Vietnam seems to understand Government 2.0

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Government 2.0 is a citizen-centric philosophy and strategy that believes the best results are usually driven by partnerships between citizens and government, at all levels.  It is focused entirely on achieving goals through increased efficiency, better management, information transparency, and citizen engagement and most often leverages newer technologies to achieve the desired outcomes. Government 2.0 is bringing business approaches, business technologies, to government. (as defined by me )

Vietnam is launching a program next year, investing $90 million dollars which, beginning in 2015 they expect to create annual returns of up to $1.5 billion.  Dr Phung Van On, Director, IT Center, Office of the Government, states that “To make it work, the government has proposed a comprehensive plan to ensure there is the appropriate legal framework, the right financing, human resources and implementation strategy.”    A top down goal-oriented approach that recognizes the following is key:

• You must invest money in training, technology, and people if you are to drive real change.
• Laws must be clarified for all those working to drive change.  In some cases laws may need to be modified, through proper channels of course, to support growth.
• Technology will often be a key enabler.  In fact, the majority of the savings Vietnam expects to see will come from a shift to the web for everything from citizens paying taxes to government acquisitions.

While we must wait a few  years before we know if the ROI being predicted is achieved it is clear that the country is already benefiting from the government 2.0 philosophy.  The Vietnamese tech sector, as noted in the article,”.. grew by 20 per cent (to US$6.26 billion) in 2009 despite the global economic downturn, and the government is targeting three times GDP growth through to 2020.”

Are outcomes guaranteed?  No, nothing in life is for sure.  However, a strategic approach with intelligent investment will deliver results. 

John

Related Articles

• It’s time for a new version of government (tech.fortune.cnn.com)
• Steve Ressler: New Snapshot of Gov 2.0′s Evolution (huffingtonpost.com)
• Transcript of an interview about Government 2.0 (clubtroppo.com.au)
• The Five Branches Of Government 2.0 (rohitbhargava.com)

My concerns with not feeding the trolls

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One of the laws of social media that I regularly hear is “don’t feed the trolls“.  There is, to be honest, many good reasons for this, including, but not limited to: 

• They waste precious resources, often driving focus away from real issues, real goals.
• They can never be pleased.  They are people that simply want to complain about something.

Alright….  They are noisy, they waste time, and you’re simply going to ignore these trolls anyway….  

However, sometimes people confuse not feeding the trolls with not listening to negative feedback, with those that disagree with their message.  The next time you begin to turn your back on the trolls ask yourself if there is any truth in their message.  Good luck out there. 

John 

It’s time for a new version of government (via Fortune Tech: Technology blogs, news and analysis from Fortune Magazine)

Very pleased that my first post on government 2.0 is now live on fortune.com. Check it out and let me know what you think.

 The government 2.0 movement is about change, real change, and how to use the power of tech to empower the public. Here’s how it will work, and who’s already behind it. By John Moore, contributor There is a movement underway, called Government 2.0, a movement is crucial to our future as a society and one that’s I’m a part of — an insider … Read More

via Fortune Tech: Technology blogs, news and analysis from Fortune Magazine

Innovation at Burlington High School

Patrick Larkin is the Principal of Burlington High School in Burlington, Massachusetts.  He is entering his fourth year and is focused on delivering a great education for his students. He is also passionate about innovation and social media, using Twitter to enhance learning and increase communication. I heard Patrick at the 140conf in Boston and knew I needed to ask him some questions.

View this document on Scribd

Do you need a social media strategy?

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I alway enjoy reading Bill Ives posts on the FASTforward blog and today is no different.  He asks the simple question, Is Social Media Tactical or Strategic?,  and points to a post from a month ago about Social Media Strategy usage.  The poll asked a very simple question to the readers, Does your company have a formal, written social-media strategy?  320 people responded and the answers, while not shocking, are worth discussing:  

• No, but we’re getting around to it 32.73%
• No, and we probably won’t write one anytime soon 27.64%
• Yes, and it’s really useful 20.00%
• Yes, but it’s not that relevant to our daily operations 12.36%
• We’re not using social media 5.82%
• We paid a consultant to come up with one for us, but we’re not sure what it really means 1.45%

80% of those 320 readers, 256 people, are not using social media in any formal, strategic way.  80% of the readers are in some way, shape, or form, simply “winging it”.  The control room is empty, there is no strategic guidance for these efforts.   How likely are these people to actually achieve meaningful results?  How likely are the changes they are putting in place to remain?  

Now, to be fair….  There is always the need to play, informally, with new technologies, new tactics, to understand how they work and to decide how they best fit into your strategic plans.  During this time a formal strategy is not yet needed.  

However, before your organization dives into social media, or more broadly into social business, you do need to step back and put together your business case, as I have written about before.  This business case will answer key questions that allow your organization, whether public or private,  to decide how these new tools and tactics fit into your overall strategy, into your goal achievement.  

I often ask people this simple question, will the work you are doing today continue when you leave this organization?  Too often, when we are discussing social business practices the answer is “probably not”.  When we continue to work without a formal strategy, without agreement, we are often able to achieve short-term wins.  I support that, of course, but you must recognize that strategic planning is critical to success.  Without this organizational buy-in your short-term successes will not result in long-term organizational change, without which, everyone ultimately loses.  

John  

Not sure where to start? Call me at The Lab or read any of these really good books (affiliate links): 

          

 Related Articles 

• Is Social Media Tactical or Strategic? (fastforwardblog.com)
• 5 Reasons Why Your Social Media Strategy Isn’t Really a Social Media Strategy (socialmediatoday.com)
• Social Media Strategy Map: How To Find Your Way (customerthink.com)
• Ventureneer Shares Successful Nonprofit Social Media Tactics (prweb.com)

Living in the past?

I apologize for the lack of attribution on the picture to the right.  This came through my e-mail through a long running e-mail chain so I am not even sure where it originated…

Anyway, you gotta love this guy….  He’s living in the past, just like many of the organizations around us today.  Just like those organizations, the individuals and organizations that he is interacting with (his wife in this case) are letting him know that the old ways just are not working anymore.

While I can’t possibly recommend what you should be evaluating, not without a clear understanding of your goals,I wanted to share with you my process, hope it helps:

• Step back and check progress towards your goals.  For me, The Lab has been in business for a couple of months, is it on track with the goals I set forth?
  • In some areas yes, in some no.  Truth is that some goals were reasonable, some not, and in some cases priorities have been adjusted.
  • I revisit my personal goals, and those of The Lab and now those of CityCamp Boston, on a monthly basis. 
  • This re-evaluation is driving deeper focus in certain key areas which is a good thing.  It’s also added more work to my plate which is also a good thing…  Too much sleep is bad for you.  
• With an understanding of your goals in mind, how well are your strategies and tactics working?  Odds are, if you’re like me, you’re never one hundred percent satisfied.
  • Are you using the wrong approaches?
  • Are you executing to your expected potential?
  • Are you “chasing” the right business or showing a lack of focus by trying to do it all?

Give yourself a score and share it publicly.  While I am on track I give myself a C- overall.  Gotta keep improving, will let you know when I can change the score. How well are you doing?

John

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Government 2.0 is a citizen-centric strategy/philosophy

View this document on Scribd

Learn more about Government 2.0 by reading any of these great books (affiliate links):

Companies still don’t get social media ROI, but do it anyway

Great post with great information. If you have time make sure to give this a read.

 Most companies these days do social media today (In a recent survey, nearly 72% of marketers say they use social media – see survey below). Now, don’t get me wrong, I know the tangible benefits that social media brings to a company, but not having clear goals before engaging in social media nor having an accurate way to measure it is probably one of the main reasons for companies to abandon social media when they find “it’s not working”! Companie … Read More

via Mario Sundar

Keeping it simple

Alan Silberberg, Founder and Chief Idea Dude of Silberberg Innovations and a true pioneer in the government 2.0 movement, was kind enough to share his thinking on why it is important to keep it simple.  This is one of the key concepts of The Social Ecosystem, of course, and I appreciate him taking time out of a very busy schedule to weigh in.   Note that I am an advisor for Silberberg Innovations but this role is in unrelated to Alan’s thinking on this matter.

Here are Alan’s thoughts on the subject.

We all talk. You talk all day long. Think about it. Social media is an extension of our conversations. Now you can talk to more than one person at the same time. You can throw jargon around: be technical, argumentative, creative, scary, wrong, right; but we tend to lose that simple concept when we start diving deep into our own respective industries. In the Government 2.0 space, the tendency to get both technically heavy in terms of language and the coinciding tendency towards secrecy have collided to create sometimes an air of walled thinking.

But as many have argued – this just closes down the best ideas, and keeps innovation from reaching some of it’s higher levels. Several have been people engaged in Twitter dialogs and conference rumblings about getting rid of version nomenclature. I have, while advocating the semantic web (Gov 3.0) in fact been deep in this. Simultaneously I have been loosely advocating for fewer hashtags on Twitter. if only to free up space for discussion.

Having written, spoken and even created a conference around the concept of keeping it simple through language, I look at the progression the Gov 2.0 movement is bringing by way of social media and the 24 hour real-time web. On one hand it is supremely easy to get to a laser focus between experts. On the other it is the greatest opportunity to reach mass numbers of people, by talking. This is why the concept of The Social Ecosystem is so important as it embraces the concept of keeping it simple.  Master the simple language version and it won’t matter what number it is. 

The Social Ecosystem: The biggest barrier to success? Education

The biggest barrier to organizations being successful within The Social Ecosystem is simply the need for education.  The lack of awareness, the lack of knowledge, is holding back many organizations.  In chatting with organizations across the public and private sector I am constantly encountering confusion.  People know the problems they are encountering.  These are real, these are personal, and people struggle with them daily.  However:

• Organizations often do not understand that solutions exist for these problems.
• Organizations often have the wrong information about the solutions that exist.  As examples:
  • The recent report stating that Facebook has cost Britain billions.  The article goes so far as to state “Despite the negative effects on the economy in the midst of a fragile recovery, many workers polled were in denial about the ill-effects of social media on their efficiency.”   The assumption, of course, is that all time spent on social networks, or within social communities, is unproductive, lost time.  Even if this were the case, which it is not, this kind of thinking should also go towards banning bathroom breaks, the possession or personal cell phones at the office, and, for those that are easily distracted,windows.  I digress…
  • However,  people often go too far the other way.  There are no silver bullets, social business strategies, tactics, and tools  cannot be used to solve every problem. 

Alright, what are some good ways to educate people on the benefits of using social business strategies?

• Find case studies that are relevant to the goals of the organization.  While I have many case studies and interviews there are clearly others out there.  The case studies should be for similar organizations trying to meet similar goals.  Anything else will lead to confusion.
• If your competition is using these strategies and techniques, point out what they are doing and try to quantify how that is differentiating them in the market, the value they are achieving.
• Create a business case.  Yes, a business case.  People in leadership positions will take you seriously if you have done your homework.  Put together a business case (my template is here) and present it professionally.
• Share books on the topic, pointing to information from those who have done this for a while.

Understand, however, that there are some people that will not be convinced, regardless of the strength of your case.  When this does happen you have a couple of choices.  You can either accept that things will not change or you can move onto something new.  Either way, if you try to make the case, providing the education, you have made a great start.

John

If you need help from The Lab, give me a call.