Open Manitoba

On the heels of a $555 million dollar deficit budget released by the Manitoba provincial government led by Premier Greg Selinger and Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk, I find myself in Winnipeg to speak to a CIPS chapter regarding Government 2.0 and how it is changing the way governments operate as they migrate towards a collaborative platform.

Interestingly, there were some folks in the room from very large organizations, including the provincial government.  As the nice folks I met here brace for impact regarding cutbacks, I believe they found the discussion around tax savings and government efficiencies related to an Open Government environment interesting.

I was told about some very interesting things happening here in Manitoba, I can see sparks of interest and some daylight regarding the use of Web 2.0 technologies and that is very cool.

The local Twitter community is not as active as ours in Edmonton but there are signs of growth from what I hear from locals.  I really enjoyed my stay here in Winnipeg, the people were welcoming and the city itself has some terrific architecture.  There’s a lot of pride here and from what I’ve learned, there is considerable interest in the idea of Government 2.0.  I’d like to say more but have to head to the airport to catch a flight.  I’m heading to Seattle today to attend OpenGov West.

What I will say is, people feel Premier Seliger is open to the idea of Government 2.0, so I say – Here comes Open Manitoba!

Open Alberta

Just over a week ago, fusedlogic worked hard on behalf of our client the City of Edmonton to provide our live webcasting services.  We helped the City break new ground by also providing live translation into French as well.  The day went very smoothly, here’s the Open City Workshop (video archive)

Open Government Framework

As Chris Moore, CIO for the City of Edmonton states, it’s time to “enlarge the circle.”  With that in mind, I’m calling for an Open Alberta.  The Government of Alberta (GOA) needs to begin to put in place an Open Government Framework.  I think that there are many within government who understand that the GOA doesn’t have a monopoly on creating “public value.”  Citizens also have an opportunity, and in my opinion, a responsibility for creating value that positively impacts the quality of life for Albertans and Canadians.

If we take a moment to think about this, Open Government initiatives are a tremendous opportunity to share openly.  To communicate that the government is willing to listen and collaborate with citizens rather than simply appear to placate, which is so often the criticism many in the provincial government hear from Albertans.

Is Open Government risky?

I believe Open Government is only risky to those individuals working (at all levels) within government who would rather see citizens not enter the discussion and thereby affect the way their job is performed.  Unfortunately, these people exist, I know because from time to time I’ve had conversations with them.  You may know an elected official or bureaucrat that believes in this philosophy, claiming this is the way an efficient government works, “we know best and citizens need to butt out,” they’ll say.  This can be the result, when people don’t vote and/or get involved in public debate.

What about privacy?

Open Government doesn’t mean that the Government of Canada should start sharing everyone’s Social Insurance Numbers or personal information on a wiki.  What it does mean, is that data which is already generally available should be properly organized into machine readable formats and offered for use by the private sector or citizens.

Election Issue!

I suggest that during this municipal election year people make the concept of Open Government an election issue.  True, many elected officials have been sitting on the sidelines regarding the use of social media and Web 2.0 technologies.  This is no longer tolerable. Further, if the candidate for your ward, or those going to the top job of mayor know nothing about Open Government, don’t vote for them.  Simple. The same goes for the next provincial election, if your MLA, party of choice has not exhibited the fact that they understand, or the government hasn’t initiated an Open Government Framework by that time, don’t vote for them either.  Open Government isn’t the future, it’s the present.  If you don’t know about it you’re living in the past.  This isn’t about being harsh but direct.

Is it really that important?  Not only is Open Government important, it’s critical.  Critical that our leaders get this concept and move quickly in this direction.  Many have yet to realize that this is the most transformative time in government in our lifetime.  Hold meetings and chat all you want about how your government isn’t performing.  More than talk, Open Government is where the rubber meets the road, it’s transparency, participation and collaboration in action.  Open Government represents citizens and government elbow to elbow working together for a better future.

Social Web Meetup at NAIT

Without a doubt, the turnout for last night’s Social Web Meetup was the best so far. I didn’t do the count but I think there were around 30 people in the room!

We were in NAIT’s new Nexen room that had two very large screens. They might give Imax a run for the money. SomethingTV was there chronicling the event and there were so many cameras there you’d think that it was a press conference.

Alberta government successfully implementing Web 2.0 & social media strategy

Our mystery guest was Troy Wason (@imparo on Twitter) and Troy gave us a great presentation about mypcmla.ca. Troy is the Senior Communications Officer – Social Media, for Government Caucus Communications.

That’s quite a mouthful, but boiling it down, Troy is helping the Alberta government with web 2.0. Yes, our government is successfully moving forward in engaging the public with modern new communications tools. That’s a good thing.

He said that there are some people who knock what he’s doing, but people would knock the party in power no matter what they did anyway. Regardless of your party affiliation, don’t you think that having your government open up a two-way dialogue online is a good thing? How can it be bad? As long as it’s a two-way dialogue, that’s a good start.

The site has only recently been rolled out and you should be seeing it change in the future. It’s worth checking out. If there’s something you’d like to see on the site, let them know.

Social media conversation at Brewster’s pub

We reserved a couple of large tables at Brewster’s pub in Oliver Square for a little socializing afterwards. At least half the people showed up there and we had a good time. Keeping on the theme of social media we had a good time talking about social media. I think it ended up being a popular choice, partly due to the 32 oz Schooner beers being on special.

Cameras were another popular topic, particularly Bruce Clarke’s new Canon 5D Mk II. I’m partial to Canon as well, having a Canon 30D on hand for the evening.

All in all it everyone seemed to have a really good time and it was nice to put faces to some of the names of people we might already be following on social media such as Twitter.

Next Social Web Meetup

Local realtor Jerry Aulenbach (@zoomjer on Twitter) sponsored the evening with refreshments. Thanks Jerry!

Our next Social Web Meetup is March 2 and will again be held at NAIT. Make sure you sign up on the site and RSVP whether or not you’ll be attending. Hope to see you there!

Alain Saffel

Small Business Week in Alberta

October is the month for Small Business Week festivities here in Alberta and across Canada for that matter.  In years past there has always been lots of events to attend and people to meet and this year is no exception.  Speaking of events across the province, here’s a list of many of the events as provided by the Business Link.  Being that I’m a (proud) director of the Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce I’d like to suggest to everyone in the Greater Edmonton Region that they consider being a member of this great organization which has over 900 members and 30 years of history.  There’s nothing in the books that says you can only belong to one chamber.  fusedlogic inc., has been a long-standing member of the Edmonton Chamber and I have friends that like me belong to both.  Sherwood Park and the surrounding area of Strathcona County is a thriving northern Alberta business community and one that you should strongly consider doing business with.

In the spirit of sharing some business news during Small Business Week (and condensing posts because I’m so busy lately,) here’s some interesting new information for you.  Some of you may remember a video I shot earlier this year with Peter Urban of Smibs (featured below.)  At the time, SmibsNet (a collaboration and networking software for businesses) wasn’t ready for public beta.   That all changed last Tuesday with the launch of the public beta and Peter asked me while on Twitter the other day if I’d blog about it.  Peter provided me with a personal invite to sign-up for the beta and fusedlogic is now listed on the site.  This software is very cool and helps to solve the business development collaboration issue that many companies have.  I suggest that you consider signing up and trying it out.

Sidenote: Peter did agree to call me so I could asked him some specific questions as prep for a more in- depth blog post but if you know Peter, he’s hard working and a beta takes a lot of effort.  I’m sure he wasn’t going out of his way to ignore me.   Besides we bump into each other all the time at events and around the neighborhood.  Maybe he’ll bring his SmibsTV crew down the Web 2.0 meetup and present SmibsNet there on Nov 6th.   Below is the video interview with Peter some months ago on Whyte Ave in Edmonton.

Also, Peter if you’re reading this and I know you are, Smibs needs to be a Sherwood Park Chamber member right away…expect me to be relentless on this point.