Praise for "Mergel has produced a foundational work that combines the best kind of scholarship with shoe-leather reporting and anthropology that highlights the debates that government agencies are struggling to resolve and the fruits of their efforts as they embrace the social media revolution. is a first and sets a high standard against which subsequent analysis will be measured." — director, Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project "Mergel is an award-winning author who again wields her story skills in this book. She excels in explaining in concrete, practical terms how government managers can use social media to serve the public. Her book puts years of research into one handy guide. It's practical. It's readable. And it's an essential read." senior fellow, IBM Center for The Business of Government "Mergel moves beyond the hype with detailed, comprehensive research on social media technologies, use, management, and policies in government. This book should be required reading for researchers and public managers alike." professor and director, National Center for Digital Government, University of Massachusetts Amherst "Comprehensive and compelling, makes the case that to achieve Government 2.0, agencies must first adopt Web 2.0 social technologies. Mergel explains both how and why in this contemporary study of traditional institutions adopting and adapting to new technologies." United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer (2009-2011)