Category: Social Media

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Who’s Leading the Charge to Web 2.0?

Today I read a recently released white paper, Government 2.0: Building Communities with Web 2.0 and Social Networking. Overall, I thought the paper did a good job summarizing much of the ongoing, online discussions and research on this topic. However, I sensed an underlying attitude that concerned me as a government employee. This unspoken, read-between-the-lines belief by the author was finally put to words in the conclusion when he stated: “Ultimately CIOs must decide for themselves if Web 2.0 technology makes sense for their community and if this is the time to invest in it.”

Now, I don’t know about the rest of you working in government, but I can’t begin to tell you how many times our city attorney has lectured me that we are only employed to give advice; it it the job of the elected officials to make the final decisions. I realize we are left to make some decisions on a daily basis without having to run to the mayor or city manager each time, so I take his comment as meaning the “big” decisions. As the city engineer, I can make recommendations about what roads need to be repaired, but in the end, the mayor and the aldermen make the final choice. And I make the repairs based on their decision.

So making the statement that ultimately it will be up to the CIO to decide if his community should embrace Web 2.0 is like saying it is up to our city attorney to decide if he should begin legal proceedings to condemn and demolish someone’s home that doesn’t meet local ordinances. All of us would think that is ridiculous. Those types of community-wide decisions that have the chance to impact our citizens and expend funds must be made by the elected officials. CIOs can recommend and present implementation of Web 2.0, but ultimately, the elected officials will be the ones to accept or deny its use.

The role of the CIO is something I have been thinking about for some time and even more so since meeting Bill Greeves, Director of Information Technology for Roanoke County, Virginia. He and I co-founded the MuniGov 2.0 group to serve as a resource for local government folks looking at Web 2.0 implementation. Not one of the members of this group, who are primarily people working in the information technology or computer fields, have ever expressed an attitude or opinion similar to that put forth by this report. In fact, all have viewed their role in this as a professional who has recognized the need to develop the skills necessary to face the future Web 2.0-related demands of their agency. They all have approached implementation of Web 2.0 as that of a person who will most likely lead the charge, but primarily as a facilitator, collaborator, and mentor to others in their workforce.

Their approach has restored an image I had of that profession that was obviously undeserving but brought about by years of hearing others in government complain about the IT department. The complaints I have heard are that IT prevents them from being able to do their work by restricting access to programs. Talking with Bill about this, I realize that IT has an important responsibility to protect the security of the network, and most likely, these restrictions have been set in place by IT to accomplish that task. But Bill takes a very practical approach to this by indicating that while security is vital, that goal should not keep an IT professional from working with others in the agency to investigate implementing needed software. (See his article on this – published by the same entity that published the report above – addressing this topic from an IT professional’s perspective: Can’t We All Just Get Along?)

As we move into the future and acceptance of Web 2.0, I do believe that IT professionals will be moved out of the basement (as so humorously depicted in the British television show, the IT Crowd) and take a well-deserved place on the upper floors. And I believe that instead of complaining about how IT keeps everyone from being able to do what they want to do, people need to realize how much IT does to make sure they can keep working. We need to “friend an IT person,” find out what their job really entails, and realize that as computers increase in importance, it will be these folks who most likely will be leading the charge. But the charge will not be successful if they do not obtain the trust and buy-in from other departments (and comments like those in this report do not facilitate that type of cooperation with people who already look upon the IT department with distrust and consternation). And no one will be charging at all without the green light from elected officials.

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ASCE Dipping Their Toe into Web 2.0

Today I received my usual e-mail from ASCE that displays headlines of stories related to civil engineering and was surprised to see ASCE was finally offering a widget for their content. Well now, that was progressive, and I love widgets -sleek, functional, look great on your Website. So I clicked on over to get my very own ASCE widget, download the html, and install it on my Website.

When I got to the site I realized, instead of creating a true widget with tools like Widgetbox or Widgadget, ASCE was offering a program that you install for your desktop. Curious to see what they had set up, I did download the program and noticed that it appeared to be a weather application. This seemed confusing because I thought I was downloading something that would allow me to search and access ASCE content.

ASCE Widget for Your Desktop
ASCE Widget for Your Desktop



It all made sense once the “widget” launched because in the end, it appeared as a small box on my screen that reported weather in my area and had Web links to the ASCE site. The only extra was an RSS display that shows up as an extra window on the screen with feeds from ASCE blogs and the ability to add other RSS feeds.

ASCE RSS Feed Display
ASCE RSS Feed Display



Now, I am an ASCE member; it is a great organization, but I have to say this is a little disappointing. Most people hooked to the Internet probably already have a weather feed; weather displays seem to be one of the first applications people set up for themselves. And for me, having direct links to specific areas of the ASCE Website sitting on my desktop every day is not really valuable. I would prefer to access the main site when the need arises and go from there. As for the RSS feeds, again, I think most people have chosen their own method of delivery for these. My choice has been igoogle.

So while ASCE has made some strides in creating blogs such as Our Failing Infrastructure, (which I am not sure is such a good title for a blog about something for which we are responsible – think how that comes across to the general public) and they have set up a Facebook group and a group on LinkedIn, they sort of missed the boat on this widget thing.

As a member of ASCE, I would see more value from having a widget created with one of those other tools mentioned above that I could display on my own Website. This method of delivery would allow all members of ASCE to become mini feeds and info points that offer better access to the organization’s content and message. It is time for ASCE to take the plunge and immerse the organization in the viral wonder of Web 2.0.

(An added tip to ASCE: please think about using Twitter to deliver the headline information that you now send out in e-mail. It would really help me stem the rising tide of e-mails.)

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MuniGov 2.0 – Not Just a Buzzword Anymore!

Web 2.0, Web 3.0, virtual worlds: are these buzzwords and their related technologies something you really need to worry about? Studies, reports, and white papers seem to be saying “Yes.” And that is a big fat “yes” even if you work for government.

In fact there are already a few of us government folks headed down the Web 2.0 path. But this stroll was not meant to be taken alone; Web 2.0 works best the greater the crowd. So whether you have already made the decision to embrace this new way of doing business or if you just want to check it out, I have a few links you might want to start with:

First, for those involved in local government, Bill Greeves, IT Director, Roanoke County, Va., and I have set up a MuniGov 2.0 group for anyone working for city, township, or county agencies. You can check out the MuniGov 2.0 Website or join the MuniGov 2.0 group in Second Life. Greeves is also writing a Digital Communities blog that will profile Web 2.0 technologies and explore how they can best be used in local government. Check out his first post: Road-trippin’ (aka Welcome to Wild, Wonderful World Wide Web2.0!)

Second, click on over to the GovLoop Network site. This site allows for membership and networking for all those involved in government. Membership as of today sits at 2,489.

MuniGov 2.0 Center in Second Life
MuniGov 2.0 Center in Second Life
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Reaching Out in 140 Characters or Less

People are information hounds. They always want to know what is going on, particularly with their friends and neighbors. The need to gossip can sometimes be so strong that some people will even create stories just to have something to talk about. If you work in government you have probably already experienced this aspect of basic human nature and realized that the failure to communicate information to the public can result in misunderstandings and problems with your projects.

In the past, we have communicated with the public through letters and notices placed in the paper and on the local radio or local television station. Over the last decade, communities have used their Websites to post information. But with all these forms of communication, there is a lag time between the realization of the need to send out a message and the delivery of that message. Fortunately the time has come where we can now reach out in real time and deliver those messages within minutes to a targeted group of people.

Although there are several tools with which this real-time messaging can be accomplished, I am going to focus on the use of microblogging and in particular Twitter. Twitter is a microblogging service that allows you to post messages of 140 characters or less. People who “follow” you receive those messages as soon as you post them. Although many use this service for personal reasons, there are plenty of uses for businesses and government.

One simple example of how we have started experimenting with the use of Twitter has been related to our construction projects. We have a small project involving the installation of sanitary sewer and road reconstruction that has impacted about 80 homes. Because we knew this project would be intrusive and cause a major inconvenience, we wanted to make sure residents were kept informed immediately about any issues arising on the project such as access, school bus pickup/dropoff, mail and paper delivery, and garbage pickup. We chose to create a Twitter user name that reflected the project name: Golfview2008. Then we delivered a letter to each home telling them about the service and inviting them to follow us. We also explained that if they created a user name, we would follow them and then they could leave us messages about failed garbage pickup or mail deliveries or anything else we might need to know about.

Although the project is small and this is our first time trying out this method of communication, so far it seems to be working well. We have about 10 followers – some from the project site, one from the local paper, and some interested in how we are using the feed. I know from past projects that the number of calls we have received related to this project are not even close to what we normally get. Is that because of the Twitter feed? I don’t know for sure, but I do know that each person impacted has the ability on this project to know each day what is going on, what progress has been made, and what specific issues have come up that might impact them.

Will I do this again? You bet. It has been free, easy, and gives us a place to direct people who might want to know more about the project. If you are in government and have used Twitter for work-related reasons, I am interested in hearing your experiences and brainstorming over other uses.

And for those who are new to microblogging and who are interested in learning more about Twitter and how it can help, there is a great resource: A Geeks Guide to Promoting Yourself and Your Online Business in 140 Characters or Less with Twitter.

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Web 2.0 & Government – Helping us to Just Do It!

“With the adoption of social computing and social media by citizens under the age of 25 already exceeding 75 percent, government organizations now need to plan and implement initiatives to engage and service the citizens of today and tomorrow.” This is a statement taken from “Leveraging Web 2.0 in Government,” a recently released paper published by the IBM Center for The Business of Government that summarizes the results of a study undertaken by Ai-Mei Chang and P.K. Kannan. The study, which focused on understanding social computing, developing the framework, understanding citizen perceptions, and figuring out how to measure engagement and effectiveness, came up with the following findings:

• Government needs to meet citizens where they are online.
• Citizens are willing to interact with government agencies online. (enhance trust, increase transparency, increase citizen influence)
• The role of intermediaries will increase. (feels they must employ and leverage intermediaries but this decreases control)
• Government will need to rethink content and service design.
• Government will have to find ways to embed authority in its web-based services.
• Some citizens are concerned about equal access.
• Citizens trust the government with personal data but not for service efficiency.
• Government will need to measure the effectiveness of its Web 2.0 initiatives.

These findings led the researchers to develop the following recommendations:

• Just do it
• Develop a government-wide inventory of common Web 2.0 issues.
• Strategically rethink how to deliver on your mission.
• Reconfigure your Internet information and services to be more component based.
• Ensure authenticity of government information and services.
• Learn and keep an open mind.

As a government worker myself, I agree with most of the findings except for the idea that government requires an intermediary to pull off successful implementation of social media. I find it a paradox that people still spread this myth that somehow private management is better than public while all these major, private businesses continue to fail due to poor management and possibly questionable practices. How many states, counties, or cities with the same monetary value have failed and then showed up on the steps of Congress hoping for a bailout?

Another issue is that intermediaries usually have never had any experience in government and do not understand the policies, procedures, and laws under which government works. They also do not understand that the purpose of government is to serve the people in the most effective and efficient manner possible. I realize that some agencies are better at achieving this than others, but if they are ineffective or inefficient, people have an opportunity at the next election to try to remedy that. Also, unless serving as a volunteer, an intermediary is in business and therefore must be driven by profit and not the best interests of the public.

The other issue with an intermediary is the loss of trust. As pointed out by the study, people do trust government with personal information, and this trust would probably not extend to a non-government entity running the show.

Additionally, the use of an intermediary could cause people to feel someone has more control than they do. The concern expressed by people in this study about ensuring equal access reflects this. Everyone in a community wants to be considered equal. They can accept someone in government moderating because in the end they have control over that person’s participation, but once a private citizen steps into that role, they want to know “how come that person is so special?” This risks losing buy-in and participation.

Overall, the report provided important information and guidance for governments as we transition to these new methods of communicating with our constituents. I like the “Just do it” recommendation, but after talking with some other government workers, I find that is easier said than done. Even if someone in government is ready to go forward, there is a learning curve with and possibly resistance from others in their agency. We are at the threshold of drastically changing the way we do business, and not only within government. What we need now is some good promotional materials we can use to take back to others in our agencies to get everyone on board. And then we need good guidance documents with some best practices and ideas for implementation that fit within the rules, policies, procedures, and laws under which we work.

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