as seen in the Wausau Daily Herald • January 18, 2009
When Tina Kollmansberger moved to Weston five years ago, the first place she checked for local information was Facebook.
At that point, the village didn’t have a presence on the social networking site. But Kollmansberger, 31, — who serves on the village’s finance committee — is one of many reasons Weston started its own Facebook group in December. Already, the group has more than 40 members.
“We’re trying to find ways to reach out to the younger residents because they’re usually so busy,” said Nathan Crowe, director of information systems for the village. “We thought that a social networking site is a great way to get information” directly to residents.
The group has attracted members from all age groups, and not just the Gen X and Gen Y users officials expected to attract.
“There’s quite a few high school students, and we’ve got older people, too,” said Jennifer Higgins, community development director and zoning administrator for the village.
The village uses Facebook to announce meetings, volunteer opportunities and events.
“When you look at budgets, Facebook is cheap. They send notifications right to your e-mail,” Higgins said. “Sometimes, you forget to go out and look at the (village) Web site, or you toss the newsletter that had the meeting notice in it. With Facebook, we’re not wasting paper, and we’re saving money on postage. And people can be as involved as they want.”
Kollmansberger said she checks Facebook all the time, but she doesn’t always check the village Web site or the newsletter.
“When I’m at home, I have Facebook up. It’s very convenient,” she said. “I’m happy to see when people join and the community gets larger.”
To join the Weston Facebook group, search for “village of Weston” on the main Facebook page, www.facebook.com, or www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38829817075.