“Not only will residents be able to be notified of upcoming City Council, Planning, and Zoning Board meetings, but they will also be able to find out about cultural events, recreational activities, and public emergencies,” the city says in an announcement.

While the city’s Twitter account was created in early August, it ramped up the frequency in the days before today’s official announcement. After just one tweet each day on August 2, 5 and 10, the city has tweeted eight times in the last three days.

As we know from past experience, there’s nothing the folks over at Men’s Health love more than a good list. This month, the magazine has a new one out that measures the most socially networked cities in America, and Jersey City comes in at number 43 on the list, sandwiched between Des Moines and Indianapolis.

While there are likely a number of ways to measure social connectivity online, the Men’s Health methodology seems pretty legit. They explain it here:

We started by calculating the number of Facebook and LinkedIn users per capita, followed by overall Twitter usage (NetProspex). Then we looked at traffic generated by the major social networks, including Myspace, Friendster, Reddit, and Digg (analyzed by ad network Chitika). Finally, after factoring in the percentage of households that check out chat rooms and blogs (SimplyMap), we had the results.

Much like in this year’s Census count, Jersey City fell behind perennial rival Newark on this list (the Brick City came in at 35), but we did come in ten spots ahead of our big brother across the river, New York City.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the top five cities on list were, in order: D.C., Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle. For the rest of the results, you can check out the full list here.

Last night, Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA) crews cleared a number of emergency snow routes from “curb to curb.” Meanwhile, the JCPD and Office of Emergency Management worked on removing the approximately 50 remaining abandoned cars off of city streets, according to city officials, who say the workers tried at all costs to avoid towing the abandoned vehicles, instead visiting the homes of the car’s registered owners when possible.

The cleanup continues today, as about 20 JCIA crews work to clear the remaining emergency routes, as well as any streets that have yet to be plowed. They are also working to clear the corners of snow, and have been assisted by Department of Public Works (DPW) employees in doing so.

The city is once again warning residents not to shovel snow into the streets; doing so is a violation of city law and makes the citywide plowing operation slower and more costly. City inspectors will be enforcing this law, as well as the law forcing residents and businesses to clear their sidewalks enough to allow pedestrians and strollers to easily pass. Under the law, businesses must do this within four hours of sunrise after a storm (residents have eight hours after sunrise), but the city had given a few days grace since the storm was so severe and fell on a holiday weekend.

The city’s continued cleanup efforts come as some frustrated residents are voicing their concerns on this website, on Twitter (check out four recent examples here, here, here and here) and on the city’s Facebook page about unplowed streets, a lack of garbage pickup and a lack of leadership from the Healy administration. Many critics have taken the opportunity to compare Mayor Healy’s response to that of Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has been all over Twitter — and all over Newark — responding directly to residents’ concerns.

Booker’s work has once again put his savvy use of Twitter in the national spotlight, with TIME calling him “the Superhero of the Blizzard.” Healy’s Twitter account has not been updated since he won re-election in May 2009 (though a “Not Mayor Healy” spoof account did surface this week after the blizzard hit).

We’re currently awaiting a response to the criticisms from city officials; we’ll update the story when we receive one.

- Hudson Has High Twitter Density: A new study from Jaffe Communications says that Hudson County has the highest concentration of Twitter users in the state.

- Cops Still Looking for Driver in Hit-and-Run: The JCPD continues to investigate the identity of the driver of a vehicle that killed a 72-year-old woman in a hit-and-run collision on Saturday; detectives are seeking the public’s help.

- Cop Faces Jail Time: A 29-year-old Jersey City cop faces up to 10 years in prison and the loss of his job when he’s sentenced Friday for assaulting his wife in December 2008 after he found her in a parked car with a man in Bayonne.

- Sentencing and Guilty Pleas in Rx Pills Ring: A 36-year-old Jersey City man was sentenced to state prison last week for distributing Percocet pills and heroin last year. Meanwhile, two other defendants from Jersey City pleaded guilty for their respective roles in the operation.

- City to Dedicate Trees Today: Jersey City will dedicate several trees planted last fall along 7th Street near Brunswick this morning at 10 am. “Working with residents and organizations in beautifying their neighborhood gives them the opportunity to take ownership of their local environment which they can be proud of,” Mayor Healy says in a statement. “At the same time, it builds a stronger community by developing and nurturing relationships among neighbors and city officials.”

- New Hire at Westin Newport: Donna Rybak has joined the Westin Jersey City Newport as its new catering sales manager; she was previously at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village down in Princeton.

- Arson Charges for 17-Year-Old: Investigators have arrested a Snyder High School sophomore on charges he set fire to a roll of paper towels in a bathroom at the school last week; the fire caused an evacuation.

Today’s Best Bets:

- The Tuesday two-fer is on, with free live music at Bar Majestic (Greg Ribot at 8 pm) and at Lucky 7′s (David Rynhart and Billy from WJ & the Sweet Sacrifice at 9 pm). Meanwhile, there’s also live music (from Roland Ramos) at what may be one of the final few BabyHole comedy show/open mics hosted by Melissa Surach; this week’s installment features comedy from Matt Ruby and Mike Lawrence and plenty of opportunities to get up on stage and do your thing (9 pm at the Lamp Post).

In Statewide News:

- Mass Student Walkout Slated for Today: Thousands of New Jersey high school students are expected to walk out of classes today to protest education cuts proposed by Gov. Christie. According to the Facebook group through which the protest was organized, more than 16,000 students plan to leave school between 8 am and 4 pm.

- NJ Pastor Leads Fight Against Arizona Immigration Law: A national Latino clergy group headed by Bergen County’s Rev. Miguel Rivera intends to file a federal court petition today in Phoenix challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. “Every Latino in Arizona will be in harm’s way with this law,” he tells the Record. “This is a law that sanctions, essentially, racial profiling. Police officers will work on the assumption that every brown person is an undocumented immigrant.”

- Offshore Drilling Hearing Today: New Jerseyans are getting their first opportunity to comment on the Obama administration’s plan to allow oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic Ocean with a hearing today in Newark.

- Court Rules NJ Blogger Not Protected by Shield Law: An appellate court has ruled that a blogger sued for defamation is not a journalist and is not covered by New Jersey’s shield law.

- Her Task: Making NJ More Business-Friendly: Lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno’s main charge in the Christie administration thus far has been leading the governor’s effort to jump-start economic development; the Record checks in with her to see how it’s going.

- Mechanical Car Inspections on the Chopping Block: New Jersey drivers would no longer be required to have their vehicles inspected every two years under a proposal by the Motor Vehicle Commission that could save the state $12 million. In addition, drivers whose vehicles are five years or younger would be exempt from emissions testing under the new plan. The current exemption is for vehicles four years old or younger. The MVC says the fail rate of the test isn’t enough to justify its cost, and points out that 29 states don’t have inspections.

- DOT Chief Says Safety Won’t Be Impacted by Slimmer Budget: The state Department of Transportation’s proposed fiscal year 2011 budget will be about 4 percent smaller, but while some road improvements could be delayed, safety and maintenance projects will not be put on hold, according to Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson.

- Early Results: Low Pass Rates on Alternate Grad Exams: A year after the state revamped its alternate high school graduation exam, just 10 percent of the students who took the language arts portion earlier this year passed, while 34 percent passed the math section, according to preliminary results from the state Department of Education. State officials say the results are incomplete and caution against reading too much into them.

- Not Many Apps for Flood Aid Yet: Only a fraction of eligible business and property owners affected by severe early spring flooding in New Jersey have applied for available assistance.

But Jersey City is changing in many ways, as the Technological Society becomes more fully realized each and every day. So it’s only fitting that in this year’s campaign, we were treated to a high-tech version of the notorious sound truck: the truck for incumbent Mayor Jerramiah Healy blasting video advertisements (many featuring President Barack Obama). Yes, indeed, the nature of politicking in Chilltown is changing.

Meanwhile on the web, the past five years have birthed an interactive multiverse of social networking, content management, bleeding edge hardware, mobile web applications and the disappearing barriers between content creators, distributors and consumers. The difference is staggering. It has changed the face of everything it has touched, including politics, and those who ignore it face a major disadvantage when facing those who embrace it.

We saw just how far this new web can affect the outcome of an election during Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. The Obama campaign did what no one had done before: it embraced new technologies as a fundamental and integrated component of traditional campaign organizing and fundraising, rather than a sideshow. Technology was not just a tool in their toolbox, it was their drive train.

MyBarackObama.com allowed local organizers to plug in with the national campaign, taking the reigns on grassroots organizing while staying connected and relevant to the overall strategy. It also offered a suite of tools that allowed organizers to easily send out email blasts or coordinate with others. Twitter social messaging was used to get information out to people, but it was also used to focus organizers and engage supporters in an energizing and interactive way. Facebook groups were used to cement the youth vote in a way that had rarely been seen before. And now, this is the standard by which other campaigns are being judged.

Well, I might not go that far. The Obama campaign had one thing most campaigns only dream of having: Barack Obama. But lessons from the campaign could be learned by any candidate for any office.

So how did Jersey City’s mayoral and City Council candidates use these lessons and emerging web campaign technologies to bolster their bids for office this spring? With the hangover from the elections receding into the background and the runoff passed, we take a look at how well the campaigns integrated new technologies into their own strategies, and what impact that had on the outcome.

Team Healy

The website for incumbent Mayor Healy and his roster of City Council candidates was fairly simple and informative, with links to news, biographies, platforms and positions. The site’s page loading was slowed down by objects and images, but the content was easy to navigate.

The Team Healy site was also tied to the social web, with outgoing links to Facebook and YouTube pages.

The Healy campaign boasted two Facebook pages in addition to individual candidate’s pages. Healy For Mayor 2009 was the most active. A political organization page with 236 members, it dwarfed the nascent Young Professionals for Mayor Healy, another political organization page with only 27 members.

One Healy candidate, Ward C’s Nidia Rivera Lopez, had her Facebook page notably hacked in late April. Links to pornography were sent out to her 44 Facebook supporters. The fact that her account was compromised and porn sent out over it — during a campaign — is real slacking on her tech team’s part. What was the password on it, 1-2-3-4? (Remind me to change the password on my luggage.)

The Healy team had 13 videos on YouTube, including each campaign ad. They also put longer videos of high-profile Healy endorsements from Newark mayor Cory Booker and Sen. Bob Menendez on the page, as well as several clips used to bolster the messaging of Healy’s ties to Obama. The page is rounded out by clips from Healy’s most recent State of the City address and from the Sustainable Cities conference that took place at Liberty Science Center in March. Of course, the campaign was also shadowed on YouTube by the user “JerryHealy09” which posted a parody ad that apes a Hillary Clinton ad from the Democratic presidential primaries and plays on Healy’s reputation as one with a wee bit of a thirst.

The Healy campaign was one of only two that waded into the Twitter waters this election. Both Healy and Lopez had Twitter accounts, but judging from the number and dates of their updates, it was little more than a passing fad.

@MayorHealy, with only five updates over its apparent lifespan of ten days (May 6-16), still amassed 67 followers; while @NidiaRLopez sent out 13 updates (the last one on election night) and picked up 24 followers. Her use of Twitter seemed more organic than Healy’s, but only slightly (mainly because of this May 7 tweet: “Doing an oral hygiene presentation at the Grandview Senior Center.”). Overall, both accounts feel a bit cold and spammy.

Both Healy and Lopez seem not to have learned one of the basic tenets of Twitter marketing, whether political or not: If you follow people, they will be more likely to follow you back. Healy was only following eight other Twitter users, while Lopez was following six.

Manzo for Jersey City

The website for Lou Manzo and his team of council candidates had a solid amount of information, but it was hampered in load time by too many images and embedded videos all on the home page. It also featured a strange site architecture that tells us it most likely wasn’t set up by a web expert.

The Manzo campaign had videos, but used the relatively obscure service Blip.tv rather than YouTube or Vimeo. The campaign’s Blip page featured several Manzo ads and longer-form segments where he spoke about issues. Manzo’s campaign was largely absent from Facebook and Twitter, even though Manzo did maintain a personal Facebook page, which he used for campaign messaging on occasion.

Smith Team for Positive Change

In the beginning stages of the campaign, the slate headed by Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith had a remedial website that was tough to navigate and sported poorly cropped headshots of Smith’s council candidates.

Smith’s web strategy didn’t really get going until its relatively late-in-the-game hiring of longtime local journalist David Cruz as communications director. One of Cruz’s first tasks was to set up a new website.

The site Cruz went with — which unfortunately can no longer be retrieved online — felt more like a blog than a traditional campaign site, with each candidate “contributing” entries and first-person accounts of life on the trail. The site also included the relevant links to biographical, policy and background information. It also included a schedule of upcoming events, debates and campaign appearances.

One of the Smith team’s other web strengths was the use of YouTube video, both on the YouTube site and embedded in the Smith site. This is not surprising considering Cruz’s recent experience in radio. He took the skills honed at Newark’s WBGO and turned them into campaign videos that, while not slick by any means, were effective in other ways.

The two campaign ads were obvious candidates for the YouTube page. But the nine longer clips, of candidates out campaigning and sometimes talking off the cuff about various issues, were the real diamond in the rough here. They were entertaining (at least to a political wonk!), touched on policy (always a plus) and revealed more about the real person behind the candidate than any campaign ad did this season.

One Jersey City

For a campaign with very little money, the One Jersey City team, led by mayoral candidate Dan Levin, made good use of the web and social media.

The campaign’s main site featured a traditional layout, but at times was hard to navigate and was slow to load. The site also suffered from a few false starts.

In the nascent stages of the campaign, the One Jersey City team was using its site to illustrate one of its main campaign themes: using programs and policies that have worked in other places to help solve the problems facing Jersey City. To that end, the site briefly began uploading policy papers, research and related news articles about issues like community policing. It was a strategy that merged well with the web, with its endless interconnectivity and borderless geography. But unfortunately as the campaign heated up, the campaign (understandably) had little time to do such rudimentary blogging.

A similar phenomenon took place with the campaign’s use of short web videos designed to illustrate a problem in the city and the solution that the campaign was offering. Billed as a series, the last video was teased on the blog in February, and they ended up only touching on land use and zoning issues — important issues, no doubt, but not exactly the “hot” issues in the campaign.

On Facebook, One Jersey City was disproportionately well-represented, when compared to the overall vote total it received. Its One Jersey City common interest group sports 222 members, with a more active “Wall” than most of the other campaigns and a variety of on-the-scenes photos and messages from Levin. The group is still active as of this writing, which is fitting since Levin has said the campaign was only the beginning for One Jersey City.

For a low-budget grassroots campaign, One Jersey City was lookin’ good on video, thanks to help from Jersey City’s own Colin Comstock of Le Arsenal AV. The campaign was the only one to go with Vimeo in addition to YouTube, and they’ve got 15 videos on their Vimeo page, including the one campaign ad they produced, those short issues videos we mentioned above and solid footage from campaign events and from public hearings where Levin spoke.

Phil Webb

The website of mayoral candidate Phil Webb was by far the least technologically advanced, and also hardly included any relevant information about the candidate. Webb’s site was an out of the box solution from CompleteCampaigns.com, and while it is not a bad idea to go with such a product (especially if money is an issue, as it was for Webb), if you do, you should modify it to make sure — at the very least — that the majority of links aren’t empty pages.

Webb did do some ingenious advertising on Craigslist, as proven by the ad that read: “MAY 12, 2009 IS THE ELECTION. PLEASE GO TO YOU TUBE.COM AND TYPE IN PHIL WEBB NET, TO VIEW HIS COMMERCIAL…. THANK YOU AND PLEASE PASS THE WORD…”

Doing so takes you to Phil Webb’s YouTube presence, which is poorly branded (the video is actually part of Champagne Films’ page, not a dedicated Webb page) — but at least he got something up there.

Steven Fulop

Independent Ward E candidate Steven Fulop’s web strategy rivaled Team Healy’s for its sophistication and bested all the other campaigns for its use of emerging web tools and technologies (perhaps no surprise since the councilman is an avid iPhone user).

His main site was contemporary in design, with a Flash banner headline and various multimedia elements prominently displayed. The navigation was clear, the content was easy to find and the site loaded relatively quickly.

The Fulop campaign was the clear leader on Facebook, with three different pages, in addition to his personal page.

The largest page was the Councilman Steven Fulop common interest group, which as of this writing boasts 449 members and an active “Wall.” The older Steven Fulop 2009 common interest group has 36 members, while the related Fulop Commitment profile page has 45 friends.

Despite placing no traditional video advertising on local cable, the Fulop campaign did produce web videos and hosted them on their YouTube page. Most of them feature Fulop speaking on issues at events, with the exception of the one post-election video — a slick “thank you” video shot on election night.

The Fulop campaign was the only one besides the Healy campaign to use Twitter, and was a very active tweeter during the campaign. He’s since discontinued one of the Twitter accounts and now lives @StevenFulop. His Twitter page, which he still updates, is worth following for random bits of insight into City Council and Council Caucus meetings (June 1, 6:16 pm: “Gaughan is mad…. Vega not so much”).

From Bits to Ballots

If there is one thing that cannot be stressed enough, it is that the best new media strategy will never change a fundamental fact of politics: if you can’t get out the vote, you won’t win the election. This year’s elections were determined by about 20 percent of the city’s registered voters, and the votes broke overwhelmingly for Mayor Healy’s slate in every ward, with the exception of Fulop’s runaway win in Ward E.

Only part of this can be ascribed to voter apathy. Getting out the vote was essential to Healy’s opponents, but the votes never materialized. While traditional get out the vote efforts often require massive investment in campaign organization, funds which Healy’s opponents simply did not have, they can be overcome by an influx of motivated, coordinated volunteers.

One of the major benefits of new media is the relatively low cost of entry to a campaign. All the tools available are free, like most of the web, requiring only an investment of talent and careful planning. With said talent and planning, new media can be a great leveling device, especially in local elections, helping to mitigate organizational or fundraising difficulties. But while this year’s election was well ahead of the last election with regard to use of new media and social networks, it was still light years behind the kind of integrated use present in many innovative national campaigns, and far below their potential. This is part of what kept the big-fundraising incumbents in office.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• Focus on search engine optimization for your sites, to improve search results for your content.
• Manage social networks effectively, interactively and in relation to on-the-ground organizing.
• Empower and involve your supporters in online communities so that they not only vote themselves, but encourage friends to vote as well on election day (bring a friend to the polls).
• Optimize and maximize online fundraising, stressing easy-to-give small, recurring donations in a secure online environment that is one click away.
• Let your supporters carry your message themselves, through their own projects. Make these satellite projects accessible and give people access to online tools that will help them do this.
• Engage the mobile web via Twitter and SMS text messaging.
• Get your organizers connected. Get them smartphones. Get them workshops.
• However: Realize there is no such thing as a social media expert.

Additional reporting by Jon Whiten.