I just read a post by Paul Blumenthal at the Sunlight Foundation titled “Executive Branch Agencies and Web 2.0″. There, I was glad to read about the GSA (General Services Administration) advocating social media inside of government. The GSA has pleasantly surprised me more than once.
Surprisingly to some, the GSA does more than manage government buildings. Did you know that its Office of Citizen Services runs USA.gov? WhiteHouse.gov has new life thanks to the Obama administration. Perhaps we will see a similar shift in USA.gov as well?
How quickly and pervasively will government adopt social media? I’m not holding my breath; it won’t be fast and it won’t be easy. To zero in on just one element of the challenge, I don’t expect any executive agencies to move from “Web 1.0″ to “Web 2.0″ as a simple matter of a technological shift. An agency will have to understand and appreciate the importance of collaboration culturally, not just technologically.
I know first-hand that at least one group at GSA that embraces the ideas of collaboration both online and offline. I have attended several collaborative expeditions hosted by Susan Turnbull of the GSA. These bring together a diverse group of people from government and industry. These workshops break down traditional barriers in government. This spirit of in-person cross-pollination helps to motivate and stimulate online social media connections.
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In fact, David, we’ve been exploring the use of social media to connect with our audiences for the last six months or longer. Always difficult in government to overcome challenges like terms of use agreements the vendors have in place, etc, but we welcome the new administration’s focus on collaborating with the public and look forward to working with them.
“An agency will have to understand and appreciate the importance of collaboration culturally, not just technologically.”
Well put. NASA Goddard CKO Ed Rogers teaches the importance of establishing the culture/”architecture” of a learning organization, has almost nothing to do w/ tech:
Can’t find the full paper but here is abstract:
http://ses.gsfc.nasa.gov/ses_data_2005/051101_Rogers_Abstract.htm
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