November 25th, 2008
The (Government 2.0) revolution should be televised
*Jennifer Leggio is on vacation
Guest editorial by Andrea Baker
Each generation in United States Government has created an internal revolution. From the Pony Express and telegrams, to typewriters and carbon paper, to computers and email. Now we are in the middle of yet another technological revolution: Social Media in Government or the more common moniker, Government 2.0.
A week ago, I sat in as a panelist on a Web talk show regarding Government 2.0. There have been many discussions in the main stream media, bloggers and in the hallowed halls of Government buildings on who will be and what is the proposed “Chief Technology Officer’s” role. In all the talk about the Presidential Transition, I have felt that maybe Barack Obama and quite possibly the digital world are fixating to much on just one type of CTO. During the Web cast I posed the thought, “maybe what the people really want to see of their Government is transparency? So why not a “Chief Transparency Officer?”
I believe if we are going to use the term Government 2.0, we might as well come to terms what that means for those inside the Federal, State, and Local Governments, as well as what does it portend to the U.S. Citizen. I cannot profess I know all the definitions of either side of the coin, but I can shed some light as to what I think is essentially one of the many parts of a User-Generated Government. I am going to break this down into two parts: Citizen 2.0 and Patriot 2.0.
Citizen 2.0
“Citizen 2.0″ or a proletarian revolution is what I believe the above-average social media user/voiced U.S. citizen. While its more likely that an American has a MySpace account versus Twitter and/or FaceBook, both social media sites continue to reach bigger audiences, the average “Citizen 1.0″ doesn’t necessarily go online to use social media sites or vote for that matter. The Citizen 2.0 crowd are the citizens and constituents that engage the Government by writing their congressional representative, vote and create questions on HubDub or ObamaCTO.org or engage in online debate with others via Twitter or to their pundits on main-stream media programming.
Patriot 2.0
“Patriot 2.0″ types are those within the U.S. Government who are those willing to fight for bureaucratic change of the archaic processes and vicissitude. This also covers those willing to become versed in and change their existing work processes based on the efforts of those agents of change. In my experience I have seen most employees either pragmatic or idealistic, and some are a little of both. It is those who are a little of both who I feel are the change agents, the music makers:
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
– Arthur O’Shaughnessy, British Poet
Transparency
The need for transparency for the incoming and outgoing President appears to be in digital demand by both the Citizens 2.0 and Patriots 2.0. And I say this with the upmost respect, but nerds and geeks have indeed taken over the world. The digital divide of Gen Xer’s and Millennials vs. Boomers in office is clear. Boomers and old generations are more likely to get their news and information about Government via traditional news media on television or from a printed newspaper. While the younger generations are more and more getting their news from social media Web sites and other alternative methods.
Next: Are you a Citizen or a Patriot? –>
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Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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