by Jennifer Savage – Government 2.0 Strategist

Argggggh!  I am officially annoyed by Government’s use of Twitter these days.  Has no one heard the adage “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should’? 

To be fair, departmental Twitter accounts such as PHAC (@PHAC_GC), DFAIT (@eyesabroad), NRCan (@NR_RNbulletin), etc, do a good job of tweeting out relevant information. The problem seems to lie at the individual level.  Why do members of the public sector believe that there is an audience for inane commentary (on Twitter or elsewhere)?  Does the Canadian public really care if there is traffic on the 417 today?  Do they care that so-and-so had sushi with so-and-so?  Do they really need a play-by-play account of who said what at a conference (unless it has wide- reaching implications for Canadians)?  No.  What seems to have been forgotten in all the Web 2.0 enthusiasm is that Twitter is simply another communication channel, and like any communication channel, thought has to be given to what is communicated, based on whom you are communicating with.   The following is a consolidated overview of WebDrive’s Government Roadmap to Twitter.

• Who are you talking to (or hoping to talk to) via Twitter? – And please don’t answer this with “all Canadians”.  No outreach strategy is intelligently devised without sub-categorization.

• What information are they counting on you for? – If a department can’t answer this question with significant detail, they are doomed to fail.

• Have you reached out to this audience effectively?  – Departments and agencies should audit their Twitter audience base regularly to ensure they are reaching their intended audience. Nothing is more embarrassing to a department than a Twitter audience-base made up primarily of Americans (or any other group other than Canadian citizens).

• How frequently does your audience expect to hear from you? – Some departments need to communicate several times a day, some only once a week or month. Your mandate and the audience needs will drive frequency, but ensure that you are communicating regularly.

• How can you contribute beyond your Departmental account? – Many Twitter feeds are subject specific (tax reform, human rights, financial literacy, etc.). Departmental official must remember that Web 2.0 is about being part of a “conversation”.  As such, they should search out other Twitter feeds that they can contribute to.

Here’s a great article on why there is so much pressure on governments to recognize that government evolution is necessary.  I particularly like how the author links the growing adoption of mobile devices to the growing demand for information and greater government services.

http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/12/government-20-five-predictions.html

According to SmartBrief “The US State Department unveiled a new look website yesterday as it embraces social networking and other Web 2.0 tools in an exercise it called ’21st Century statecraft. “Smart power meets smart design,” Katie Dowd, the State Department’s New Media Director, said in a post outlining the changes to State.gov on the State Department blog “DipNote,” which is also undergoing a facelift.

The new website provides front-page links to the State Department’s official YouTube channel, Twitter feed, Facebook page and Flickr photo account. The State Department said in a statement that the revamped State.gov incorporates improved “functionality and an updated design” and aims to “present the Department of State more transparently.” It is intended to “engage audiences in an ongoing dialogue with Secretary Clinton and others in the department on the foreign policy issues facing the country,” it said.”

http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/us-state-department-revamps-website-in-web-20-push — US State Department revamps website in Web 2.0 push

This article from ITWorld Canada speculates on the impact of the cabinet shuffle on Canadian IT providers. The author ponders if technology efficiency will be one of the initiatives that Mr. Day will take on as the new Treasury Board Minister. He points out that the aging legacy systems will need replacing and new efficiency-focuses applications will be preferred. He also points out that close to 40% of the public sector will be retiring in the coming years which will put pressure on the government to automate more of its services. Is this a driver for Government 2.0? I hope so. A greater focus on multi-departmental and multi-jurisdictional e-collaboration could only help achieve the levels of efficiencies sought. And wider implementation of open source web 2.0 applications will allow for better platform integration and less data lock-in by closed vendor-based applications.

http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/why-cabinet-shake-up-isnt-bad-news-for-it-industry/139797-pg1

CNN reporter, Pete Cashmore writes this interesting and thought provoking article on how social media is being used to support the relief efforts in Haiti. He notes that everyone from aid organizations to politicians to celebrities are tapping into their social media followers to ask for them for donations and help.  According to Cashmore, this is one of the first times in history that social media is overcoming “Slacktivism“. Followers are actually doing more than just observing or “following”;  they are actually doing something to make a difference.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/14/cashmore.haiti.earthquake.relief.technology/index.html

It is so wonderful to see more and more governments getting on board the social media train (no pun intended in this instance!).  Here is another example of municipal governments leveraging the power of Twitter to the benefit of their citizens.

“In 2009, the Brazilian transit authority starting using Twitterto update São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro’s motorists and pedestrians of any traffic incidents or transport news. The feed broadcasts tweets from the authority itself, as well as allowing users to share their own experiences of the city’s traffic and transport.”

I love this concept. It’s a web site called GovLuv. In essence, it allow you to connect with your Senator, or other government representative through Twitter. The site states…

“Citizens: GovLuv connects you instantly with your government representatives through the magical power of Twitter. Based on your address, you can see who your representatives are, what they’re saying, and what people are saying to them! Sign in with Twitter.”

For government officials, the site suggests…

“Government: You’re probably already in here! Sign in with Twitterto take control of your account. If your account isn’t there, tweet @govluv and we’ll get it fixed ASAP.”

What an innovative way of incouraging better communication between governments and their citizens.

http://govluv.org/offices/547-barack-obama

Kudos to N.Y. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg!  He has raised the bar for transparency and openness within government by introducing an online tracking program which allows New Yorkers to view the administration’s performance and the expenditure of the $5billion in federal stimulus money that New York received.   This surely will put pressure on other government organizations to be more forthcoming with information on how effectively they are running departments and agencies on our behalf.

http://www.nyc.gov/cpr

The governance of social media applications is such a critical component of implementing an initiative within government. However the governance structure or parameters are not clear to all that are responsible  for this area of operations.  The following report looks at 100 social media governance structures and gives the following recommendations:

http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php?f=5

1.  Create at least two policies, as follows:

a. One policy that sets expectations and boundaries for all employees, including any relevant limitations or suggestions for the personal use of social media.

 b. Operational guidelines for employees working in social media as part of their job.

 2.  Determine valuable opportunities to leverage your employees as ambassadors in your markets, then provide guidance that helps your employees to achieve greater impact and value in their social media interactions.

 3.  Support your employees and let them know where your boundaries lie. For example, tell them whether they are permitted to use your organizational trademarks, such as logos, in their personal content. Don’t leave them guessing.

 4.  Provide the right information to the right people at the right times. Create distinct documents with specific purposes that your employees are likely to consume.

a. Help employees understand the benefits of the document, then post the document where employees can easily find it as needed.

b. If you want to create a positive impression of your brand, post it publicly, and consider posting the policy at:

http://SocialMediaGovernance.com/policies.php

 5. Provide hyperlinks in your social media policy to all relevant policies. Make it easy for your employees to find additional information as required.

• Also provide a link to relevant contacts, such as email addresses of key personnel or URLs of internal web pages that provide relevant information.

Had a great day at the social media for government conference.  The presenation went really well and all of the speakers were top quality.  I particularly liked the thinking coming from HRSDC’s Canada Student Load Program. In a nut shell, they suggested that positioning blog campaigns similarly to media requests helps upper management rap their heads around this new medium.  They also suggested to start small and brief, brief, brief!

Here are the presentations that we gave.  If anyone needs any further information, please let me know.

ali-conf-sept30-Jen - Jennifer Savage of WebDrive Canada 

ALI-conference-sept30-chantal – Chantal Wolfe of DFAIT