E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez

Public Engagement – Public Empowerment by Stephen Collins

And it looks like I am on a roll, because here I am again putting together this blog post with another reference on the impact of social software, and its wider adoption, within the Government industry. Yes, another Government 2.0 presentation. And this one just as good as the ones I have been talking about already thus far. If you really enjoyed the one I shared earlier from Deb Lavoy on Social Workplace for Government 2.0 (To date one of the best decks, by the way, on social software I have bumped into throughout the years!), then you are also going to enjoy the one I am going to reference today.

It is coming from my good friend from down under Stephen Collins (a.k.a. @trib) who, a few hours back, pointed me through Twitter (You may have noticed how as of late it’s become my dynamic RSS feed reader… And loving it!) to the recent presentation he did at the GOVIS 2009 User Centred Government conference under the title Public Engagement – Public Empowerment. You can check out the slides over at Slideshare, as usual. But what’s also really interesting, and a must read, is the extensive and rather engaging blog post that he put together to explain not only the contents of the deck, but also his overall impressions of the event itself. Highly recommended reading with plenty of excellent stuff all over the place!

So, you may be wondering what you are going to find in Stephen’s presentation, right? Well, just like Stephen himself mentions as part of the headline from the deck plenty of "Thoughts on possibility for Government 2.0". And a new set of rules which I thought I would share over here as a teaser to get you folks going:

• "Everything and anything is possible – Ask why and why not and expect a real answer
• There are no bad ideas – Just different ones
• Passive consumption is pointless – Do tweet, blog, comment, challenge and ask as you get out of this what you put in"

Perfect way to set the stage, don’t you think? At least, that’s what I thought myself as I went through the first few slides before diving in. He then continues by referencing some of the fine work that Tara Hunt (a.k.a. @missrogue) did under Government Next and which I also blogged about it a little while ago, to then move forward explaining what it would be like a Government listening to its citizens and actively participating and engaging with them through social software to share ideas, exchange experiences, knowledge, collaborate amongst peers, innovate. In short, define the next generation of Government… Powerful.

Now, Stephen always does very very visual presentations and this one is no exception, but what’s really a true delight is how he uses that imagery to convey really powerful messages, which he then tops up by sharing plenty of use cases, scenarios, down to earth examples of how folks are already making use of this new wave of collaboration and knowledge sharing tools within the social software realm. And that’s what makes going through this deck such a treat!

My favourite slides are slide #44, but I am not going to spoil it for you. I will leave it down to you to go through it, and slide #73 where he has put together a very very powerful word-cloud using Wordle  that I am sure is going to keep you thinking for a little while trying to digest it all.

Yes, like I said, one of those presentations with really worth while, and equally strong, messages to think and ponder some more on the whole topic of what the next generation of government, our government should be like, and a lovely complement to the ones I have been sharing over here before from Deb Lavoy and the Us now film. Hope you enjoy them just as much as I did. And to get you going here is the embedded Slideshare from Stephen’s so you can start, right now, flipping the charts!

Tags: Stephen Collins, Acidlabs, Trib, GOVIS 2009, GOVIS, User Centred, Public Engagement, Public Empowerment, Engagement, Empowerment, User Generated, Tara Hunt, Missrogue, Government Next, Us Now, Films, Movies, Enterprise 2.0, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Computing, Social Media, Collaboration, Communities, Learning, Knowledge Sharing, KM, Knowledge Management, Remote Collaboration, Innovation, Networking, Social Networks, Conversations, Dialogue, Communication, Connections, Relationships, Productivity, Government, Society, Humanity, Inspiration, Insights, Online Collaboration, Twitter, Social Workplace, Government, Government 2.0, Deb Lavoy, Culture, Technology, Social Web, Transparency, Trust, Opportunity, Citizens 2.0, Citizen, Slideshare, Wordle

Social Workplace for Government 2.0 by Deb Lavoy

Last Friday I put together a quick blog post sharing with folks some further insights on the already available film "Us Now – On the Power of Mass Collaboration, Government and the Internet",  mentioning as well how over the weekend I would take some time to watch it and beginning of this week share some more thoughts on what I thought about it. Well, I did. I did watch it in its entirety last Saturday and I thought I would share with you today the impression(s) it left on me.

What a fantastic film, folks! If you can spare a bit over one hour of your time, this is one of those films that I am sure you would enjoy tremendously. I certainly did! There are plenty of things I learned about social software and Web 2.0 in general, and I know you would as well, but if there was anything that I absorbed almost quite immediately was something that I have been mentioning it for a while already: the fact that Web 2.0 transcends the world of the Internet big time and it touches us, as a society, in multiple levels that not only don’t we start to comprehend just yet, but we don’t have much of a choice to avoid it either altogether. And probably we shouldn’t!

Yes, I am talking about the unavoidable change we are all going through. The point of no return. A new wave of social interactions, way beyond the Social Web, that help us not only continue to share more and more knowledge by the day and collaborate with others, but also help us nurture and nourish our trust levels with everyone else, which is where I felt that’s the kind of change we most probably need at this very moment in time, given the current econolypse we are all going through.

Throughout the film you would be able to see plenty of use cases and scenarios of how folks like you and me are taking advantage of social software, but moving beyond the level of virtual, distributed interactions into more physical ones that have already been enhanced by those online conversations that have been taking place already! Thus virtual and physical come together as one. Finally! Us. A change we can no longer ignore, nor neglect or fail to embrace. We are just way beyond that level of reluctance and skepticism. We have already started embracing what’s inevitable: our own change to become something better as a result of those "improved" social interactions. Basically, what I have been saying all along on "work smarter, not necessarily harder", but which would also apply to every single aspect of our daily lives, not just work!

Fantastic video, I can assure you! With plenty more striking conclusions that I would not want to spoil for you, but I can certainly encourage you to watch through it till the end. It’s very very worth it. And funny enough earlier on today a tweet by my good friend, and very prolific KM blogger, John Tropea, just caught my attention on a Slideshare presentation that’s been around for a couple of months already, but which touches base, incredibly accurate, too!, with some of the main topics mentioned throughout the film itself! Talking about serendipity doing its magic …

After you have watched the movie check out the presentation titled "Social Workplace for Government 2.0" by Deb Lavoy. You will love it from the very first slide till the very end! What a wonderful deck on assessing and evaluating the benefits, barriers and overview of technologies within the social software space around the whole industry of Government. Her entire presentation covers three key main points that everyone should be not just aware of, but fully embrace them altogether. And if you don’t believe me, here you have got them:

• "Social media tools make connections that drive collaboration and Knowledge Management
• Culture is more important than technology
• New Technologies are pleasant to use, so people use them"

Brilliant, don’t you think? Well, it gets better! Way better! Deb covers very well, and rather extensively, topics so important as collaboration (Slide #10 on this subject is priceless!), transparency (Slide #15 is just such a gem!), compounding value, trust, respect, barriers to adoption (Fear & management by fear – Slide #31 is just so spot on!), etc. etc.

Like I said, one of those slide decks you bump into every now and then which would make you think for a while and which will continue to inspire you, in my case, with my efforts of driving, into new levels, the adoption of social software all over the place. It’s a change I cannot longer deny, or neglect, nor will I try to understand. There is no need to. It’s ok. The waters are lovely! We just have to dive in, deeper than ever, get soaked and continue to enjoy the various different benefits on driving the next wave of collaboration and knowledge sharing conversations by experiencing how Web 2.0 transcends the Social Web as we know it! Just brilliant!

Oh, and don’t forget to watch the Us now movie! It will help you much bring the dialogue on to the next level! Yes, as good as that! If not more …

Tags: Us Now, Films, Movies, Enterprise 2.0, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Computing, Social Media, Collaboration, Communities, Learning, Knowledge Sharing, KM, Knowledge Management, Remote Collaboration, Innovation, Networking, Social Networks, Conversations, Dialogue, Communication, Connections, Relationships, Productivity, Government, Society, Humanity, Inspiration, Insights, Econolypse, Physical Social Networks, Virtual Social Networks, Virtual Teams, Online Collaboration, Twitter, John Tropea, Social Workplace, Government, Government 2.0, Deb Lavoy, Culture, Technology, Social Web, Transparency, Trust, Compounding Value, Barriers to Adoption, Management by Fear, Fear, Slideshare

Us Now Film Now Online!

Do you remember the blog post I shared over here a couple of days ago on "Us Now – On the Power of Mass Collaboration, Government and the Internet"? Well, it looks like there are some really good news available out there. The film is now online! Yes, indeed, over at Vimeo! I just got alerted about it by my good friend Steve Dale (Great thinker, prolific blogger and thought leader on Communities, Collaboration and Knowledge Management you should start following, if not already!) who earlier on put together a nice lovely article on the topic, available at US Now film now online, which included a short introduction on what to expect from the film:

"In a world in which information is like air, what happens to power? Us Now is a documentary film project about the power of mass collaboration, government and the Internet.

Us Now tells the stories of online networks that are challenging the existing notion of hierarchy. For the first time, it brings together the fore-most thinkers in the field of participative governance to describe the future of government."

My first reactions to the film, you may be wondering, right? Well, none at this point in time. I haven’t watched it just yet. Weekend is just around the corner and my brain & body decided to make other plans for what’s left of this Friday afternoon. So I guess I will be watching it over the weekend or early next week, and at that point I may be taking a few minutes to share with you folks what I thought about it, but seeing some of the already existing videos interviews I sense I am going to like it. And quite a lot!

So, here it is. Hope you enjoy it (I know I will! ). Have a good one everyone!

Us Now from Banyak Films on Vimeo.

Tags: Us Now, Films, Movies, Steve Dale, Enterprise 2.0, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Computing, Social Media, Collaboration, Communities, Learning, Knowledge Sharing, KM, Knowledge Management, Remote Collaboration, Innovation, Networking, Social Networks, Conversations, Dialogue, Communication, Connections, Relationships, Productivity, Government, Society, Humanity, Vimeo, Inspiration, Insights, Video Interviews