MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga. -- The Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany is launching two social media sites designed to reach out to audiences in a new way.
Marines, civilian-Marines, families, those deployed, and the public can now find updated news, photos, and information on the base’s new Facebook and Twitter pages.
“Social media sites are very popular, they are a primary method of keeping in touch with families, friends and coworkers,” said Col. Terry V. Williams, commanding officer, MCLB. “In order to reach our audiences, we decided that it only made sense to get onboard with what people are already using at home every day.”
Although Facebook and Twitter are not generally accessible through the government computer systems at work, the Marine Corps encourages social media use. According to www.marines.mil, “Marine Corps News is dedicated to telling the Marine Corps story and will use social media sites to reach a wide audience.”
Anyone with or without a Facebook account can find the base at www.facebook.com under “Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga.” Users are welcomed to become fans, and anyone may view many photos, news stories, and other information to stay up-to-date with happenings here. Users can also share information, reaction or comments, and interact in many ways.
“One of the benefits of becoming a fan of our Facebook page is that you can receive information more quickly than waiting for The Emblem to be published on Thursday,” said Colie Young, deputy public affairs officer, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany Ga. “As well, due to space availability, we are only able to run a few photos in the paper each week. With Facebook, we can upload many additional photos of an event for everyone to view and enjoy.”
The base’s Twitter page can be found by looking for ‘MCLBAlbany’ at www.twitter.com. Then, those with Twitter accounts can choose to follow the base, and receive regular updates. Twitter users can also opt for mobile updates to their cell phones or other mobile devices, so Twitter users who follow the base can choose to receive text messages with up-to-date information and news.
“The benefit of following the base on Twitter is that users can receive text messages no matter where they are,” Young said. “You can stay updated with news and information.”
The new base Facebook and Twitter sites were first brought on-line about three weeks ago. The Facebook page already has more than 550 fans, and the Twitter site has 60 followers. Many users have posted positive comments and feedback.
Base officials hope to increase both fans of the Facebook site and followers of the Twitter site in order to speed the information flow to those who live and work aboard the installation, as well as interact with the community in a new, responsive way.
Facebook recently announced that it has more than 300 million users. If Facebook was a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world. The fastest growing demographic for both Facebook and Twitter are those 35 years and older, which is the majority of the population here at MCLB Albany.