NPSC Blog

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a couple of unrelated conversations with friends working in different agencies about ways to make the most of the social media tools that are becoming crucial to the way we work. Then yesterday, Colin McKay, on the recently launched SoSaidThe.Organization (more on this site below), made an astute observation about the way public sector communicators are forced to improvise to keep up with the play:

meanwhile, public servants are busy implementing hacks, convincing friends in the IT department to open ports on firewalls, and IM’ing from their PDAs.

This got me thinking about the ‘hacks’ that I use to get around the public sector IT typically risk-averse mindset. So I have started a list of the tools that I use to circumvent these (occasionally ridiculously) restrictive policies.

Portability

First up, if you are locked down to a dumb terminal, you need to bring your own bag of tricks. I use a 1GB thumb drive with a few essential portable apps loaded on to it. There are a terrific array of programmes available to run from a thumb drive, and it will depend on what you are trying to achieve, but the ones I think are essential for a public sector communicator in the social media space are the following.

Firefox

You have to work from an intelligent browser, so Firefox is a no brainer. Once you have got it running, I would load up with the extensions that you need to get your job done, for me that would be:

• Web Developer Toolbar - pretty much does what you would expect
• Firebug - amazing tool for debugging HTML, CSS, Javascript etc., live in your browser window: priceless
• Operator - the microformat detector & application tool
• Del.icio.us extension - for social bookmarking

Instant Messaging

Email is broken, no question. Install Gaim and free yourself from the tyranny of the inbox. While you are it, try and convince as many of the people you work with to do the same; the sooner we are all using IM, the better.

Thunderbird

I don’t use this so much as an email client (however, it is handy to set up IMAP access to non-work email addresses – and there is a hack for Gmail – if you want to manage your email from work), but Thunderbird is also an excellent RSS aggregator. I find it much faster than the online varieties and it has the added advantage of storing all the feeds indefinitely.

Filezilla

If you need an FTP client, then Filezilla is the package for you. You just need your server list and settings and you are good to go.

Mobile Phone

I haven’t thought nearly as much about this, mainly because it is so damn expensive, but as a minimum I would recommend Opera mini. It is a terrific browser for phones and, once we see prices become a bit more realistic here, should be a key tool for the future.

Conclusion

One point that we should always bear in mind is that, as Colin notes, you can’t beat good old human relationships. Getting in tight with your IT people is the best way to move your organization towards Enterprise 2.0.

This is only a start, one that is heavily oriented towards my interests and needs. I am sure that there are many of you who have developed far more ingenious ways of getting round your firewalls. Add any suggestions, recommendations in the comments and we can expand this list out to provide a resource for fellow communicators stranded at dumb terminals…

SoSaidThe.Organization

Colin McKay has set up a new blog, So Said The Organization. It is, in Colin’s words:

A collaborative blog intended to help government communicators from around the world share ideas, tips and practical examples of how to integrate new technologies into their daily work.

Content is contributed by a number of authors working on different continents. Their work does not represent the interests, policies or intentions of their employers, and should be considered as personal opinion.

Keep an eye on it. This is a welcome development and could turn into a tremendously useful resource for public sector communicators. Well done to Colin for kicking it off.