Anoka County has one novel solution to pothole gripes pouring into the Highway Department: Tweet.

County Engineer Doug Fischer's "Anatomy of a Pothole" video on the county's YouTube channel was linked from the county's Twitter feed.

This could be a sign of electronic things to come.

Cyber-communication, including online videos and the blurbs and links transmitted via Twitter.com, is likely to become the method of choice for conveying county information to the public, and sooner than some would expect, said County Commissioner Dennis Berg. Berg led a staff meeting this week to discuss the future of communications in the county.

Berg noted that for now the county is using both electronic and traditional paper forms to communicate with residents. But it's also clear that nixing paper when possible would bring a huge savings to the county.

"If you'd asked me before the budget challenges we're facing today, I would have said it would be a 10-year evolution," Berg said. "I think we'll be forced to do it a lot quicker."

'Loves to teach'

Martha Weaver, county public information manager, said the pothole video was a natural use of the technology.

"Doug loves to teach people about the mechanics of a road," she said. "Education is the key to understanding, and if people understand that these things happen overnight, and we can patch them all day long, that helps to do our jobs better."

"Anatomy of a Pothole" has a sister video, also starring Fischer: "Pothole Q&A."

In "Anatomy," which shows Fischer at a whiteboard scrawling diagrams of bituminous expansion and contraction and the effect of moisture and the freeze-thaw cycle, he clearly is in his element, and it's one way to get the information out.

Yes, Fischer said, it is an unusually bad year for potholes. And, yes, he knows the short-term fixes aren't cutting it. He knows that's the nature of the relationship between weather and roads in Minnesota. The dozens of residents who call the Highway Department and post messages on the county's online pothole complaint page may not know it, though.

Weaver's office also has used social media to convey information for more than a year. The county's YouTube channel has been used to introduce local legislators and to give updates on Bunker Beach construction, water quality, bird watching, park programs and more. Twitter often is updated several times a day, linking to county events, information and news from a variety of sources.

Berg said he's been surprised by the results the county has seen from electronic communications, whether it's simply posting county documents, streaming commission meetings or moving real estate via Craigslist.

"Whether we're ready for it or not, I think it's here in terms of how we do business in the future," he said.

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409