Originally posted at the GenerationShift blog.
In advance of next week’s Gov 2.0 Expo and Summit, Tim O’Reilly asked citizens to respond to a question: “What Does Gov 2.0 Mean to You?” At least a couple handful of folks have responded, with many of the videos being posted over at GovFresh.
To encourage others to respond (because I am curious to see what you all have to say!), I’m posting mine here:
Once you post your video, be sure to share with Luke Fretwell (@govfresh) so that he can include them among the rest of the submissions.
By the way, I’d also like to point out a similar effort by a non-profit called DurhamCares, where they have collected scores of videos from citizens answering the questions: “Why do you love Durham?” and “What does it mean to love your neighbor?” It’s a pretty impressive display!
Last point: I think this kind of video project is a great way for agencies to capture and highlight their employee’s perspectives on a number of topics, then use the best and most relevant content for recruitment and on-boarding activities. Here’s an example from the US Patent and Trademark Office. (Now if we could just get them posted on a YouTube channel and/or Facebook page to maximize the exposure of this great content…not just to replicate the content on those sites but to make it embeddable across the Web!)
Your thoughts on any of these ideas?
Nice, Andrew.
The Metagovernment project also used pictures in our video.
It seems there’s a bit of a double-definition here. When saying the word “government,” some people (such as you and Tim O’Reilly) are referring to the bureaucracy, while others are (such as Metagovernment) are referring to the governance structure.
My impression is that most people in government think that the term refers to the former, while most people outside the government think it refers to the latter. That is: say “government” to a typical citizen, and they are more likely to think of their politician than the person making graphics for a GSA website.
Awesome video..
Thanks, Ed. Cool vid. Was that a human voice? It almost sounds like you plugged in some words to a software and a computer is speaking it…which would be a software I’d like to see and use occasionally – 508 compliance for audio to accompany visual only situations.
And speaking of voice, a couple thoughts on language:
1) Bureaucrats – Pres Obama just got in some trouble recently for using this word and it’s a favorite of his opposition right now, almost used as a scare tactic by both sides that ultimately discredits government employees. There’s got to be a better word, and I’d like to start claiming the regular use of the word “public servants.” An even more accurate phrase would be “government-employed citizens.” I like this latter phrase only because it captures the fact that people in government live in neighborhoods next to each of us…we just work for different organizations.
2) Meta – Having a background in philosophy and theology, I appreciate the use of “meta” (a lot!), but I wonder if it really means anything to the average person. They want government (both public servants and elected officials) to work on their behalf by (a) designing and delivering services more efficiently and (b) engaging all citizens in that process more effectively.
As your video indicates, social software is an enabler and a driver…but gov 2.0 is really about the mentality of openness, transparency, engagement and participation, yes?
Great, Andrew! I think that’s better answer by the better way.
love your pictures and your message of course! Thanks for sharing!