While Chris was enjoying his afternoon on the Mornington Peninsula, I was finalising my slides for a presentation to the Victorian WebNetwork in Melbourne for the next day.
The talk was held at the Municipal Association of Victoria’s offices in Melbourne. It involved a horizon scan of Gov 2.0 in Australia (from me), followed by a even broader view of several international online initiatives by government from Chris.
I have embedded the slides and also wanted to highlight a few key Gov 2.0 changes and successes I’ve witnessed in Australia.
The internet has had a profound effect on society and on government.
The origins of our Westminster system of government lie back around the time of the Magna Carta in 1215, where the power of the British King was first constrained by nobles and then led over time to a Parliament as we know it today.
That long ago the fastest form of communication was a man on a horse, so government had to operate very differently and nations were not tied together in the way we see them today.
Through the 19th and 20th century we saw the rise of high-speed communications systems – railways and telegraphs, then telephone, radio and television. These produced a different dynamic for societies and governments. Suddenly it was possible to collect information for decisions much faster and to then broadcast these decisions in hours or days rather than months.
However while these technologies provided enormous mobility for populations and intelligence for government decision-making, there remained a fundamental gap in capturing public views prior to and during decision-making processes.
Radio and television were great at sending messages out, however those messages were crafted by (and for) a small group of wealthy distributors, advertisers or governments.
The internet turned this on its head – giving every individual connected a platform for both receiving AND distributing information and opinion. As Clay Shirkey has said, “it’s as if with every newspaper you gave away a printing press”.
This allows for a fundamental shift in society and in government. Suddenly citizens are empowered to share their views widely without requiring the ear of a broadcaster. Suddenly interest groups can distribute uncomfortable facts that large companies didn’t previously have to address. Suddenly government and corporate statements can be tested, discussed, analysed and deconstructed in real time – limited the ability to spin and allowing citizens to, enmasse, become active participants in civic discussions.
For many organisations – including governments – this can seem a threat or a challenge, however it is also an opportunity – to bring citizens ‘inside the tent’, to educate them on why decisions are made and to empower them to be involved in decision-making, or even take control of decisions.
Australia, as one of the world’s most connected nations, has seen the impact of the internet, and social media, first-hand. The relationship between ruler and ruled has changed, and they are both trying to learn and adapt to the new roles.
I am glad to say that Australian governments have largely embraced the opportunities provided by the internet (though there remain some hanging back). From my research about 73% of Australian Government agencies are now using social media, for stakeholder engagement, communication campaigns, customer enquiries, engaging journalists, monitoring online commentary and consultation processes.
Across Australia there are over 440 government Twitter accounts, many blogs, Facebook pages, mobile apps, YouTube channels and more.
Victoria has been a leader in this and, by my count, has more Twitter accounts than any other state or territory jurisdiction and an impressive array of online initiatives.
With all of this change governments are taking on new roles, as media providers, as community facilitators, as collaborators and becoming a platform of services and data that people can tap into and reuse.
We’re only partway through this change and can expect the role of government – and the role of citizens – to continue to change as the Gov 2.0 environment matures. However it is also important to remember that Gov 2.0 is an enabler and an amplifier – it doesn’t replace existing channels, nor does it work for all audiences.
Most importantly, Gov 2.0 doesn’t solve problems – people do.
So we need to keep learning, experimenting and working with each other to realise the potential benefits of Gov 2.0 – from productivity to citizen empowerment, being mindful that, in the end, these tools and goals must align to serve people better.
