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Since the release of the report, The power of information (which I'm planning to blog about next week), the UK government has taken enormous steps towards using the internet in more empowering and collaborative ways to improve service offerings, communication and transparency.
I've blogged previously about the principles for online participation developed for UK civil servants, which was another direct outcome of this report.
Now the UK government has released a host of new government data, previously unavailable, for use in the development of mashups by individuals, companies and government agencies.
This is a virtually (excuse the pun) unheard of step for any government - to release data in a way that makes it easy for anyone to combine it, analyse it, represent it in combination with other data and form conclusions.
Taking the concept even further, the UK government is stimulating innovation by running a competition for the best mash-ups created using the data, with 20,000 pounds in the prize pool.
More news about the competition is available from Yahoo.
Full details are at the Power of Information Taskforce's blog.
The data being released is available at the UK's Show us a better way website.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
UK government drops its pants to encourage online innovation | Tweet |
Presentation Zen on Radio National at 9am | Tweet |
If you, like me, missed Garr Reynold's sold-out presentation in Sydney on Friday, kindly hosted by StepTwo (or if you'd like a second dose) listen to Radio National from 9am this morning.
Garr will be on for 15 minutes speaking about design - from a Presentation Zen perspective.
The piece will be repeated next Wednesday, as well as available through ABC's fabulous podcasts.
Is government on the internet or part of the internet? | Tweet |
I've been reviewing a very interesting presentation from Paul Ramsay, one of my blog's Canadian readers.
Titled RoboCop, Public Service in the Internet Age, it asks whether government is simply on the internet, or is part of the internet.
It frames this question based on whether government is simply using the intranet to replicate the services it provides via other channels, or using the new medium to go further.
This is a topic I resonate with. For many years I've been telling people that what we see on the internet today is similar to what we first saw in films - stage shows re-enacted on a flat screen.
It took many years for movie makers to learn how to use the medium to go beyond what was possible on a stage, and the types of movies we see today bear little resemblance to our first stumbling efforts in the medium.
The internet is the same. It's not just digital paper, online radio or short videos - it's a mass medium that takes all these elements, twists them 180 degrees and adds on seamless global surfing, collaboration, citizen empowerment and much more.
From what we've managed to do so far at my agency we're simply on the internet - providing electronic versions of print concepts - 'fact sheets', 'newsletters', 'forms', 'media releases' and 'data tables'.
I am hopeful and working hard to ensure that in the next few years we'll break through the perceptual barriers to build understanding across the department of what is really possible with the online channel and how we can support our customers and staff in entirely new ways.
New medium = new rules
New medium = new opportunities
New medium = new challenges
How do you see the internet changing your organisation?
Friday, July 04, 2008
How authentic are government communicators? | Tweet |
Are government communicators - and their agencies - perceived as authentic?
If you believe the Authentic Enterprise report from the Arthur W. Page society, this is one of the most critical questions for government in the digital age.
The report looks at three converging trends for corporate and government communications in the 21st society,
- The digital network economy
"...providing interlinked, low cost (even free) and easy-to-use ways to communicate, to publish and to broadcast, to work and to organize people with common interests. This is driving a shift in the way people interact with each other and with companies and institutions. It changes how dialogue occurs, how perceptions are shaped and how relationships are forged." - The reality of a global economy
"Free trade agreements, the Internet and the emergence of highly skilled populations in developing regions have created a “flat world.” This is reshaping the footprint – and even the idea – of the corporation. It’s shifting from a hierarchical, monolithic, multinational model to one that is horizontal, networked and globally integrated." - The appearance and empowerment of myriad new stakeholders:
"...there is now a diverse array of communities, interests, nongovernmental organizations and individuals. Many of these new players represent important interests, while others are not legitimate stakeholders, but rather simply adversarial or malicious.
Regardless of motive, all are far more able to collaborate among themselves around shared interests and to reach large audiences.
As it states in the report,
"The quality of the company’s products and services (or lack thereof) is apparent to all customers and potential customers. Its treatment of employees and retirees is visible across the corporation and to potential employees and public interest groups. Its citizenship, environmental behavior, corporate governance standards, executive compensation practices and public policy recommendations are transparent to all."The upshot is that public and private organisations that wish to continue to thrive need to rethink their approach in a holistic way, not simply shifting their externally communications messages, but making authentic and lasting changes in how they conduct business, deliver customer service, treat staff and address environmental and governance issues.
What does this specifically mean for government communicators?
I've already begun exploring this topic in previous posts - we're already seeing greater online scrutiny and more information available on government agencies in channels that agencies have limited influence or control over.
Over time it will become increasingly important for departments or senior public officials to walk their talk every time, as any differences between message and reality will become more obvious and widely known, potentially creating embarrassment and more for governments or the individuals involved.
Where message and action are not consistent PR issues will arise faster, from unexpected angles and potentially do lasting damage to the credibility of government agencies and the government of the day.
That's not an epitaph any government communicator should like to have.
So what can government agencies do?
There's an opportunity right now for government agencies to join the online conversations, establish credibility (being government isn't automatic credibility anymore) and become an opinion leader, rather than an opinion victim.
While government communicators cannot control these discussions, we can at least ensure we're in the loop, able to explain misunderstandings before they spiral out of control and correct agency mistakes before they become damaging.
This does mean making hard decisions - comment approvals cannot take weeks, the audience's language must be used rather than jargon and bureaucratise, honesty and authenticity are paramount, to the extent of admitting (and rectifying) mistakes and, as the biggest kid on the block, government agencies have to play very gently or be perceived as bullies.
The alternative is for government communicators to fall back on the old approach - make no comment, only engage via 'official' channels and hope the storms that arise will blow over.
There are examples already of how poorly this has worked for organisations elsewhere in the world.
How to take action
- Search for mentions of your agency on the internet and discover some of the centres of discussion and debate. Gauge their tone and approach and whether they would welcome official representation, familiarise yourself with the appropriate way to write for the audience.
- Prepare internal policies on online engagement - how should your organisation react to or address negative blog or forum posts?
- Prepare an engagement strategy that provides the flexibility to communicate the facts, with as little spin as possible, then get it approved and get involved in the discussion.
eGov review: Vic Graduated Licensing System | Tweet |
The Victorian government has impressed me for several years for their commitment to the effective use of the online channel in government initiatives.
Their Graduated Licensing System (GLS) for young drivers has been extremely well-supported online, with one of the most creative approaches to the channel I've seen in government.
I don't know the budget for the development, however they have made good use of cheap open-source applications, using the Joomla content management system (one I use personally) for the website and using Youtube for storage and distribution of the campaign video.
The video created for the GLS was the highlight for me - it is quite watchable, full of humour and very unlike a traditional government advertisement. In fact I first discovered this site through people recommending the video on blogs.
The website is well designed to appeal to the main target market - young drivers - using strong imagery and fewer words that your average government website. The navigation is clear and the text effectively customised for the different audiences, but consistently retaining the same voice and with minimal jargon.
The site is designed to function effectively across Firefox and Internet Explorer and has well formed code and metadata, so realistically a few tweaks would make this complete.
Interestingly enough, the site's government branding is placed at the bottom of the page. Given the audience this may help make the site feel more friendly and less formal.
I found many parts of the website a little disappointing. The body text in the site is quite small and there is no control built into the site to allow adjustments to text size. While this is acceptable for the main audience, one of the secondary audiences - the parents of young drivers - could have difficulty reading the small text, particularly as it is white on black.
There is a search function, which is a positive, particularly as there is no site map. However it is unusually placed in the middle-right side of the site, detached from the top menu and most frequent placement for this type of function.
The search results did not appear to be optimised well either. A search on 'GLS', the initials of the system, presented as the top result the new radio campaign. A page actually explaining the GLS did not appear at all in the first (of 5) pages of results.
The FAQ section could also do with some refinement. Firstly it presents results in question then answer format, but without a list of questions at the top. This means that someone seeking an answer has to read down the page in the hoping of finding it. This is made even harder as the questions are in gray text, on the site's black background, making them easy to miss as they are less visible than the rest of the text.
So in conclusion, it's a good campaign, with an excellent video for the medium and backed by a decent website.
With some refinements to the text sizing (such as a control to change name), search placement and results weighting and to the presentation of the FAQs, it could be a great site.
