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After attending the NOAA Web 2.0 briefing on Tuesday, it seems to me that there is a whole lot of "wrapping my head around the issues" still going on. My take-away from the Web 2.0 perspective is that 1) there is still rumblings and grumblings about what standards, policies should be in place to allow .govs to take advantage of the tools. Until then, I am just as apprehensive as teh next person about committing to anything. 2) My team may not use all or any of these tools as we have yet to determine what the audience wants and what the agency trying to accomplish. On the plus side, I know that a defined persona visiting my site makes up over 1/4 of the traffic. These are students and educators that would benefit in some manner from a Web 2.0 tool whether it be twitter or a widget or two.
My 2 cents would be to continue to allocate some resources, what ever that might be, to at the very least monitor these tools and how they are being used. There cannot be a finite decision of "OK we have decided NOT to use these tools", therefore severing any research or analysis for future use. I would hate to see a mentality of hand-washing once a descision is made either way.
Coming from a science-based organization, I appreciate the value of critical thinking. From my perspective, pursing opportunities in emerging technology areas does not mean we neglect the un-glamorous Web 1.0 basics such as keeping our information up-to-date, accurate, providing clear navigation, and well written content. I don’t think anyone is suggesting we compromise our basic services and core functions. For good or bad, people do tend to flock to things that are new, trendy, and exciting. If it gains momentum, there’s a feeling that you need to hop on the rolling bang bandwagon – it brings to mind Gladwells book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. The odds are your superiors will want to know why you’re no “on Facebook” or Twitter. At times, it seems like all people want to talk about is Web 2.0, which can lead to annoyance – especially among those struggling to find the time and resources to keep their basic functions running. I respect those who quietly work making sure the basic services are fulfilled. That said, I also respect the work of innovators and pioneers. Being the first to try new things is risky, often you fail, and often you will be criticized.
I think what we need to do is try and keep things in perspective - do our best to manage expectations about the role of Web 2.0 and social media. We know a large and growing number of citizens have made Facebook a big part of their lives. That said, I don’t see Facebook serving as a mass awareness raising solution for our work. What we do need to do is have a presence so that if someone happens to look for us in that space, they will find us.
If the information has value and relevance, it's likely hood such information will be channeled through social networks. If a friend or family member has a shared problem – would you not share a solution if you found it? It may not be big in terms of raw numbers but it doesn’t have to be.
I’ll offer one small example of how Facebook serves a valuable function at the National Institutes of Health. We have a rather large population of research trainees who come to NIH from across the country on short term appointments that can range from 1 to 3 years. Several months ago I discovered several Facebook pages that were created by trainees that evolved into a meeting place for current, future and prospective trainees. They exchange tips on practical matters like housing, professional connections, transportation, furnishing, mentoring, etc. By sharing information and establishing connections, they are improving their overall training experience. I realize this is something of a special case but it illustrates a point that the technology presented an opportunity to solve a problem and it happened.
We have also discovered that there are groups that focus on careers in science and we have reached out to those groups to share information about some of our new summer training problems. Clearly, Facebook is not a panacea for all our communication problems but in selected areas, it can be useful component of your overall communications strategy.
There are always basic questions in the media and marketing decision making process – who, what, where, when, why…
1. Who are we talking to?
2. What is their demographic? (13-29 years olds spend 90% of their time on the Internet and are most likely to engage in Social Media. 30-40 year olds are also internet active - now the fastest growing segment of the social media space.
3. What is their lifestyle? Do they have a computer?
4. What do you want them to tell you?
Are they participating in research? Are you looking to recruit consumers to participate in a test? Do you want to to scientists or doctors?recruit research scientists? Or do you want to provide a forum for them to communicate with each other?
Looking at NIH the "big" social media (Facebook, MySpace) doesn’t feel right for you. You'll get more building website traffic. A couple of thoughts to start you...
• Bookmarking sites for you to share findings, articles or programs that are appropriately tagged, for consumers to find nih.gov.
• MAYBE a private wiki or social network by invitation for participants in a program for them to share information with each other. A virtual support group, if you will. Or a social network for parents of critically ill children for support.
• Maybe an information Facebook site about NIH...build awareness for consumers it's worth a huge effort. You'd get more from EEM - Google AdWords site.
I’ve worked with every media for over 20for years and am passionate about “social media” because communication and marketing is evolving in to a 1:1 world. Twitter and Facebook are about “socializing” but illness is, by nature, a private and family matter.
If you want to brainstorm, feel free 202-797-8251 or ea@wdmdc.com.
Best,
Great website and info. I was wondering if anyone knew of any literature or documentation that describes how public agencies have developed policies regarding use of staff time to monitor and maintain Web 2.0 sites. It seems that most of the information out there is in regards to staff etiquette, but not enough about the resource draw that may incur. I currently work in the transportation planning department and trying to explore the role of public involvement 2.0 (engaging citizens in the planning processes).
Thanks,
Ben
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The Social Media Subcouncil is a group of government web managers at the federal, state, and local levels bringing together social media best practices and other resources for the benefit of government agencies. It operates under the Federal Web Managers Council.
Comments (5)
Alexander Minor said
at 8:09 am on Apr 9, 2009
After attending the NOAA Web 2.0 briefing on Tuesday, it seems to me that there is a whole lot of "wrapping my head around the issues" still going on. My take-away from the Web 2.0 perspective is that 1) there is still rumblings and grumblings about what standards, policies should be in place to allow .govs to take advantage of the tools. Until then, I am just as apprehensive as teh next person about committing to anything. 2) My team may not use all or any of these tools as we have yet to determine what the audience wants and what the agency trying to accomplish. On the plus side, I know that a defined persona visiting my site makes up over 1/4 of the traffic. These are students and educators that would benefit in some manner from a Web 2.0 tool whether it be twitter or a widget or two.
My 2 cents would be to continue to allocate some resources, what ever that might be, to at the very least monitor these tools and how they are being used. There cannot be a finite decision of "OK we have decided NOT to use these tools", therefore severing any research or analysis for future use. I would hate to see a mentality of hand-washing once a descision is made either way.
Dennis Rodrigues said
at 8:24 am on Apr 9, 2009
My commnets Part 1
Coming from a science-based organization, I appreciate the value of critical thinking. From my perspective, pursing opportunities in emerging technology areas does not mean we neglect the un-glamorous Web 1.0 basics such as keeping our information up-to-date, accurate, providing clear navigation, and well written content. I don’t think anyone is suggesting we compromise our basic services and core functions. For good or bad, people do tend to flock to things that are new, trendy, and exciting. If it gains momentum, there’s a feeling that you need to hop on the rolling bang bandwagon – it brings to mind Gladwells book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. The odds are your superiors will want to know why you’re no “on Facebook” or Twitter. At times, it seems like all people want to talk about is Web 2.0, which can lead to annoyance – especially among those struggling to find the time and resources to keep their basic functions running. I respect those who quietly work making sure the basic services are fulfilled. That said, I also respect the work of innovators and pioneers. Being the first to try new things is risky, often you fail, and often you will be criticized.
I think what we need to do is try and keep things in perspective - do our best to manage expectations about the role of Web 2.0 and social media. We know a large and growing number of citizens have made Facebook a big part of their lives. That said, I don’t see Facebook serving as a mass awareness raising solution for our work. What we do need to do is have a presence so that if someone happens to look for us in that space, they will find us.
Dennis Rodrigues said
at 8:25 am on Apr 9, 2009
My comments Part 2
If the information has value and relevance, it's likely hood such information will be channeled through social networks. If a friend or family member has a shared problem – would you not share a solution if you found it? It may not be big in terms of raw numbers but it doesn’t have to be.
I’ll offer one small example of how Facebook serves a valuable function at the National Institutes of Health. We have a rather large population of research trainees who come to NIH from across the country on short term appointments that can range from 1 to 3 years. Several months ago I discovered several Facebook pages that were created by trainees that evolved into a meeting place for current, future and prospective trainees. They exchange tips on practical matters like housing, professional connections, transportation, furnishing, mentoring, etc. By sharing information and establishing connections, they are improving their overall training experience. I realize this is something of a special case but it illustrates a point that the technology presented an opportunity to solve a problem and it happened.
We have also discovered that there are groups that focus on careers in science and we have reached out to those groups to share information about some of our new summer training problems. Clearly, Facebook is not a panacea for all our communication problems but in selected areas, it can be useful component of your overall communications strategy.
Ellyn Ambrose said
at 10:07 am on Apr 11, 2009
Dear Dennis (NIH)
There are always basic questions in the media and marketing decision making process – who, what, where, when, why…
1. Who are we talking to?
2. What is their demographic? (13-29 years olds spend 90% of their time on the Internet and are most likely to engage in Social Media. 30-40 year olds are also internet active - now the fastest growing segment of the social media space.
3. What is their lifestyle? Do they have a computer?
4. What do you want them to tell you?
Are they participating in research? Are you looking to recruit consumers to participate in a test? Do you want to to scientists or doctors?recruit research scientists? Or do you want to provide a forum for them to communicate with each other?
Looking at NIH the "big" social media (Facebook, MySpace) doesn’t feel right for you. You'll get more building website traffic. A couple of thoughts to start you...
• Bookmarking sites for you to share findings, articles or programs that are appropriately tagged, for consumers to find nih.gov.
• MAYBE a private wiki or social network by invitation for participants in a program for them to share information with each other. A virtual support group, if you will. Or a social network for parents of critically ill children for support.
• Maybe an information Facebook site about NIH...build awareness for consumers it's worth a huge effort. You'd get more from EEM - Google AdWords site.
I’ve worked with every media for over 20for years and am passionate about “social media” because communication and marketing is evolving in to a 1:1 world. Twitter and Facebook are about “socializing” but illness is, by nature, a private and family matter.
If you want to brainstorm, feel free 202-797-8251 or ea@wdmdc.com.
Best,
Ellyn Ambrose
ben.wong@... said
at 2:33 pm on Jul 7, 2010
Hi everyone,
Great website and info. I was wondering if anyone knew of any literature or documentation that describes how public agencies have developed policies regarding use of staff time to monitor and maintain Web 2.0 sites. It seems that most of the information out there is in regards to staff etiquette, but not enough about the resource draw that may incur. I currently work in the transportation planning department and trying to explore the role of public involvement 2.0 (engaging citizens in the planning processes).
Thanks,
Ben
You don't have permission to comment on this page.