E-government and social media: Queensland's MyQ2 Initiative

E-government andSocial Media
Queensland’s MyQ2 initiative
Matthew Allen and Mark BalnavesInternet Studies, Curtin University of Technology

What ise-governance?
Reflecting on the complexity of e-goverment research

E-government is challenging
Complex Structures:syntagmatics of e-government interlock (government; citizen; politics; governmentality)
Rapid temporality: paradigmatics of e-government mean we speak of past, present and future together

Governance & technology
All technologies work to produce governmentality, be they horse-drawn carts, printing presses, radios or the Internet
Of the electronic technologies, the Internet appears more mutable, flexible: it works for both governed and the governors, and the variations thereof

E-governance means...
Actors (nodes) within governmental systems move into closer, more immediate and more cross-referential patterns of exchange through networks
governmentality extends into more aspects of life, as they become amenable to, improved by network informatics

MyQ2
Queensland experiments with facilitating citizen commitments

From Toward Q2 to MyQ2
Toward Q2 = clever, information-oriented website with markers of ‘interaction’ but little action
MyQ2 = informatics in action – commitments, communications, citizens adopting behaviours aligned with governmental goals;

The key elements of MyQ2

Making a commitment is the primary focus of the site...To make a difference in one of 5 key areas (e.g. health)

“You” are responsible...not the government

Since you are responsible, you get some control over what you commit to;and can comment and discuss it in your own voice

But the system is governing you, too – through reminders (and other techniques)

You become your commitments (in your profile) enabling you to track yourself

And, you can see how you are a good citizen – your impact for everyone’s benefit is clearly shown

The front page of the website shows, interactively, how ‘my commitments’ become ‘our improvements’; MyQ2 identifies the individual with the collective

“How do I use this map?But, is not the government using you, in the map?

Conclusions
Queensland experiments with facilitating citizen commitments

Three conclusions (paper)
Social media challenges governments because of the risks of deviation from expected uses...technologies more readily enable ‘doing something different’ - variation is productive in private sector; is alarming for governments

Social media can mean achievement not decision focus on deliberation reflects concerns with democracy more than what technologies might actually be good forWeb 2.0 shifts us from commenting / stating to doing and making

Learning through active engagement all media is pedagogic; government media especially sosocial media enables (requires) learning through doing / engaging – the didactic government is unnecessary

MyQ2 and e-governance
Often, successful e-government for democracy is understood as... the people speak, their government acts
MyQ2 asks people to act, because their government has spoken: social media mediates citizens’ participation with collective plans

Extended Conclusion
My ‘MyQ2’ as contribution to theorisation of e-government

MyQ2 from two views...
MyQ2 reconnects people with their own authority to enact the consequences of their choice of government (utopian)
MyQ2 constitutes its users as ‘governed’ subjects, so that governance provides better social outcomes for society despite the inidividual (dystopian)

MyQ2 says e-governance is
The creation of sites (literally) where governments & citizens enact the contests of (un)authorised speech and behaviour which are fundamental to good governance
Partnerships in the creation and collection of data that represents the polity in action and can inform its governance

Thank you
MyQ2 : visit: http://xxxxxxxxxxxxMore information on Internet Studieshttp://netstudies.curtin.edu.auMatthew Allen is netcrithttp://netcrit.net :: @netcrit

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E-government and social media: Queensland's MyQ2 Initiative

by Matthew Allen on May 06, 2010

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E-government and social media: Queensland’s MyQ2 Initiative — Presentation Transcript