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I was able to take part in an inpromptu live online video and text discussion this morning between Congressman John Culberson of Texas and initially with the Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal, and then with Grover Norquist, the President of Americans against Tax Reform (pictured below) at a fund raising event in the US.
While I'm not their constituency (although I am a Director of an oil company with production interests in Petrolia), there were a number of others watching who were, and it was a fascinating look at the democratic process in evolution.
The online discussion was an opportunity for Congressman Culberson to directly reach and represent his constituency, asking and answering questions put to him.
The entire discussion was managed through the use of free online social media technologies, Twitter was used to inform the Congressman's constituents that the discussion was taking place and then Quix was used to capture the video on a mobile phone and stream it live to the internet , presenting it on a page where people could text chat directly with the participants, receiving verbal replies.
As one of the first in I was privileged to be mentioned by name - making it the first time I think I've been mentioned by an elected US Congressman.
That type of closeness - between individuals and their elected officials - is now becoming available, and we'll see how soon these technologies are in use in Australia's community Cabinet meetings and similar events.
Below is a screenshot I took of the event (see me at right logged in as CraigThomler).
The Congressman will also be conducting several further interviews through the evening using the same tools and the permanent record will be up at Quix.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Real-time government - not as far away as you think | Tweet |
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Australian use of social media skyrocketing | Tweet |
Universal McCann have completed some excellent research on social media use based on a sample of 17,000 users across 29 countries.
The latest wave was completed in March 2008.
The key findings were that blogs and online videos have gone mainstream and are tools that organisations need to consider within their marketing and communications mix.
Social networks had reached critical mass. Note that since this research was completed, Facebook has overtaken MySpace as the market leader.
I've embedded the slideshow below, or it is viewable at slide share as Universal Mccann International Social Media Research Wave 3
The highlights for Australia:
Blogs
62% of Australians online read blogs (up from 21% in Sep 2006)
29% of Australians online have started blogs (up from 18% in Sep 2006)
36% of people online (globally) think more positively of organisations that blog
32% of people online (globally) trust blogger's opinions on products and services
Social networks
50% of Australians online have created a profile on a social network (21% of the Australian population)
Shared videos online
77% of Australians online have watched online videos (up from 25% in Sep 2006)
28% of Australians online have shared videos (12% of the Australian population)
Listened to Podcasts
40% of Australians online have listened to a Podcast (up from 14% in Sep 2006)
Subscribed to RSS feed
24% of Australians online have subscribed to an RSS feed
The slideshow
Monday, June 23, 2008
A different way to look at agency customers | Tweet |
My agency spends a lot of money learning about our customers with the goal of identifying how to provide them with better services.
These research processes quite often lead to huge presentations full of statistics that attempt to explain customer intentions and motivations.
If you have a maths bent, these presentations speak very loudly - however they don't always translate well for others and can be difficult to absorb and interpret.
An approach that I find is very eloquent is to imagine that you have only 100 customers living in a village and look at their conditions, hopes and aspirations in this framework.
This has been used with great effect by Miniature Earth - which takes this concept and applies it to the entire globe.
There's also an application of it to companies, looking at large corporations or agencies from the same perspective of a 100 person village.
Brought to my attention by Steve Collin's Thoughtglue blog, you can view it at: McDaniel Partners: Are You Effectively Managing Your Most Important Asset?.
So using this concept for your customers, what do they look like, and where are they going?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Was the Australian Federal Election in 2007 really the YouTube election? | Tweet |
Maybe not - if this ITnews article Study says the 2007 ‘YouTube election’ is a misnomer is correct.
Of course, even using YouTube, Australia is a long way behind the eObama campaign in the US.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Flash in the pan - rich media use in government | Tweet |
My agency, due to various factors outside direct control, has long had a reluctance to consider the use of Adobe Flash (previously Macromedia Flash) in our intranet or websites.
I can understand this - there are network and security considerations that need resolution, and Flash has only been around since 1996 (well OK I don't consider that a good reason - even government uses desktop applications and operating systems less than 12 years old).
Also Flash as a rich media application is, well, flashy. It is often overused or used incorrectly and requires skills that not all web designers or developers possess.
There are also a number of myths about Flash which cloud the issue.
Having used Flash and Adobe Director (formerly Macromedia Director) since 1996 in several hundred multimedia and web projects, I've had many experiences - mostly good but also some bad with the product.
Here's some of the lessons I have learnt - and myths busted.
Think visual not verbal
Web is still primarily a text medium, in that messages are largely conveyed via text on the screen. Also more web people seem to come out of print media than visual media. The text mindset is not appropriate for Flash and similar rich medias, which are primarily visual.
Therefore it is important to think visually, using techniques such as storyboarding rather than scripting and deliver 90% of the message via visuals and short takes rather than long written descriptions.
Use Flash sparingly - keep the purpose in mind
Flash is best used to create an effect or convey a visual message. Therefore my view is that when you need to provide navigation or blocks of content it is better to use HTML rather than Flash.
There's several reasons supporting this.
- Flash is optimal for visual not text delivery
- Flash tends to be more expensive to develop and maintain than HTML
- Flash has a longer development cycle, making it slower to update Flash websites than HTML ones - note that there are ways to separate the content from the presentation layer to make content updates easy, however changing the look still requires dedicated time
- Flash is not accepted in all environments. What happens if your customers block Flash via their firewalls? (I've encountered this direct situation in my agency - at one point we could not see the website of one of the advertising agencies pitching to us as their website was entirely constructed in Flash)
- Flash can be less accessible to people using screen readers - note the can. It is possible to make Flash accessible, but the effort required is greater.
Flash is best used in an interactive way
Think carefully before using Flash for animations that are simply for people to watch.
Online is an interactive experience and people rapidly grow bored with animations that they can only watch. For any animation consider using animated gifs instead, although they may not be as small or as smooth as a Flash alternative.
Flash is best used for interactive experiences where the user can effect changes within the Flash application by selecting alternative options.
Apply application development standards
All the normal rules of application development apply when developing interactive Flash applications.
Use a consistent interface, provide contextual help, make the user's choices clear and unambiguous, ensure there is appropriate feedback when the user selects a choice through and do not display any unnecessary choices - every choice should advance the application.
Make sure it is properly usability tested on paper or digital wireframes beforehand and iteratively tested throughout development.
Game experience makes Flash designers better
This is very much my opinion. People involved with PC, console or mobile gaming have a clearer understanding of how to create interactive applications that are also fun to use.
A Flash application that is not engaging or fun will not see much use, so adding that element in the 'gameplay' is critical to ensuring use.
Those with game experience have a different take on interface design. Whereas business applications are gray, square and non-imaginative, the best Flash applications are colourful, curvy, and dynamic.
This is because they serve different purposes and people use them at a different frequency level.
Qualifier: Note that I have been a game designer, so my view is biased. I am sure there are talented Flash designers out there who do not have experience in game design (and one day I'll meet one!)
Myths busted
- Flash is inaccessible
This is a myth I've heard repeated many times. It's untrue - Flash is not inaccessible, it simply requires a little additional effort in the approach (as all accessibility does) and that where necessary appropriately accessible alternatives be provided, such as a HTML versions. Adobe Macromedia has a great paper on the topic of Flash accessibility. - Flash files are very large
Granted, the average Flash application is indeed larger than the average HTML web page - however Flash does so much more!
Flash was developed specifically for online delivery, as such it copes well with slower connections. It provides options for streaming, background downloading or segmenting code which work very well to reduce the amount of data required before someone can begin using a Flash application.
I've recently seen an instance where an eLearning application offered animated lessons via DHTML (Dynamic HTML) or via Flash. The DHTML versions were 10x the size of the Flash versions and placed a much greater load on the network. - Flash applications cannot be indexed by search engines
This may be true for some of the older (and less used) search engines. However the leaders, particularly Google, have been able to index and search within Flash files since 2003. Adobe Macromedia also provide an SDK for website/intranet search so you can find Flash apps within your website or intranet as well! - Not many people have Flash on their PCs
It is true that Nepal and Bangladesh have low penetration rates for Flash. If you are in a country with low internet penetration or restrictive government policies it's quite likely there will not be many Flash users around.
However across the developed Western and Eastern worlds, Flash penetration exceeds 98%. - Flash doesn't separate the content, presentation and business rules layers
Actually this is an issue with inexperienced Flash designers, not Flash itself. It's very possible (and I've delivered projects in this manner) to separate these layers using XML. All of the Flash applications I produced whilst at ActewAGL used XML to feed content into the Flash presentation engine - making it simple to update text.
Boasts
Here's a couple of the Flash applications I've produced/directed in the past.
These were for edutainment purposes, but also served to support the organisation's branding and build awareness amongst future customers.
Note I'm NOT a Flash designer - these were designed by specialists, I was responsible for concept and ongoing direction.
- Power up a rock concert - taught children about the need to use different energy sources to replace coal power.
- Energy saving fun house - used at several major events to show children different ways to save energy and water in their homes
- Utilities timeline - a historical timeline of the development of utilities such as telecommunications, water and power
Sunday, June 01, 2008
eGovernment in Australia is like a chocolate éclair | Tweet |
There is some exciting activity happening in the Australian eGovernment scene.
States such as Victoria, Queensland and WA have taken major steps to standardise their online approaches across departments. At local level South Australia has introduced a phenomenal content management system that allows every council to have a well structured website, providing access to the key services they offer while still supporting individuality and innovation.
However at a Federal level it appears to me that eGovernment activity is more patchy.
Certainly there are fantastic applications such as e-tax from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), and the 2007 eCensus from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
But across the Federal Government there is little consistency as to how websites and eGovernment applications are designed, built or managed. Standards for reporting to allow ready comparisons across government sites do not exist and there are few efficiencies in coding or content management across departments or even within agencies across websites and intranets.
AGIMO (the Australian Government Information Management Office) did some sterling work a few years ago to develop a set of Better Practice Checklists and Guides for Federal government sites, however these are not enforceable, aging and do little to 'rein in' Agencies who go their own way.
Personally I've spoken with AGIMO several times to get their position on email marketing, wikis, blogs and participation in stakeholder forums and social media - unfortunately there are no guidelines and little knowledge of what is actually occurring in these spaces across the Government sector.
On this basis, while eGovernment does have a firm outer later, full of chocolatey goodness, the core is simply mush.
There are a number of steps I have identified that would allow Australia's Federal Government to begin realising the efficiencies and benefits that could be delivered via the online channel.
These include:
- Auditing the online channel within all Government departments to gain an understanding of the websites/intranets/extranets they run, support or engage with, the (software) systems they use, the governance in place and their strategic plans for the channel.
- Establishing and maintaining a register of key people working in the online area (business and IT people) across Departments who can cross-fertilise and support agency initiatives.
- Establishing appropriate and standardised reporting metrics that can be audited by the ANAO and guarantee that senior management and ministerial staff are provided with the same type of information no matter which agency. This may also include standardising on a core set of web measurement technologies.
- Establish strong guidelines on appropriate governance across website, intranet and extranet management.
- Create guidelines for engagement via the online channel - approaches for using social media and two-way communications tools in an effective, responsible and governable manner.
- Create National and State panels of suppliers across key areas, such as content management, search technologies, web design, mobile web design, rich media development, email marketing, mobile marketing and similar online areas that any Agency can draw on.
- Establish national standards around interface design - as simple as whether to place 'OK' or 'Cancel' to the left, using the same term for 'Firstname' and as complex as is needed. Due to how Agencies are so tied to their existing 'standards' no matter how different it is from other Agencies', there needs to be muscle to enforce this, perhaps with the involvement of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO).
- Negotiate Government-wide head-level agreements with key providers so that smaller Agencies can access the tools and services they need to develop their online channel at an appropriate cost and support level.
- Build a government-wide library of common tools, code and 'widgets' which Agencies can draw on and reuse within their own systems. If the ongoing management and development of these common tools is an issue I'm sure appropriate arrangements can be developed to allow Agencies to contribute what they can afford while still benefiting - after all we're all the same eGovernment and all the money comes from the same source.
- Establish National training standards for staff in the online area - both business and technical - to ensure that citizens receive a similar standard of service online, just as is expected from telephone or face-to-face services.
The situation isn't all gloom and doom (how gloomy can a chocolate éclair be) - there are some initiatives which have begun to address some of my goals above.
Govdex is a prime example, a centrally provided wiki system (using Confluence - my second favourite wiki system behind MediaWiki) that any Agency can use to facilitate engagement. I have implemented two wikis using the system and while it appears not all agencies 'play nice' as yet (it's hideously slow in our office), I have nothing but praise for the organisation supporting the application and for AGIMO's work in providing the service.
Another initiative is the AGOSP program, also from AGIMO - which will see Agencies be able to access a central forms system for citizen forms, as they can already do for business forms and aims to strengthen Australia.gov.au as the central point for online engagement with Government.
However from my perspective it appears that most Federal Agencies are siloed - each doing their own research, design, development, system selection, governance and ongoing management - taking few learnings from others and definitely not sharing experiences to any great extent.
Perhaps one day in the far future eGovernment in Australia will develop that extra hard gobstopper core - but for now, in my humble opinion, it remains an éclair.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Explaining digital media to beginners | Tweet |
One of the most difficult tasks for anyone working in the online industry is to bring along an internal audience who are not 'digital natives'.
This often includes the people who control the purse strings in organisations, who do not quite get how these newfangled digital toys work - or that they are business tools and not toys.
Fortunately people are now beginning to realise that the internet isn't simply another hula hoop fad, but actually sparking that 'AHA!' moment remains a challenge.
A tool I find useful are the Commoncraft series of videos, which use simple concepts and physical objects to demonstrate digital concepts.
If you've not yet discovered Commoncraft, visit their Youtube channel and take a look.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Holographic meetings are now | Tweet |
This is the next generation of teleconferencing - telepresence via holographic meetings - where people from somewhere else in the world appear right in the room with you (or in this case on the stage).
All using internet IP-based standards.
Think of the travel savings!
No sense of smell yet though!
http://www.musionmedia.co.uk/cisco_day.html
And an article about it is at the Human Productivity Lab.
