There are a couple of points that the survey throws up that illustrate some of the issues that we are facing here in New Zealand. Working on the assumption that there would not be too much difference between the views of the Canadians in the focus groups and their Kiwi counterparts (an assumption based on the fact that, reading the survey, the comments seem for the most part to be eminently sensible), there are some valuable insights to be gained.

Pace

The first point, and one that brings warmth to my cardigan wearing breast, is that there is no need to be bleeding edge with this stuff:

[G]overnment should proceed, if not cautiously, at least thoughtfully in the implementation of these technologies. Concretely, this involves preceding on a case-by-case basis when deciding which application to use and for what purpose. [...] the GC should not adopt Web 2.0 applications simply to look ‘cool’ or modern, but rather should adopt specific applications to address specific communications or service requirements. (My emphasis)

That means no gratuitous or ill-conceived attempts to deploy social media solutions for the sake of it. It also means that, from a planning point of view, these implementations are driven by business and communications objectives – not technology ones.

Supply

At the same time as framing the need for implementations that are part of a planned approach, participants in the focus groups did provide a strong mandate for government agencies to adopt social media.

There was a widespread perception that the GC must foster awareness of its use of these new applications among the population. This was a theme that recurred at various parts of the discussion, and was seen to be essential to their use.

This desire to see government introduce these tools was based on a number of reasons. Two that stood out for me, given one of the themes that I have been belaboring here, were inevitability:

[G]overnment cannot ignore these applications because they are more and more prevalent. [...]In short, there is a technological imperative at work, and one that will force the government to respond and/or adapt. (My emphasis)

and the opportunity to support more and richer engagement with our publics:

[A] recurring theme throughout the discussions was the perception that [Web 2.0] adoption represents an opportunity to transform the ‘face’ of the Government of Canada, to make it more approachable, less remote, and more responsive to Canadians. [...]Conversely, if it does not adopt these types of applications, the GC risks being seen as more out-of-touch than it is already perceived to be.

Audience

The risk that, in avoiding or being too slow to understand these tools, government’s can damage their reputations is a real one. The negative impact of this inability to adapt sufficiently nimbly to new technologies will manifest itself initially – and critically – with employees.

A related point and one of the most interesting observations is included as part of the final miscellaneous communications issues. The authors note that, of the sub group of participants classified as ‘Internet users,’ nearly all of them think that public servants should be able to use these tools as part of their work;

There was general agreement that public servants should be able to access these sites to understand how they work, as well as their potential strengths and weaknesses as communications vehicles if the government is considering using them.

If public servants can’t access these sites, can’t learn how social media work by observing how the public use them, then there is precious little chance of, when they need to be able to deploy one of these tools, of them getting it right.

Conclusion

If this paper is any guide, the second phase of the project, the quantitative survey, promises to yield a rich array of insights about citizens’ expectations of governments use of social media.

What would be really interesting, however, would be some data on views about how these tools might be implemented inside government, because that is where, for me, the real value for much of this lies.

Without the people and knowledge management practices that can be achieved through the smart use of social media, governments will struggle to attract and retain the type of public servants that could use these tools to effectively engage with citizens. The question is: how long will it take us to reach that point. And, more tellingly, where will everyone else be by the time we get there?

Photo: victoriapeckham

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.