AVATARS, BLOGS AND WIKIS:
HOW WEB 2.0 MAKES GOVERNMENT MORE
OPEN, TRANSPARENT AND PARTICIPATORY
For:
By:
15th Biennial AGA/ASMC
Andrew Krzmarzick
Governmental Professional
Senior Project Coordinator
Development Conference
Graduate School
October 14, 2009

My
Story
Source: Flickr - Khalid Almasoud's Photostream

AGENDA

WHAT’S WEB
2.0?

BEFORE YOU BEGIN…
1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
2. Who? Champion, contributors, constituents.
3. What? Content is the key to success.
4. How? Decide which tools best meet goals.
5. When? Create a schedule to implement and evaluate.

1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Participation

BLOGS
What is a Blog?
a. an online journal or diary
b. a “time bandit” that thwarts
my team’s productivity
c. abbreviation for “web log”
d. a creature from a bad sci-fi movie

BLOGS
Which of the following have a Blog?
a) American Society of Military Comptrollers
b) Association of Government Accountants
c) Office of Management and Budget
d) Transportation Security Agency
e) US Air Force
f) All of the Above

BLOGS
Transforming Government
http://asmc.typepad.com/viewpoint/
http://aga.typepad.com/aga/2009/09/index.html

1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
• Disseminate targeted messages
• Explain your mission / activities
• Foster dialogue / elicit feedback

Step 1: Pick a Blog Platform
Step 2: Create an Account
Step 3: Name Your Blog
Step 4: Produce Content
Step 5: Publish Post!

http://GenShift.com

WIKIS
What in the world is a Wiki?
a. an online encyclopedia
b. a web-based tool where multiple users
create, publish and edit information
c. a Hawaiian word for “fast”
d. all of the above

WIKIS
You call this fast?

Transforming Government

1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
• Provide a space for inter-agency collaboration
• Gather the intelligence of the crowd
• Widen the net for broader insight / information
• Create a crowd-corrected directory / resource

WIKIS
Step 1: Pick a Wiki Platform
Step 2: Create an Account
Step 3: Set Up Your Wiki
Step 4: Produce Content
Step 5: Edit and Post!

SOCIAL VIRTUAL NETWORKS
Who in this room has the
most connections/friends on:
NOT
JUST
FOR
KIDS!!!

SOCIAL VIRTUAL NETWORKS
Transforming Government

KNOWLEDGE
Information
Ideas
Insight
Sharing Issues
Individuals
Intelligence

KNOWLEDGE
• Free
• “Micro-blogging”
• 140 characters or less
• Send and read user updates
 aka “Tweets”
• Text-based, but can post links / photos
• Anywhere, anytime via cell or computer

KNOWLEDGE
GovTwit.com
• State/Local = 900+
• Federal Agencies = 500+
• Dept of Defense = 150+
• Hawaii = 8

KNOWLEDGE
1. Why?
 Crowd-sourcing ideas to improve services
 Communicating with / to citizens
 Posting links to key information
 Reporting incidents, sending alerts
 Promoting events, surveys, studies, etc.

KNOWLEDGE
Step 1: Go to Twitter.com
Step 2: Create an Account
Step 3: Find People to Follow
Step 4: Consider Alternate Tools
Step 5: Jump in the Stream (“dialoguing” vs. “doing”)

KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE
Steve Ressler
Founder, GovLoop.com

KNOWLEDGE
Business Problem:
Millions of
government
employees working
on similar issues but
no safe place to
connect and share
best practices
Solution: GovLoop.com - Social Network
for Government Community

KNOWLEDGE
ONE YEAR LATER…
 Over 20,000 members
 CTOs, CIOs, Politicians, Professors, Innovators at
All Levels of Government
 International Collaboration (Australia, Brazil, Canada)

KNOWLEDGE
1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
 Share / gain knowledge / information
 Connect with colleagues / common interests
 Replicate best practices more rapidly

KNOWLEDGE
http://www.facebook.com/recoverydotgov

KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE
Groups

KNOWLEDGE
1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
 Recruit candidates for open positions
 Find job candidate references/recommendations
 Launch discussions with industry / other agencies in groups

http://betterbuyproject.com

http://www.thenationaldialogue.org

Why/How do you use
?
http://www.youtube.com/UnitedStatesNavy

1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
 Tell your story (control your message)
 Capture knowledge of retiring employees
 Recruit the next generation of public servants

PODCASTS
Q. What’s the difference between
a podcast and a vodcast?
A. Podcast = Audio Downloadable
Vodcast = Video

PODCASTS

1. Why? Tie to mission, goals, objectives, needs, gaps.
 Provide public service announcements
 Train / inspire your personnel (bite-size chunks)
 Record important meetings / events

PODCASTS
Step 1: Pick a Platform
Step 2: Create an Account
Step 3: Create Your Call
Step 4: Start/Record Call
Step 5: Edit and Post!

MOBILE PHONES/DEVICES
What has your Cell Phone taught
you lately?
“Most cell phones today have
more computing power
than was available to
NASA during the
• Podcast Briefs (i.e. Guide by Cell) Apollo space program…”
• Audio Books - Wes Ferguson, Author of
• Training / Courses Moving at the Speed of Creativity
• Emergent Information

MOBILE PHONES/DEVICES
http://www.faa.gov/wireless/info

What’s the coolest name for an
avatar in Second Life?
a. Ichabod Issachar
b. Siegfried Lactanoid
c. Zedeka Nadezda
d. Horatio Fizelmeister
Second Life Avatar

VIRTUAL WORLDS
Transforming Government

WEB 3.0?
• 3-D
• Mobile / Clouds
• Aggregation

THANK YOU!