Okay, well that's good.  Wait until next week to do it!  April 10 -16, 2011 is National Public Safety Telecommunications week here in the United States. This is a federally designated week set aside to recognize the efforts of the more than 500,000 men and women who serve as 9-1-1 operators or dispatchers or Communications Officers in cities, counties and towns across the country.  They are your first point of contact when you need help. They are the calming, professional voice you'll get on the other end of the phone when you dial 9-1-1.  They are the "good guys", the lifeline and the support system.

Nobody who dials 9-1-1 is having a good day.  But your bad day is their typical day, every day.  Their training and skills prepare them for the worst of human nature and crisis, 24/7/365. I am fortunate and proud to say that I work with some of the very best of them.  I have seen them operate like the gears of a clock in the midst of events that would turn many people into quivering blobs of jelly. They are heroes just like any other first responder in a police cruiser, a fire truck or an ambulance.  They deserve medals. They deserve praise and recognition...not just next week, but all the time.

We've got our fair share of goodies, giveaways and events to celebrate here next week. Hopefully all of our Communications Officers already know how important and valued they are, so next week will be just icing on the cake.  But during this week, we will especially salute all of them for their dedicated efforts on our behalf.

Your community has a dedicated 9-1-1 Center as well. I urge you to consider doing something to recognize them.  Send them a card and let them know that you appreciate the fact that they will always answer that call.  Call them up and tell them "thanks!" for a continued job well done. (But please use the non-emergency number, DON'T DIAL 9-1-1!) Bake them a cake (food always seems to be appreciated around here). Do something, anything to remind them that they are needed and appreciated in every community.

Got some unique and interesting suggestions on how to recognize them?  Please share it here - I'd love to hear how you recognize the Communications Officers in your community!

Yesterday, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) announced that their Social Media Legal Workgroup, along with the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) had successfully negotiatedseveral key changes to Facebook’s Terms of Service.  Facebook’s standard click-through agreement language has traditionally caused many government agencies to shy away from the social networking behemoth due to several clauses that have traditionally been absolutely non-negotiable in any government contract.

Although the group’s efforts were primarily focused on state government needs, the clauses they’ve resolved are also common sticking points for local governments as well.

According to the NASCIO news release, “Facebook has specifically agreed to modify the provisions of its terms and conditions to:

• Strike the indemnity clause except to the extent indemnity is allowed by a state’s constitution or law;
• Strike language requiring that legal disputes be venued in California courts and adjudicated under California law;
• Require that a public agency include language directing consumers to its official Web site prominently on any Facebook page; and,
• Encourage amicable resolution between public entities and Facebook over any disputes.

State and local government agencies who are already on Facebook are immediately grandfathered in to these changes.

These changes come after over a year of “lengthy discussions”, but NASCIO expects that this will serve as a model going forward, hopefully usable with other social media services. Back in March of 2009, the General Services Administration successfully negotiated Terms of Service amendments with several social media services, including Youtube, Flickr, Vimeo and Blip, yet most state and local governments did not find the changes particularly helpful to their needs (which, generally speaking, are very different from those of federal agencies).  So this success by NASCIO is likely going to be a much more pivotal move for state and local government adoption of social media services!

As I think back over the past two years, specifically with my involvement in the world of Government 2.0, I can't help but think its adoption has coalesced into three phases.  Nearly all of us have experienced some aspect of Phase I: Tools.  What is Government 2.0?  How does Twitter work? What good is Facebook? Phase I is very hands-on and experiential.  It consists of learning the technologies that provide a foundation for Govt2.0 adoption.  Many of the 2.0 movers and shakers might consider Phase I old news.  But the truth is that when you look at government organizations as whole, particularly those of us at the local level, most are still in this phase - conducting experiments, discussing with peers, working on buy-in from our organizations, etc.

A small percentage of us have taken the next big step to Phase II: Policy.  Phase II, which I highlighted in an entry a few months back, is focused on the larger, more extensive issue of the "how" of government 2.0.  The effective policies cover such delicate topics as ownership, legal responsibilities, message consistency, etc.  It answers sometimes difficult questions. Who will manage these tools?  What can we tolerate in terms of two-way communication and feedback?  Which tools will we deploy? The numbers of social media "policies" that address these issues continue to expand at a slow but steady rate.

This brings us to the relatively uncharted waters of Phase III: Convergence - a merger of these tools and concepts with our larger organizational strategy.  How do we keep the momentum going?  What's next for us if we want to truly institutionalize the use of not just the tools but more importantly the concepts and the potential they represent, such as collaboration, open government and knowledge management? How do we take that next step to integrate these tools into our organizations' larger communications or development strategy? These are all excellent questions.  And no, I don't know the answers...yet.

That's where you come in! Together with Ines Mergel, Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University (and fellow MuniGover!), I'd like to request your participation in a very brief online survey to help us develop some empirical data on this very subject. Once we can get a snapshot of where we are today, we intend to develop some analysis on where the gaps are and how we can overcome them.

When completed, we plan to do a seminar to review and discuss the results with anyone interested.  I expect that we'll also be able to share some best practices and lessons learned from the experience that will likely also help you take your own organization to the next level of engagement and implementation.

So please, take a moment to answer these few simple questions - share your pain, share your success!

https://survey.maxwell.syr.edu/Survey.aspxs=4b8afaec1ec74d5dac1d6ebde704bd35

Last week, April Edmonds, a Web technology analyst for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) and a member of MuniGov 2.0 launched a resource site designed to bring awareness to social media in government, particularly in the state of Florida.  Her site is a volunteer effort that she nurtured in her spare time with a plan to help provide a resource to those in government who are still not clear on the ins & outs and pros & cons of social media. You can also follow the associated twitstream at http://twitter.com/FLGovTech.

Aside from some very informative and general content, the site also has a section specifically devoted to the intricacies of social media as it relates to the state of Florida.  For instance, on the site you'll find links to opinions from the state attorney general's office on specific social media tools as well as a video tutorial with regards to social media in relation Florida's open records laws. The site includes a number of other useful features including detailed how-to guides for some of the most popular social media tools as well as lessons learned from April's own experience at the FWCC.

There are a few placeholders that April intends to fill in as time and experience permit, but taking a quick look around, you'll definitely see the valuable potential this type of resource holds. She's also looking for volunteers to help with keeping the content up to date and relevant. Send your suggestions to her directly at: flgovtech@gmail.com.

Perhaps this is something MuniGov can champion to become a model for other states to use in developing their own state specific resources.  If anybody is thinking about, or has already done something similar in another state, please let me know!

I don't normally spend much time focusing on the corporate structure behind the tentpole companies of today's social media movement.  But the recent announcements from Linden Labs and Twitter both seemed to be worth a little review, particularly from the Government perspective.

First - The What?

This week Twitter announced that they are "looking for an experienced, entrepreneurial person to make Twitter better for policymakers, political organizations, and government officials and agencies."  The position is intended to be housed in Washington, DC  and apparently is supposed to focus on being a liaison between all areas of Twitter as a company...and all areas of government.  According to the announcement, "responsibilities will include:

• Provide excellent support of government and political use of Twitter.
• Advocate for government and political users within Twitter.
• Increase political use of Twitter.
• Develop best practices and other educational material.
• Do outreach to better understand government needs."

Wow - good luck with that!  That's a pretty tall order.  In my observation, there are dozens of PR and communication firms inside and outside the beltway who focus on each of those bullets individually already. And what about the rest of us who don't operate in DC?  Local governments and state governments have proven that Twitter use can be an integral part of our communications and outreach strategy, but our support needs are very different than those on the federal level.  And the politicians too?  Very, very different needs.  Truth be told, this probably would've been more effective if it had been in place a couple years ago when tweeting first started.  I know it would've saved a lot of us govies the trouble of trying to figure it out ourselves.  But now it seems a little late since so many govts are already doing it, and doing it well I might add.

Don't get me wrong, I applaud Twitter for looking at us in government with enough interest to appoint somebody to liaison with us. But that job described above, in today's 2.0 environment, is going to be hard to do as a one-person show in my opinion.  So far, from one what I've review online, most of the people who've thrown their hat in the ring are not actually in government.  Even so,  some of the nominations are certainly worth reviewing. I hope that whomever they select doesn't stay inside the beltway all the time.  Don't forget the 50 states and the hundreds of counties and cities out here who are also being innovative and would welcome an opportunity for a little face time as well!

We shall see what happens...

Second - The Bad?

This week also brought what most are considering to be bad news to the 2.0 realm. Linden Labs announced "a strategic restructuring to increase focus on the company's consumer business including investments intended to enhance ease of use and participation in its virtual goods marketplace through browser-based and mobile applications."  Unfortunately, that also translates to a cut of about 30% of their workforce, including our government liaison. This comes on the heels of the recent release of their drastically redesigned client interface, which has had consistently mixed reviews from the user community.  Additionally, the prices for Linden land are steep, which makes it difficult for governments to participate in SecondLife, particularly when they are much less expensive alternatives available. Is this a downward spiral for Linden Labs when it comes to government? IMHO, this is still TBD.

On a positive note, the news release also promises a stronger focus on the company's primary long-term goal: "to create a browser-based virtual world experience, eliminating the need to download software." This could potential be a huge step forward in the government sector.  Information security concerns and the steep learning curve have made it difficult for many organizations to get in-world long enough to see the infinite possibilities available.  Technologically speaking, this is becoming much closer to a reality and if LL truly does focus on this goal, it could mean a second (larger) wave of acceptance and popularity as tool, both in general and specifically in government. So, as with the Head Gov Twit appointment above, I am conflicted and will have to wait and see...

Third - The Good!

And finally, the last job related note from me this week.  This one, although it has received much less fanfare and notoriety than the first two above, is nonetheless to me the most positive. AmericaSpeaks.org has posted a help wanted ad for a newly-created position called Director of Online Engagement & Participation. According to Susanna Haas Lyons from America Speaks, "the position is unique in the way that it draws on three distinct skill sets - digital tools, business development, and citizen participation - and correspondingly offers a leading opportunity to advance the voice of citizens in governance while changing the way agencies at all levels of government use technology to achieve their mandate." Social media as a platform and citizen participation as a focus? Now that is truly an innovative opportunity. The person in this spot is going to have all kinds of fun with the tools and the practice of engagement!

Also this week, the Big Apple posted a new job - Chief Digital Officer. The new position is designed to "develop forward-thinking policies on social media, digital communications, Web 2.0 initiatives and other tools to better serve the public." Very similar to the America Speaks position in some ways, albeit more focused on the NYC's well-publicized digital channels.

If you've got the tech chops and the communications experience, I'd suggest you toss your hat in the ring early 'cause my guess is that both of these are going to be very busy!  Meanwhile, I will be over here festering in jealously, waiting to hear more about the lucky souls who gets to fill those spots.