Are you still waiting for the revolution that was promised in the ‘60s? Perhaps it is finally on its way. Or if you weren't around in the 60's, maybe you are on the crest of what is anticipated to be another major cultural change and wondering where it is headed.
I recently participated in an eC3 symposium on the topic "Government in the age of YouTube" about the potential impact of Web 2.0 on government. Symposium participants spent one and one-half days considering a rapid cultural shift spurred by the many new social networking platforms and expanding channels of communication.
How did I get invited? Last year, the eC3 organization (Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council) approached ALGA to become an affiliate member of the Board. I volunteered to represent ALGA and have been on the eC3 Board since August, 2006. I volunteered because I valued the white papers eC3 produced and had used them as audit criteria. This recent symposium held in Berkeley, California will result in a white paper for government officials to consider when adapting to and using Web 2.0.
What is Web 2.0? I'm not sure that I understand enough to answer, but will try. We learned from presenters at the symposium that Web 2.0 is not just new technology tools, but also a way of doing business that encourages and facilitates two-way communication. The user has more control. Use is usually bottom up or collaborative, rather than top down. In Web 2.0 the network is the platform and software is continuously updated with users adding content. Some web examples that we talked about are YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, blogs, wikis, tagging, Twittr, Second Life, Craigslist, and the unconference. The white paper will suggest some opportunities for using Web 2.0 to improve government service delivery and citizen interaction and will also discuss some of the larger topics that need to be considered such as privacy, intellectual property, security, and governance.
As I prepared for the symposium I found an example of Web 2.0 at my own agency, Metro. Our recycling program has established an independent web site similar to a craigslist, www.boneyardnw.com, for the commercial construction trade. BoneyardNW is a completely free service connecting buyers and sellers of used commercial construction materials in the Portland Metro region. The goal for Metro, the government, is to increase the recycling rate.
Look for a white paper on this topic in December 2007. It will be posted on the eC3 website www.ec3.org. You also might want to consider attending the eC3 conference on December 3-5, "A Revolution in the Making: Government Services for the Next Generation" in Austin, Texas. While the conference is not about auditing directly, the material presented will provide you with potential benchmarks and audit criteria. This year's agenda, although not finalized, should include sessions on the digital divide; going wireless; Real ID; Health IT; communication in the age of YouTube; performance measurement system for enterprise finance, procurement, human resources, and information technology; and the Three P's: Privacy, Public Access and Policy-making.
Suzanne Flynn is the elected Metro Auditor for the Metro Regional Government of Portland, Oregon.
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