Alkags,
I did not follow the
link you provided; I just jumped in cos this topic is too close to my heart. So
my apologies if I go on a tangent.
The simple answer to
your question is…it would take the Head of Civil Service to blog. If Boss
is blogging, then I as a civil servant wants…No, must know what he is
blogging about. The copy cat syndrome may take care of the rest. But on a more
serious note, the Web 2.0 tools have provided a platform for collaboration in
the enterprise including government leading a concept which is slowly but
steadily gaining ground known as Government 2.0 or as other people prefer, Collaborative
Government. This is meant to be the successor of e-Government and the technologies
driving this movement include blogs, wikis, marsh-ups etc, all the so called
social networking tools. For Gov 2.0 to take off, there must be a paradigm
shift in the public service value chain where these tools can be used for
consultation and information exchange between government and its stakeholders.
For instance, instead of having a zillion workshops to discuss and input into a
policy document, why not create a wiki and get people to contribute? See the
challenges?
My take is, Blogs, Wikis
etc are about Collaboration at the workplace, at home etc. And therefore, to
get buy in and get people to use these tools, we have to encourage the spirit
of collaboration. Unfortunately, collaboration is one of the *taboos* in government. Just look around
you, the number of competing projects within government and the lack of harmonized
planning on national projects. According to research by Frost and Sullivan, in
a study conducted in 2006, Government ranked as the least collaborative sectors
while 36% of an organisation’s performance is a factor of collaboration. So,
that is the challenge, to instill the spirit of collaboration, then provide an
enabling environment and get the tools known and working for us. But, lets
start small…lets get the Head of Civil Service to blog…any ideas?
Harry
African eDevelopment
Resource Centre
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From:
kictanet-bounces+harry=africanedevelopment.org@lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=africanedevelopment.org@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Al Kags
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008
12:17 PM
To:
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy
Discussions
Subject: [kictanet] Public
Servants and blogging
http://davepress.net/2008/03/10/public-servants-must-blog/
I just came across the above article and I wonder what the thoughts of this
groups. One would imagine beyond the official policy and regulations there is a
social impediment to public servants blogging. What would need to happen to get
us to a point where we have official public blogs?
I also am reminded of an interesting article (below) by the CEO of Sun
Microsystems that was published in a Havard Business Review a while back - If
you want to Lead, Blog.
If
You Want to
Lead, Blog
Many senior executives at Sun, including me, have blogs that can be read
by anyone, anywhere in the world. We discuss everything from business strategy to product development to company values. We host open letters from
the outside, and we openly respond to
them. We talk about our successes—and our mistakes. (If you
don't believe me, go to www.blogs.sun.com/roller/page/jonathan?entry=dear_john.)
That may seem risky. But it's riskier not to have a blog.
Remember when, not long ago, CEOs would ask their assistants to print out their e-mails for them, and
they'd dictate responses to be
typewritten and sent via snail mail? Where are those leaders now? (The last of
my contacts of that breed just retired.) In ten years, most of us will
communicate directly with customers, employees, and the broader business
community through blogs. For executives, having a blog is not going to
be a matter of choice, any more than using e-mail is today. If you're
not part of the conversation, others will speak on your behalf—and I'm
not talking about your employees.
Blogging lets you
participate in communities you
want to cultivate—whether it's your employees,
potential employees, customers, or anyone else—and leverage your
corporate culture competitively. Here's a good example: Sun, like every
organization, receives e-mails from happy customers lauding one employee or
another for good work. The idea came up that we should post these e-mails on a
"wall of fame" on our intranet. But we realized that this venue would
profoundly limit the number of readers, so someone suggested putting the wall
of fame up on my external blog.
Immediately, people raised the concern that by identifying our best employees,
we'd make them recruitment targets. Well, of course that could happen. But it
cuts both ways. The upside is the positive ripple effect on workers' morale and
on the public's perception of the company. What's more, my competitors'
employees could see what I'm saying about my team and could decide whether I'm
more compelling than their own leaders. So rather than being a threat to Sun, blogging about my best employees can
build loyalty and be a recruitment tool to
boot.
How do you get started
on a blog? I suggest clearly
defining a blogging strategy and guidelines. (Or go ahead and use ours at www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/blogs/policy.html.
Just make sure to change the
company name.) Then find your voice. Be honest and open. Be respectful of your
audiences. Don't treat blogging like advertising—it's not. Use humor.
Link to those who interest and
influence you.
Once you get going,
don't micromanage the process. Your legal and corporate communications teams do
not have to be involved in
every post—after all, they're not involved in every e-mail you send or telephone call you make. Once in a while, you may need to add some clarifying language. (For example, a 14A
filing was required for my blog
posting about acquisition intentions, just as it would be for many other forms
of communication.)
But the rule of thumb is simple: Know the guidelines, then let loose. If you're unclear about your company's policy on something,
ask around. Maybe it needs to
be more carefully defined.
Be sure to listen to feedback and respond to legitimate ideas—from inside and
outside. And, most important, write the blog
yourself. Authenticity is paramount. Some senior executives hire people to write their blogs. Don't bother.
It's like hiring someone to
write your e-mail. It's not going to
work.
Trust me, your market and your employees are clamoring for executive
engagement and insight. They will value and remember your candor. And you'll be surprised by how much you learn from them.
Reprint: F0511J