Government 2.0 16 Dares

Happy New Year, I came up and want to share with you 16 dares for engaging to Gov 2.0 with Web 2.0 Technologies

1. Social media is not just about the technology, but what the technology enables others to collaborate.
2. Social media is driven by people, not by your Office.  Stop trying to deploy by one team or office, and instead think of a way to bring together people from across your organization to engage collaboration.  Develop  and nourish your community of practice.
3. The risks of social media are greatly outweighed by the risks of NOT engaged in social media.
4. Your Government agency/organization/team/branch/division/office may not be unique.  You do not work in a place that just can’t just use social media because your work is not right for public consumption.  You do not work in an environment where social media will never work. If you work with people then Gov 2.0 can take root. Your challenges, while unique to you, are not unique to the government. Learn from others and adapt and adopt and tried.
5. You will work with skeptics or ‘can’t be done here’ and other people who want to see social media fail because the transparency and authenticity will threaten their perceived control and expose their weaknesses. But, be confident.  Know what you know and don’t back down.  You will be challenged by skeptics and others who do not care and/or understand social media.  Do not let them discourage you.
6. Younger employees are not necessarily any more knowledgeable about social media than older employees.  Stop assuming that they are. They are more exposed to Web 2.0, not necessarily a practioner.
7. Be humble.  You don’t know everything so stop trying to pretend that you do.  It’s ok to be wrong. Mistakes can and will be made (a lot).  Stop trying to create safeguards to eliminate the possibility of mistakes and instead concentrate on how to deal with them when they are made.
8. You will work with people who want to get involved with social media for all the wrong reasons.  They will see it as an opportunity to advance their own their careers, to make more money, or to show off.  These people will be more dangerous to your efforts than the biggest skeptic.
9. Before going out and hiring any social media “consultants,” assume that there is already someone within your organization who is actively using social media and who is very passionate about it.  Find them, use them, engage them.  These are the people who will make or break your foray into social media.
10. Information security is a very real and valid concern.  Necessary evil,  Learn to use it with you advantage and live with it.  It will protect you.
11. Policies are not written in stone.  With justification, passion, and knowledge, policies and rules can and should be changed or waived.  Sometimes it’s as easy as asking, but other times will require a knockdown, drag-out fight.  Both are important.
12. There are true social media champions throughout the government.  Find them.  Talk to them.  Learn from them.  Work with and corroborate with them not top them. 
13. Today’s employees will probably spend five minutes during the workday talking to their friends on Facebook or watching the latest YouTube video and be intouch.  Today’s employees will also probably spend an hour at 10:00 at night answering emails or responding to a work-related blog post. It all balance out, because we care about our work and a professional.  Trust and assume that your employees are good people who want to do the right thing and who take pride in their work.
14. Transparency, participatory, collaborative – these terms do not refer only to the end state; they refer to the process used to get there as well.  It’s ok to have debates, arguments, and disagreements about the best way to go about achieving “Government 2.0.”  Diverse perspectives, opinions, and beliefs strengthen, and  should be embraced and talked about openly and build concensus and starve skeptics.
15. It’s not enough to just allow negative feedback on your blog or website, you also have to do, respond or something about it.  Don’t just listen to what the public has to say, respond  because you are concern, If not don’t start.
16. Use Web 2.0 technologies as tools for communication, sharing, participation, transparency, and collaboration. Today’s technologies that is driving social media will change, but the principles of will not.  You can either jump on the Government 2.0  or get hit by it.  Which one will you be?

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