Video That Business #5 - City Governments

I recently completed a series of videos for my local city government - an area of opportunity I hadn't even considered before. While it's a stretch to call any government entity a "business" - for the purpose of this series I will let it slide. While the temptation might be to use online video sites like YouTube and even their own city sites to push political agendas via video, I am more interested in what can city governments do with online video that actually impacts residents positively.

• "How To Videos" - I think it's fair to say that as with any bureaucracy, it can be darn difficult for Mr., Mrs, and Ms Public to get quick answers to what seem like simple questions. Permitting issues, explaining city regulations, tax issues and finding environmental answers all seem like areas online videos could actually be helpful with. For instance, our municipality is heading towards a new waste/landfill strategy they call "Zero Waste." Sounds like a terrific idea but so far they've not done a great job explaining what that goal actually means or how city residents will need to adapt. A video could not only explain but, more importantly, SHOW the actions needed


• Schools. School districts are forever complaining about the low level of parental involvement when it comes to their kid's public classrooms. Wouldn't it be great if each teacher in the district had a profile video where parents could learn more about them? What about streaming PTA meetings live over the Internet so that parents don't have to set aside time to drive anywhere and yet can still be more involved with the school?

A city in my local area wants to use video to encourage people to walk and bicycle more - that's another great idea. I've only scratched the surface here on how local municipalities can utilize online video. What are your ideas?