By Jack B. Winn
Last week was the deadline to file your federal tax return, and the Internal Revenue Service took to social media to spread the word.
In the past month, the agency everyone loves to hate sent 510 tweets out to remind people to pay their taxes on time, provide tips on how to file and on tax deductions, and to recruit people to work for them and collect your money more efficiently.
On Facebook, close to 1,350 people ‘liked’ the IRS fan page over the past year to receive updates on filing methods and other agency announcements, many of them accountants.
The story about YouTube is far more impressive. Over three million taxpayers have viewed the agency's tutorials about how to file their taxes for free, where to go to get their tax refund, and what to do if they can’t afford to pay their taxes.
But sending money is often done on the go these days and people are used to checking their balances instantly. Perhaps that’s why over 400,000 people have downloaded the IRS's phone app for iPhones, Androids and other smart phones, which enables users to check the status of their tax refund right from their mobile phone.
And then there is the virtual reality social network famous for its flying denizens, virtual stores and countless online communities-within-a-community: Second Life. That's right, the Internal Revenue Service—the bane of working stiffs everywhere—is virtual and has been since 2009.
According to jobs.irs.gov/secondlife, the "IRS Careers Island" is one of the latest in the agency's attempt to join the burgeoning hive of agencies migrating to the site since it launched in 2003. If the agency's avatar is any suggestion, the dress code in virtual land is casual. The brunette bespectacled whippersnapper—looking more like a 90s slacker than buttoned-down agent in a charcoal gray suit and tie—is 180 degrees from the popular image of the IRS as nerdy, out of touch and slightly anal-retentive.
"Next time you are wandering around Second Life," a tweet from the @RecruitmentIRS account reads. "Stop into the #IRS careers island and say HEY!"
It's hard to say how many of Second Life's one million users are fans of the agency's "island." Access to the site requires a membership on Second Life. Yet if their Twitter and Facebook presence is any indication, it's a modest one. Presently, the agency boasts over 3,654 Facebook fans and just under 28,000 followers on Twitter, according to OhMyGov Media Monitoring—not exactly NASA-level popularity.
But what the agency lacks in numbers, it is making up for in enthusiasm.
“In the physical world, we could spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on sponsoring a race car that displays our brand in a field of thirty or more other cars, “Frank Stipe, Virtual Worlds & Social Networking Project Manager for the IRS said in an interview just after its initial launch. “In the SL virtual world, we have spent a few thousand dollars to build complete entertainment and communications venue that includes a race course. IRS branding throughout the venue not only displays our messaging, but it also instantly dispenses marketing collateral and links to our Careers web site.”
Though the idea of the IRS spending money to take in more of our money leaves a bitter taste, there’s comfort in the fact they are aiming to it as efficiently as possible.
www.ohmygov.com
