Guidelines for social media in the public service

There is an interesting discussion going on at the moment as part of the blog by the Australian Government Task Force on Government 2.0 (of which I am a member) about the best way to offer useful guidance and support to public servants wishing to explore the potential of social media and online engagement.

I'd urge you to have a look and perhaps contribute your perspetives and insights.  The thread includes some interesting and predictably challenging insights from Garnter's Andrea DiMaio, whose contrast between the response he's received from North American versus at least some European officials is instructive (see brief quote below).  The thread is building into a very instructive exploration of a difficult issue whose successful resolution, I would argue, is central to the longer term success of the entire Gov2 venture...

http://gov2.net.au/blog/2009/10/21/if-you-could-start-with-a-blank-sheet-of-paper%e2%80%a6/comment-page-1/#comment-3328

http://blogs.gartner.com/andrea_dimaio/2009/10/30/why-north-americans-will-get-government-2-0-and-europeans-wont/

“What I noticed in every single meeting (in the US and Canada), also when people came from a completely different perspective, has been the willingness to challenge themselves, to consider alternative viewpoints, to use some of my intentionally provocative views to reflect about where they can improve. Once again, it has been a refreshing experience, with officials at all levels debating issues, bouncing back ideas, drafting roadmaps they had not considered possible before. It has been an exciting experience where I have got from our clients at least as much as I hope I have given them, if not more.

While a typical North American celebration such as Halloween approaches, I can’t but think about how different many Europeans are when challenged on the same topics. I do distinctly remember a guy who sat in a minister cabinet explaining to me why I was totally wrong about suggesting that government agencies open social media access to their employees: his view was one where employees are not an asset but a liability, where management tools are the same as those used in the fifties, where time seems to have frozen at the gates of his agency. He is not alone though. Several officials in European countries that I have been interacting with are relatively dismissive of any advice that runs contrary to their beliefs. I never assume I am right in what I say, but I love to provide alternative viewpoints for people to challenge their own ideas and possibly improve them. While most North American clients will engage and react, most European clients won’t.”