Where social and government have come together.

This week I’ve had the extreme pleasure of being the Chair for ALI’s Social Media for Government conference in Edmonton.  Today was day one of the conference, although yesterday we had pre-conference workshops.  Stuart Crawford from Ulistic Internet Consultants out of Calgary started the day off and the fusedlogic team ran our workshop in the afternoon.

As I listened to the various speakers today, listed here. I found each one very interesting in their own way.  Jas Darrah from the City of Edmonton provided some key insights into how he helped the City get started with the “SMAC” or Social Media Advisory Council down the social path.  Jacob George from the City of Calgary, enlightened us about the overall digital footprint the city has and how quickly they respond to issues that arise.  Also, Jacob used prezi and we’re big prezi fans too, so extra points for that.

I found our break-out blitz session to be most interesting as that’s when the audience was given a chance to contribute by telling a social media story other than their own as I encouraged them to meet someone new.  Fear, still reigns supreme as the number one issue, time-management and capacity where also near the top of the list. However, trying to convince the “old guard” back at the office that this is the way to go is frustration that it seems everyone is feeling.  Should you work in government and for someone who is actually a proponent of open government, you don’t know how lucky you are.

Nathan Freed and Manon Abud did an excellent job of explaining the issues, processes and opportunities behind Inspiring Education.  A terrific Government of Alberta, Alberta Education initiative.  Kudos to Minister Dave Hancock for supporting such a project.  Now if we can just remove some more road blocks for Nathan, I bet we’d see even more from this project.

Other highlights include Troy Wason explaining to the crowd all about the ups and downs of being a assigned with getting the social media word out on behalf of the Alberta Government Caucus only to be shown the door as a result of doing his job “too well.”

And then ending the day on a pleasant note with Diane Begin from NAIT’s communications department who explained all the great things they’re doing over there involving the social web.  All and all a wonderful day.

I was just on Twitter and Nick Charney wrote the following. “Thinking of writing a blog post called Rethink, Retool or Retire, but I think it’s too edgy.”  To which I replied, “why not be a guest blogger on our site, I don’t think it’s too edgy.”  In fact, I think it’s bang on.  This sentiment also reminds me of a Lee Iacocca saying, “lead, follow or get out of the way.”  Ultimately, this is really what we’re exploring at this conference, you can actually see the wheels turn as participants look for ways to convince colleagues back home that “Web2 and Gov2 have happened and they need to be prepared and involved.”

Tomorrow is another action packed day and I’m just as excited to be a part of it with this wonderful group.  Especially since I’ve got a surprise or two cooked up for everyone…

Gov2!

Tim O’Reilly describes “Gov 2.0″ as government operating as a platform. This is a terrific description of what is currently evolving within many a legislative ecosystem.   I’ve been a long-time, vocal advocate both on this blog and in public presentations for an open and engaging government.  In particular I’ve focused my thoughts on our provincial government here in Alberta.  Imagine the Government of Alberta as an open collaborative platform where citizens get to contribute directly in the outcomes that affect us all.  We live in the greatest province, jurisdiction and country in the world.  I believe all three tiers of our government structure need to be on that leading-edge as well.

Think Gov2

I wonder just how many within government are spending time contemplating what Gov2 is and how it will impact their work within government?  If you’re not doing this, you should be.

Whether you’re a rural town or urban city council, a provincial Cabinet Minister, MLA back-bencher or MP, you must spend time learning about this.  Stopping the rural brain drain takes more than a Facebook fan page and an events calendar.  Want to get inside the heads of the locals regarding a new policy?  Gov2 is where it’s at.  Traction is being gained all over the world in this area, and the amount of success being gained is substantial.  Are you so upset with your present government that you’ve started a new party?  Gov2 holds a lot of promise if you can integrate it quickly into your processes.  For a party that is gaining momentum, establishing social media channels is great but not nearly enough.  Your policy platform must include Gov2.  Opposition parties should be racing to understand the finer elements of Gov2 and how it impacts citizen engagement should they ever want to lead in their jurisdiction.  Want to get elected in your next election and have a spectacular campaign?  Well, you already know what the answer is…

Attend this conference

If you fit in any of the above scenarios, then you should look to attend the upcoming Advanced Learning Institute conference (ALI) in January, taking place in Edmonton, Alberta.  The line-up of speakers is great and I anticipate learning a tremendous amount from all the great stories and examples that will be presented during the four day conference.

Further, I’m really looking forward to this conference for a number of other reasons.  As Chair of the conference I’ll have more responsibilities than my normal role as a single presenter which I’m so excited about I’m shaking in my space boots.  I’m also excited at the prospect of getting to meet all the new presenters and conference goers coming into Edmonton to learn more about social media and Gov2.

I’ve heard from Kelly Flynn with ALI that the registrations are coming in very well for this conference which is terrific and it’s great for the Edmonton region to be hosting such an important conference.  Here’s the agenda that the folks who attend from all over Alberta, Canada and the US will enjoy.

Now I’m off to continue working on my presentation material for the conference, I have high expectations of myself as I know all the presenters do.  See you next year in less than 30 days, this conference will be an excellent way to kick 2010 off.

Rough weekend…

Well that was a bit of a rough weekend.  Caught a cold last week and it hit pretty hard the last couple of days, almost over it now thank-goodness.  Although it’s altered my voice and my wife says I now sound like I have a cool radio voice, something similar to “Barry White.”  I jokingly replied, “now I have an even more intoxicating effect on women”…response – “la look,” enough said.

This is a busy week coming up which is leading into a very busy couple of months.  October is looking like the busiest of 2008 thus far including a trip to Seattle Washington and Winnipeg Manitoba potentially, with November not that far behind.  The first week of Nov, I’m scheduled to speak four times in seven days on social media.  That said, I’m really looking forward being able to speak and engage the diverse audiences…this is really going to be fun.

New team members as mentioned in a previous post are on-board and capacity is increasing substantially which is good because we need it.  More of my articles are scheduled to be published shortly in October including one where I was interviewed for an upcoming article coming out of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Pardon me if I’ve already mentioned this, it’s the cough syrup.  Have a great start to the week.

Also, please feel to comment on our new fusedlogic site.  What do you think?  How could we improve?