GROSSE POINTE SHORES – The city’s first official social media outlet, the Village of Grosse Pointe Shores [Official] Facebook page, launched May 27.

Built from a communication plan created from a city-wide survey and interviews with residents, the purpose of the page is to get timely information on what is happening in the area. town to residents, instead of continuing to rely solely on the town’s monthly newsletter and website.

“The idea and goal for us is to have a steady flow of news and positive information about the city, but we also welcome feedback and thoughts,” said Ted Coutilish, Chairman of the Communications Committee. “As a city we want to improve and we want to improve in every aspect, so it’s an open Facebook page. We invite people to share their thoughts, ideas and recommendations and we want open discussions and dialogues. “

Rather than being a strictly city-managed page like many municipal social media pages, the official Shores Facebook page is formatted to be a public group, meaning residents or any member of the public can also create publications and initiate discussions.

The guidelines for the social media code of conduct are posted on the main page, which will be monitored and fed by the city with the help of intern and Farms resident Alexander Kuplicki. In the worst case, repeat offenders of the rules of conduct will be blocked from the page.

“The first word in social media is ‘social’ and we want it to be social, otherwise it’s a website,” Coutilish said. “So we encourage people to share on this page and we want them to have it as a forum to gather information, share information (and) discuss information of interest to residents of Grosse Pointe Shores.”

The creation of an official city Facebook page follows recent years of controversy over the ethics of a secret Shores Facebook group – secret Facebook groups cannot be traced, meaning the only way accessing it is through the invitation of a current member – not managed by the city, but often the dissemination of information about the city.