This report came out yesterday, that bureaucrats, staffers and MPPs can’t access Facebook from government computers. This is a fun piece of information. Eleven per cent of the huge global social networking online community is Canadian, with Toronto being the largest network as cited in the Globe and Mail "with more than 500,000 members, the Toronto network easily beats New York’s 200,000 and London’s 360,000."

What’s this got to do with barf and all things food safety?  Well back in January I gave a talk at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs about reaching target audiences with food safety messages.  Talked about  YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia and Facebook — sites that all need to be monitored and utilized when trying to communicate with the under 30 crowd. The old mediums (newspapers, press releases, radio reports) just don’t cut it as a one-way channel for food safety, and using sites like Facebook allows regulators to dialogue with many Ontarians the way they are  comfortable.  By banning access, the Ontario Government is taking away a potentially great communication tool.

And how will the government know when their communication plans have gone drastically wrong if they can’t access Facebook and the "Ontario Government doesn’t care about food safety" group that may pop up.  Risk communication is all about engaging stakeholders, getting rid of Facebook access is a step backwards.

Oh, and by the way, the iFSN has a group on Facebook, so log on and check it out.

Facebook banned for Ontario staffers: Government services minister Gerry Phillips acted to ban Facebook use.
03.may.07
Toronto Star (Ontario)
Tony Bock
The province has quietly banned bureaucrats, political staffers and most MPPs from accessing the popular Facebook website from government computers.
To the surprise of thousands of Ontario government employees as well as Liberal aides, MPPs, and cabinet ministers, the 21 million-member social networking tool is now off limits.
When workers tried to log on to their accounts yesterday, they were greeted with the same "access denied" message that pops up on their screens should someone attempt to download pornography on an Ontario government computer.
"The Internet website that you have requested has been deemed unacceptable for use for government business purposes," the warning reads.
Facebook joins YouTube, online poker gambling websites and hardcore sex sites as verboten in any provincial government office across Ontario, said Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips.
But similar rival MySpace is still accessible to provincial government employees at work.
Tory MPP Frank Klees (Oak Ridges), a Facebook user, panned the ban, which does not affect Tory or NDP MPPs because they are on a different computer network from the Liberals, noting, "It’s a popular tool for communicating with the younger generation …"
"They should probably be a lot more concerned about … the inability of a cabinet minister to answer a question in the House, let alone can they answer a question on Facebook."