VA Launches VAntage Point Blog
Online Communications Tools Between VA and Veterans About to Increase
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is launching its first official
blog, opening a new line of communication between the department and its
stakeholders. The debut marks VA?s latest outreach effort aimed at
improving the way VA and its clients engage online.
?Communication between VA, Veterans, and their families is no longer a
one way street?
?As methods of communication change and evolve, we don?t just want to
keep up at VA. We want to lead the way. This tool will allow us to
interact with Veterans, their families, and the public in ways we?ve
never done before,? said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. ?Instead of
waiting for Veterans to find us, we?re going to seek them out where they
already are?which is, increasingly, online.?
The blog, called VAntage Point, will be edited by VA?s Director
of New Media Brandon Friedman. The blog will launch with two primary
features: a main column of articles written each day by VA staff and a
section comprised of guest pieces submitted by other stakeholders
including employees and the public. Readers will be able to comment and
participate on all articles.
The main column will initially be authored by two VA employees. VA staff
writer Alex Horton, a former infantryman who began his writing career by
blogging from Iraq, will address Veterans issues, while Lauren Bailey,
special assistant to the chief technology officer, will provide readers
with the latest on VA?s information technology initiatives meant to
modernize the department. Both writers will interact frequently with
readers.
VAntage Point?s guest pieces will function as ?letters to the
editor.? Whether from a VA physician, a student going to school on the
Post-9/11 GI Bill, or a representative from a Veterans Service
Organization, all pieces will be considered for publication based on
their rationale and reasoned points?not on how closely their views align
with those of the department.
?Communication between VA, Veterans, and their families is no longer a
one way street,? said Assistant Secretary for Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs Tammy Duckworth. ?Not only will VAntage
Point improve our ability to get the right information to the right
Veteran at the right time, but it will allow the department to hear
directly from Veterans about their concerns.?
VAntage Point is just the latest expansion of the department?s
outreach efforts to increase transparency, participation, and
collaboration via social media. Since creating an Office of New Media in
late 2009, VA has launched a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and
YouTube. Each major component of VA (health, benefits, and national
cemeteries) has its own Facebook page and Twitter feed, while the
department has simultaneously begun to roll out these platforms to all
153 VA medical centers. Currently, 55 medical centers maintain a
presence on Facebook and 30 are operating Twitter feeds. The department
currently has the largest Facebook subscriber base among cabinet-level
agencies with over 70,000 subscribers.
To view the blog, please visit http://www.blogs.va.gov.
For more information, visit http://www.va.gov.