It is not that I am "hiding". However, I have purposely kept my street address of social media sites. It just seemed safer that way. (Anyone who needs to know where I live, has numerous ways to contact me for that information.) But, choosing to skip this step, limits what politicians will be connected in your town hall. Also, if you enter your address, then you get a constituent badge. The badge allows for your representatives to know you are one of their constituents when you communicate with them.
I decided to skip it (at least for now) until I had more information. Continuing on to my town hall page, I see my state and federal politicians. Beside each name is a button to "Follow" or "Contact". When you click on contact a window opens containing the person's office mailing address and phone number. I was surprised that not all of them included a link for email communication. Regardless it seemed limited in purpose and usefulness.
Perhaps it would be be better if it was more like the newsfeed on my Facebook home page, featuring the recent posts by all of my government representatives. What do you think? Have you used the Facebook Town Hall feature? Do you include you personal street address on social media sites?
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