Gov 2.0 Camp: from the Twitterstream

Here’s another one of my soon to be patented (:->) reports from a conference I didn’t attend, brought to you through the benificence of the Twitterverse.

Unfortunately, it isn’t as complete as I’d like. After TransparencyCamp, when I discovered that the Twitter Search runs out after 100 pages of history, I new I’d have to find a different solution for Gov 2.0 Camp. I expected this one to have a lot more tweets than the last. (And I was right!) My solution was to grab the RSS feed for the #gov20camp Twitter search and pipe it in to my Google reader. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about tweets falling off the bottom of the Twitter Search.

It didn’t work so well. I don’t know why, but only a fraction of the tweets made it into the RSS feed. I realized something was up when I kept seeing retweets but not the original tweets. In the end, I think only 10-20% of the tweets made it over to Google reader. So the summary below is based on the bit from the RSS stream and about 120 pages of Titter Search history. A lot, especially from the first day, I never saw.

Below are the highlights of what I did see, this time organized thematically rather than chronologically. (Let me know in the comments if that works better for you. I think it’s necessary for (un)conferences like this with concurrent sessions.) If you don’t the tweet you are proud of, it’s not because I didn’t think it a highlight. It’s because I didn’t see it.

And if you were there and tweeted: Thanks!

Summaries:

• Gov20Camp: Did you know that you can read notes and blogs from some #Gov20Camp sessions at http://www.government20club.org/
• levyj413: Gov20 campers: click “register to post” in the blogroll and post your notes, comments, thoughts to http://www.government20club.org/
• govloop: What’s Your Take on Gov20 Camp https://www.govloop.com/forum/topics/whats-your-take-on-gov20
• topperge: Link to ALL the murals / graphic recordings produced at #gov20camp http://picasaweb.google.com/DayJobView/GOV20camp# 4 free use! (via @DayJobView)

Blogs and reports:

• jpmorgenthal: New blog entry – Government 2.0 Camp http://tinyurl.com/cjmpr5
• cheeky_geeky: CNET writeup of #Gov20Camp – http://tinyurl.com/clev3t
• airforcenews: Quick blogpost from Gov2.0Camp. http://tinyurl.com/dely2r
• thedrake: Latest blog post on Government 2.0: http://tinyurl.com/ctnfjc
• cdorobek: At session: Top 10 measures for transparency success to help Obama admin Notes here http://twurl.nl/nyj3fp
• bobgourley: I just read http://tinyurl.com/dmf43l which is one of the better commentaries on #gov20camp
• Dwatson783: New blog post up on some great #gov20 ideas from #gov20camp – www.fromthegrassroots.com – Thanks Andrew Rasiej & co for the great video!
• Gov20Camp: Very nice write-up of Government 2.0 Camp – ‘a tremendous event’ – http://is.gd/px3y

Videos/Slideshows from Sessions:

• NoahWolfe: Watch NOAA video here: http://www.vimeo.com/3768001
• chriswarner2000: You can get the ‘Learn by Example’ presentation from #gov20camp at http://tinyurl.com/crb4j5. And thanks to all the session attendees!
• corbett3000: @rasiej video of your transparency session at #gov20camp is live: http://tinyurl.com/dzmpdj
• levyj413: Video of @rasiej summarizing the results of his session to ID top 10 for gov’t transparency http://twurl.nl/kkjwn2
• primerano: #cloud session at #gov20camp was not at all what i expected. slides here -> http://tinyurl.com/bl78o
• csukach: Twitter & crisis comm: Rumors Quashed At The Speed Of Light slides here http://tinyurl.com/dn8ma2
• krazykriz: @ariherzog – here’s where you can find the final set of slides from our #ali presentation: http://twurl.nl/kfo3yu
• corbett3000: Full video recap of my #gov20camp session on Citizen Driven Idea Sourcing + Needs Matching: http://tinyurl.com/cybgtp
• JuliaBeeBuzz: Posted notes from #gov20cloud session during #gov20camp to http://bit.ly/laBku
• mikeman: Great video about one of the sessions at Gov 2.0 Camp, which was fascinating http://tinyurl.com/dzmpdj

Quotable Quotes

• krazykriz: Best introduction so far: “Let’s do this!”
• alecjr: maybe i don’t get gov 2.0, but sure as hell would like gov 1.0 to work first
• jfc3: you don’t need policy for common sense.
• dominiccampbell: Apparently social media ruined the stock exchange. Too much data and info exchange. Hmmm
• technicalfault: @dominiccampbell soc med ruined stock exchange: Who on EARTH said that? Not a free marketeer. More info = more perfect market
• sanford: Could developers be to the 21st Century which civil and mechanical engineers were to the 20th Century?
• sabrak: Lots of discussions about trust. Methinks the issue at hand is more about control.
• jack_holt: if you can develop it for Africa it will work in Iowa @noneck
• KetyE: web 2.0 as a tool 2 truly address the question of diversity- ‘Diverse perspectives, opinions & beliefs’
• chrisheuer: one other insight I meant to share was “diversity matters, and it is required” get other voices diff then yours in the room

Accessibility

• tjohns06: “We would love to stream every press conference but don’t have the money to transcribe and caption everything that fast” @BevUSA
• sarahebourne: Lisa Wolfisch Census has created FULLY accessible flash video player. Has testing lab with strict and thorough tester
• sarahebourne: Problem: very little browser support for ARIA. So even if you follow the rules can still fail
• sarahebourne: How much can we crowdsource? What’s wrong w/ our sites? And get help like closed captioning?
• sarahebourne: Tools available for captioning, see for instance wgbh.org
• sarahebourne: Google Audio Indexing GAUDI http://labs.google.com/gaudi
• sarahebourne: Twitter color schemes can fail contrasts- agencies need to take care

Blogging

• jfranks03: On blogging: You need 10% neg comments to be credible as a gov blog. Are you ready to be credible?
• lostonroute66: at USA.gov every single tweet must stand on it’s own as a useful piece of information
• web20blog: 18 yrs in USCG and he saw the blog. It was the first time he knew what the commandant was thinking and the purpose the assignments
• dkrape: EPA blog concepts were based on State’s Dipnote: http://blogs.state.gov
• dkrape: Main reason to blog? Put a human face on a 17,000 people organization. [Heh, we’re people too!] Also, what EPA does.
• joelogon: @levyj413 – Usual blog fear is getting piled on in comments; real problem is no comments. Which is much worse.
• dkrape: How did the EPA launch their blog? They started by faking it, with flat HTML and no comments. Later got WordPress
• dkrape: Q: How do you get bloggers? A: All volunteer, public affairs tries not to blog too much. Lots of follow-up with writers.
• dkrape: Q: Do you get non-USG writers? A: Not yet next step. But keep a list of interesting people to engage. Env belongs to all
• fantomplanet: @dkrape Find your “passionate” employees, and have them talk about what they know.

Consultation

• NoelDickover: If govt agencies are not agile, they really can’t take all this crowdsourced input and change things quickly.
• sharontb: should we be narrowing our stakeholder input or just putting ourselves out there for the loudest voices
• smburns: Wondering if wisdom of crowd ever gets crushed by the loudest (sometimes unwise) people in the crowd.
• macurak: If Web 2.0 will solve public participation how do we engage older people, low-income people, people w/o Internet access?

Demographics

• krazykriz: We need to have a training for older generations – not necessarily to show how to use (it’s easy), but to raise awareness
• krazykriz: My take: social media bridges the gen gap b/c we don’t see age; only another human voice sharing ideas and collaborating
• krazykriz: Parents to Kids – Q: Why don’t you unlock YouTube ? A: b/c there’s icky stuff there” That’s THE Metaphor for dynamic NOW

Examples

• ZachTumin: Well, @govloop and @cdorobek, I’m thinking we might need a Gov 2.0 “Oscars” – and a “Razzies” – awards program… 🙂
• dkrape: Q: PD examples that really connect with people? May notes My Culture+My Culture=? video contest: http://exchanges.state.gov
• justgrimes: Mentioned this earlier at #gov20camp but several people at UMD researching crisis tech http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/911gov/ #CrisisCamp, Illspread the word
• noneck: http://government20bestpractices.pbwiki.com – int’l community on gov20
• planetrussell: State Dept: Serious stuff in virtual worlds: conf’s on human trafficking, security, language training, NGO collaboration.
• kmcurry: Collecting twitter use cases here: http://tinyurl.com/czlee3
• planetrussell: Now in Public Diplomacy & SoMe Session at #gov20camp tag = #pd20 State has its own socnet: http://connect.state.gov, launched 10/08
• JuliaBeeBuzz: Example of “deep engagement” = enabling informed action – HumanServices.net – a gateway to an “Information Commons”
• StevenAsher: CTO of Seattle- seattle.gov every fire truck dispatch is published to Google Maps w/in 60 seconds. Wow
• markstencel: Seattle’s Real-Time 911 Dispatch: http://is.gd/pqKB
• mikel: Seattle.gov publishes real time fire dept map/data. DC has real time snow plow map. Dreaming of gov data flows

Gov 2.0 (the term)

• immunity: This cute UK guy speaking now makes real value points about why they don’t want to call it Government 2.0, its too geeky.
• immunity: His point and accent make me want to be part of the EU (future gov networks vs. Government 2.0)
• sarahebourne: Advocate for “open government” – may be less geeky, more meaningful to more people

IT

• sabrak: Overheard three different conversations about “why does IT always say no?” Good question, I think.
• rasiej: Macon Phillips being asked “Where are the CIOs?” by federal employees who are here hungry for new media to come to their agencies.
• sabrak: Lack of mgmt oversight threatens mgrs. Fear of jobs becoming irrelevant. Gov tech model is turned upside down.
• fantomplanet: @matthewburton Ask the WH ppl if they have to go thru security & an architecture review board 80 times.
• lovisatalk: Need shorter lifecycles due to rapid changes in tech. Sustainabilty & rapid prototyping need to be considered
• sabrak: No more long implementations, years of planning, policy, big budgets. Tools are free or cheap and easy to deploy.
• minaah: Private vs public clouding. which is appropriate for your agency?

Lessons Learned

• amandare: Always start with the mission. Mgmt shouldn’t force a technology solution. Adopt what makes sense to your audience, even if 1.0
• ariherzog: @AFPADude It is cliche to say ‘content is king’ so I prefer ‘communication’ or ‘community’ – without either, content is moot.
• sabrak: Encouraging use of social media won’t work unless people want to communicate. Online may be better venue for some managers.
• beleita: @smburns are some staffers are afraid of a negative connotation of being too active (ie she doesnt have enough work to do)
• bienko: champion soc media w/in your agency by helping employees know how new models will impact their jobs/roles, increases comfort lvl
• csukach: Overheard: It’s important to lead by example-by engaging and trying new tools. Find out what wrks for you.
• lostonroute66: 9x problem: overvalue existing system by 3x. undervalue new system by 3x. need to show 9x potential value to initiate change.
• kpkfusion: Completely disagree with recommendation on using pilots. Sets agency up for failure as old world thwarts new world.
• smburns: Must read for #gov20camp RT @GovTwit: Survey results of 370 govt professionals re: #Gov20 barriers/lessons: http://bit.ly/IoGAl
• smburns: One fear/barrier to gov20 that I hadn’t heard much until now is “there is no archiving of info. in social media”
• HeidiPage: Great Tip in using Wiki’s, install the bells and whisles carefully. http://tinyurl.com/6ezp8k
• coinsight: A “new media” / marketing focus is very different from an e-participation / engagement perspective. We need both.
• cheeky_geeky: RECOMMEND: More crowdSOURCING, less crowdSTORMING.
• sarahebourne: British Gov has taxonomy for issues. Very useful. Do we have one? We should
• CheriSigmon: (mobile) http://tinyurl.com/c8p68j “6 Val Attrib” Authenticity, Transparency, Immediacy, Participation, Connectedness, Accountability

Privacy

• mixtmedia: Our culture is becoming increasingly open and casual. Privacy is becoming extremely loose. Pros and cons here.
• amzam: @thedrake notes we should be more freaked out by all personal data private sector has on us than govt does. scary truth.

ROI

• minaah: what is the roi for social media?– questions to be asking: what is your mission, who are you trying to reach?
• krazykriz: Participants: Just posted 2 sets of slides on my blog that deal with Social Media 101 and ROI: http://bit.ly/n6Zuf
• guyma: Social media investment – ‘It doesn’t take a lot to do a lot’ – great point!
• mixtmedia: How do you measure the value of a conversation? (@sradick) What is the value of a relationship?
• smburns: Smithsonian puts human face on blog stats to get support; talk about people engaged not just “hits and comments”
• NoelDickover: Metric for citizen engagement. Did the citizen engagement change the decisions made in govt or outputs from govt?
• NoelDickover: Metrics for citizen engagement should also include qualitative metrics – did it change the organization operations?
• mecredy: feedback on metrics for success? : Peoples time is most valuable commodity. Time on URL one example
• jmanecke: long-range success measure: citizens believe they influence their gov more than paid actors. Transparancy lets them see that.
• planetrussell: Perceived risks of social media adoption often illusory, and outweighed by risks of *not* adopting it, as @sradick says
• annagabbert: @Cureton, NASA CIO: Security risks are the same as talking on the phone or leaving something on the train. Just be mindful.
• cdorobek: Recommendation: Good to define the REAL risk – in the end, these are low cost tools
• gwynnek: It’s simply WRONG to have multiple agencies negotiating and renegotiating TOS with private sector. Waste of resources

Tools

• infoevp: Check out wikimatrix.org to find a tool that works for you in moving to web 2.0 in Agency.
• webtechman: Using Wikis for Government 2.0 Social Media Platform. Adoption? See http://wikipatterns.com
• primerano: wow there are a lot of internal government wikis. I have an extension that might help with PII. http://tinyurl.com/dkd5m5
• Gov20brad: UNDP guy: “maybe govt agencies should work together on open-source solutions and share the development cost” Excellent idea!
• JeanMiller: Add your best practices here Social Media Subcouncil http://govsocmed.pbwiki.com/Web-2-0-Governance-Policies-and-Best-Practices
• levyj413: Gov’t Social Media Subcouncil presence on the web: http://govsocmed.pbwiki.com/Contact-Us
• kmallwein: @sradick best site I’ve seen on graphical notetaking “writing on the walls-visual journalism that sticks” http://is.gd/ppxo
• webtechman: http://dev.gov would be awesome! How can web developers help implement social media in Government 2.0
• krazykriz: For those who attended levj413’s #gov20camp workshop on #epablog, see this @mikekujawski slide deck on gov blogging: http://bit.ly/Sz1lh

Transparency

• davidcjames: Five benefits of transparency: http://tinyurl.com/d64ysq
• wormlady: Making data available through govt app vs. making data available for mashups – two diff things
• sradick: “When will the gov’t understand that if they open their data, the PEOPLE will create the filters” – Sunlight Labs
• dismalscience: Very true: gov’t data tends to be structured in a way that reflects the organization/funding source, not the public need
• amzam: Biggest question of conference so far – gov agencies poised to put ton more data online, but are asking WHAT/HOW we want it.
• dismalscience: Says @cjoh: Problem w/ gov’t data is less the availability, and more the language and presentation of the data
• ahoppin: how should gov’t data be published? open-format machine-readable (ATOM etc.), RESTful API, possibly very light schema
• kolpeterson: Interoperable data formats (eg. XML) enable exchange like rail road tracks enabled commerce.
• JonGarfunkel: @sarahebourne not just data, but live data – http://bit.ly/SHI-feeds
• amzam: Andrew Turner: iterative process: pub data, develop data, track use, evaluate usage in determining how to pub data.
• SageMcGreen: @BevUSA [Bev Godwin] Trust in govt. means more transparency http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/other_tech.shtml
• govwiki: Road Map for Financial Recovery: Radical Transparency Now! http://is.gd/pfgS
• sarahebourne: epiphany from poster in classroom “Once you break a trust the damage is hard to repair” Gov2.0=repairing trust in govt
• KetyE: ‘transparency, participatory, collaborative’ refer to end state & process to get there as well.
• cwolz: in session on “limits of transparency”. ie should public have access to names/addresses of political donors? eg prop 8 in CA
• sarahebourne: Important to control not to keep secrets but to be SURE it’s true. Cannot distribute bad data b/c it will spread
• sarahebourne: Need to avoid creating secondary crisis, so need to flow info. Parents rushing in, blocking ambulances for instance

White House QA session with Bev Godwin and Macon Phillips

• matthewburton: Wow. Open For Questions was implemented in 8 DAYS.
• quepol: Whitehouse.gov “Open for Government” (using Google Moderator) took 8 days to implement, using free & open source tools.
• cdorobek: Seattle Mayor Nichols will have a ‘ask the mayor’ based on WH program
• sarahebourne: How to support this active community? a: WH can’t be primary support mech for this. Web Mgrs Cncl, Orgs, st/local govt
• cdorobek: Macon Phillips: As we do things and they don’t blow up, we can do other things
• You2Gov: White House New Media Dir.: “We are starting in WH; successful projects will then be rolled out in other agencies.”
• svenburg: @macon “We can get a lot of work done by setting an example”
• dannyallenjr: Don’t rely on the WH to fight your battles. Use them as an example to help make your case.
• smburns: Macon Phillips of WH New Media: “Power is from people finding each other not from going through some central point”, Amen!
• ivoivo: head of new media, @macon encouraging gov innovation outside whitehouse, ‘we are not the hub’ very encouraging
• jedsundwall: @macon: Online engagement is not just public. It involves engaging the people inside the building as well.
• smburns: Great idea: Could we have an unconference / camp on how to fix our economy, create new jobs, etc.?

If you have anything to add, that’s what comments are for!