Public Relations Strategery

Last Wednesday, I moderated a panel discussion on Government 2.0 for the Social Media Club, DC Chapter, where I had the opportunity to speak with, and more importantly, learn from, some of the people most responsible for that phrase – Government 2.0. I’m not even speaking of just the panelists – it seemed like virtually every attendee could have been one of the “experts” on the panel (and probably have been at some point).

Social Media Club DC Government 2.0 Panel

Panelists included:

• Chris Dorobek, Federal News Radio co-anchor, The Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris (http://dorobekinsider.com/)
• Mark Drapeau, Associate Research Fellow, National Defense University and Mashable Blogger
  
• Steve Field, Media Relations Manager, Ground Systems at BAE Systems and author of the D-Ring Blog

As I began the discussion, focusing first on the definition of Government 2.0, and then diving into some of the unique challenges the government faces, I noticed something about the three panelists and the 100 or so people in the audience.  This was a gathering of people interested in Government 2.0 and how this concept is fundamentally changing the way our government operates and the audience wasn’t filled with Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Officers, Directors, or Secretaries – it was filled with scientists, contractors, members of the media, webmasters,and start-ups.

That’s when it really hit home for me, that the present and future of social media within the government doesn’t lie with whom President Obama’s CTO will be, or what memos and directives the Obama administration will issue.

Social media is driven by the person, not the position.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a GS-7 working on a government website, a concerned citizen, or a Chief Technology Officer – social media isn’t about the title, it’s about the person.  It’s about the person who has seen the potential of social media to make a change for the better and who has done something about it.  It’s about the guy who convinces his administrator to do a press conference on Twitter.  It’s about the group of people who self-organize a Government 2.0 Barcamp.  It’s about the IT specialist who starts an entire social network dedicated to Government 2.0 in his spare time.

Speculating about Obama’s CTO or the impact this Administration will have on Government 2.0 is fun, but if you really want an idea of the future of social media and government, stop looking at the titles that follow the name, and focus instead on the person behind the name.  Some of the most exciting things happening in Government 2.0 have their roots not in corner offices, but from cubicles, personal laptops, happy hours, and networking events.

*Photo courtesy of Mark Drapeau

One of the things that I truly enjoy doing is public speaking, especially when it’s on a topic that I’m really passionate about.  Right now, social media is that topic and I’m excited to have the opportunity to go out and speak to others about it.  On my “Speaking” page, I’ll try to post my upcoming speaking events and selected past presentations.  Per my social media resolution #5, I’ll also be posting more of often about the various events, conferences, and meet-ups I’ll be attending in hopes of meeting more of my virtual contacts in person.

Over the next few weeks, there are two events coming up where I will be speaking, and I hope that I’ll have the opportunity to meet you at one of them.  Let me know if you’ll also be attending so that we can connect.

On January 14th, I’ll be moderating a Government 2.0 panel discussion at the next Social Media Club of DC meeting.  I’m really excited to be involved with this event because not only do the panel participants include some of the DC-area’s top Government 2.0 insiders – Chris Dorobek, Steve Field and Mark Drapeau – but they’re also people I know and respect.  We’ll discuss the overall government strategy and what the potential roadmap for 2009 looks like, how government agencies and contractors have collaborated so far, what works and what doesn’t, how to harness the collective intelligence of people to contribute to government, and what’s next in the relationship between social media and government.   If you’re interested in attending, make sure you RSVP!

The very next day, on January 15th, I’ll be giving a presentation at the Tech Council of Maryland’s “Power Networking Tips, Trends, and Techniques workshop.  I’ll be giving a presentation on how social media has changed traditional networking practices, how tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can be used to supplement face-to-face interaction, and how to get started using these tools.  I’m looking forward to this presentation as I don’t know any of the other presenters and will be speaking to an audience that I haven’t traditionally done much work with. If you’re interested in attending this presentation, make sure you register first!

I’ve also got a few other opportunities that I’m working on and will be posting those as they come to fruition.  Leave me a comment if you’ll be attending either of the above events and would like to connect.

Stand Out and Do Something!

It’s about time.  It’s time to stop talking about theories of Government 2.0.  Time to stop predicting how the Obama administration is going to use social media.  Time to stop whining about all of the challenges involved with bringing social media to the government.  Time to stop the boundless optimism about the potential that you’re seeing.   Time to stop patting ourselves on the back.  Time to step out of the echo chamber of the social media blogosphere.   It’s time to start doing.

I think most of my readers would agree with me that social media is here to stay.  The technology can and will change, but the authenticity and relationships that the technology enables isn’t going anywhere.  Our government has no choice but to start moving more and more toward social media.  We’re already seeing it with Intellipedia, with change.gov, with the TSA’s blog – within virtually every government organization, social media is at least being discussed.  My company has clients across the federal government, and I could get a meeting with pretty much any of them just by saying that I lead our social media practice and I’d like to discuss how their organization could take advantage of social media.  The point is that there’s demand for social media expertise in the public sector.  Everyone is curious, everyone wants to know what all the buzz is about, and everyone is looking for the right answers.

Our time is now.  It’s time to start doing.  If you work for the federal government or for a government contractor, there are opportunities galore for you.  If you’re sitting in your cubicle reading this, just counting the minutes till you can leave for the day, this is your chance.  Social media and the government is your opportunity to stand out and do something to effect real change in our government.

Don’t tell me it’s too hard or that your boss doesn’t know YouTube from an iPod.  Those are excuses, not reasons.  If YouTube is blocked where you work, get it unblocked.  Write a white paper justifying why it shouldn’t be blocked.  Meet with your boss about it.  Meet with your boss’s boss about it.  Start a blog where you talk about it.  Volunteer to give a brown bag presentation to your office.  Just DO something!  Take the initiative and work on changing how your organization works – don’t just sit there sulking, saying, “I wish we could do social media here, but we can’t even get on Facebook so there’s no use.”  Bringing social media to your organization isn’t something that happens from 9-5.  It happens from 5-9, after everyone else has gone home.

I know it’s not easy.  In fact, it’s going to be REALLY hard.  Hard, but definitely not impossible.  You’re going to face a lot of opposition.  You’re going to encounter a lot of nay-sayers.  You’re going to have to work a lot of hours.  You’re going to have to endure a lot of rejection.  Hell, you’ll probably get reprimanded or even fired.

More than likely though, you’ll become recognized.  You’ll be noticeable.  You’ll be in demand.  Most importantly, you’ll make a difference.

Social media and government started not with some policy or memo from the senior leadership, but from regular people sitting in a cubicle who saw an opportunity and decided to do something about it.  They didn’t see a policy prohibiting blogging and say, “oh well, I guess that ends that.”  No, they pulled together briefings on why blogging was needed.  They found examples of others who were doing it.  They told anyone who would listen about the power of blogging.  They got meetings with his bosses.  They eventually changed the policy.

It’s time for you to be that guy and to step up, take the initiative and not let red tape and bureaucracy stop you.   Don’t accept no as an answer and don’t let a couple unenlightened colleagues stop your drive to effect change.   Stand out from the crowd and actually do something about it.

*Image courtesy of Flickr user Paul Likes Pics

So much good stuff coming out of BlogWorld 2008 that it’s difficult for me to categorize everything into tidy little posts!  So, here goes another Top Ten list – this time, on the top ten things that I like and didn’t like about BlogWorld 2008 (in no particular order).

Things I liked:

1. The Speakers – it was great to see many of the social media heavy hitters out here in Vegas, talking and engaging with everyone.  I got an opportunity to meet and learn from people like Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jason Falls, Coach Deb, and more.
2. Networking – I met soooo many more great people that I’m now following/being followed by, I’ve added more blogs to my RSS feeds, and have opened up tons of future resources.
3. The Wynn in Las Vegas – Wow! Great hotel…a little overwhelming, but hey, it’s Vegas!
4. The subject matter – Wasn’t too novice, wasn’t too advanced.  I got more out of this conference than most “social media” conferences that I’ve been too – they’re typically too 101-ish.
5. Live Twitter feeds – Having the ability to interact with the speakers and the rest of the audience members in real-time during the sessions has changed the way I look at these conferences.
6. New Tools – At my job, I’m one of the more technically-advanced people there. I use dozens of Firefox extensions, am on Twitter, use open source software where possible, etc.  Here, I’m not even close – the number of new tools that I’ve learned about has been overwhelming.  Still trying them all – will do a future post on the ones that I’ve found most helpful.
7. Informality – Loved that most people/speakers wore jeans, football jerseys, etc.  Made them seem more real.
8. #bwe08 tag – the speakers/moderators consistently and constantly pushed this tag so that it will be easy to aggregate all of the BlogWorld content during and after the conference across the Web – pictures, tweets, blogs, everything.
9. Diversity – I was thrilled to see people with so many different backgrounds.  Young people who are CEOs, older, more traditional corporate leaders, kids just out of college, people just trying to learn about social media, social media experts – there were tons of people all there for different reasons.
10. So many ideas that I want to get started on! – I’ve been inspired to do/try so many things coming out of this conference – I can’t wait until I get back and can start doing some of them.

Things I didn’t like:

1. Shoddy Internet access – BlogWorld wireless Internet was very slow, if you could even log on.  Unacceptable, especially for a conference like this.
2. Lack of power – very few places to actually plug in and charge up cell phones/laptops.
3. Food – Not enough food/drink easily available.  Was at least expecting free basic refreshments (coffee, etc.)
4. Conference Sessions on Sunday – Steelers > BlogWorld.  Missed last session on Sunday because I had to find a TV for the game (even though they lost).
5. Temperature – Very hot outside/very cold inside. I saw women wearing shorts and sweating outside, but wearing hoodies inside.
6. Red-Eye Flights – there weren’t a whole of flight choices for me to choose from – either leave really early and miss most of Sunday, leave really late and take a red-eye, or leave in the middle and have three connections.  Not fun…
7. Crowds – I think that at times, people underestimated the ability of 2,000 social media specialists to mobilize.  Parties were PACKED, and some were even impossible to get into.
8. Not enough time – I wish I had been able to clone myself – there were so many times where I wish I had been able to clone myself so that I could attend them all!
9. No Enterprise 2.0 sessions – A majority of my clients are more interested in how to use social media/blogs inside the firewall.  There was very little of the content focused on this topic – most of it was focused on using social media externally.
10. So many ideas that I want to get started on! – I’ve been inspired to do/try so many things coming out of this conference – I don’t know if I’ll ever have the time to actually do them!