While the government recognizes the importance of obtaining public feedback and is beginning to encourage more feedback on their everyday services, the potential for criticism can be a barrier to adopting those feedback tools. Still, organizations like the US Department of State, TSA, and the State of Georgia are overcoming those barriers in order to reap the benefits of feedback. The ability to convert feedback into action is dependent on the integrity of it.
I'm in Seoul, South Korea, this week for a Global e-Government Forum. Seoul is 13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, so for more than half the day, it's tomorrow. But that's not the only way that Seoul is in the future. The smell of kimchi mixes with the omnipresent electronica of smartphone rings and tablet notifications. The Samsung building is visible from my hotel room, and its logo appears on at a majority of devices I've seen in this city.
Though informing is the first rung in the public participation ladder, it is the second step, consulting, that two—way communication and the promises it entails become paramount.
There are many roles for social media within government agencies.
Joshua Joseph of the Partnership for Public Service is spearheading research into one area: improving operations. We had a lively, discursive conversation yesterday not only about how social media can be used at various points in an agency’s project life-cycle, but about how the Partnership can use social media in the creation of the report itself.
Starting February 7, I’ll be leading a12-week social media in government course that aims to help new and aspiring social media practitioners understand the strategy and tools that will help the succeed in their roles. The class is being offered through the General Services Administration's (GSA) Web Manager University.
A new report by the IBM Center for the Business of Government helps government employees understand and mitigate the risks posed by use of social media.
Most government employees and agencies protect their computers by installing and updating reliable anti-virus software. Managers, IT staff and front-line workers understand the threats posed by malicious software, and they know that they have to take steps to counter that threat.
How are government agencies using social media to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters?
The Federation of American Scientists recently posted on its Web site a CRS report, "Social Media and Disasters: Current Uses, Future Options, and Policy Considerations," by Bruce R. Lindsay. The report argues that social media may be used in a "systematic" way as "an emergency management tool.
