We’ve been following the Air Force’s moves with Web 2.0 for a while now — even going so far as to include their blog assessment flowchart (which I think is fabulous) in a white paper we recently published — so when I read David Meerman Scott’s blog post:

Free social media ebook and video: New Media and the Air Force

I thought I’d share it with you…because this information needs to be put to good use!

It seems as though everyone’s talking about Twitter these days, the social media tool du jour.  But what is this tool really all about?  Since there’s been a lot of chatter about this very topic lately, I thought I’d include excerpts and links to some good articles and blog posts that should provide newbies with some guidance.

Here’s a succinct definition, which I found at the Capitol Communicator website:

“First things first, what exactly is Twitter? Twitter is a 140-character statement or update, sometimes referred to as a microblog. If you use Facebook, think of a whole application that revolves around your status update. However, unlike Facebook where you need to accept a friend, people on Twitter simply follow you and can read your updates. Conversely, if you want to read a users updates or “tweets” you simply follow them. Twitter users follow friends, companies and influential people in their fields and industries.”

The post goes on to explain why you should consider using the tool, which can be used as a way of increasing awareness for you, your organization (i.e. agency) and/or issues that you care about (for instance, creating public awareness of government initiatives).

Additionally, here’s a good list of tips for how to use Twitter, courtesy of Stacey Parks from Film Specific:

1.  To really get the hang of it, start following others and do what they do.

2.  Be honest.  Have fun.  Don’t be preoccupied with selling anything.

3.  Share links, share ideas, ask questions, answer questions — anything but “What are you doing?”  Unless it’s really interesting.

4.  Get active and follow others.  Great tool for tossing around ideas.

5.  Join the conversation…there are too many promoters on twitter who just broadcast.  Learn and start networking.

6.  Always give value in your Tweets.

7.  As far as getting followers goes, being friendly and helpful does wonders.

8.  Keep your profile updated and the followers will come.

9.  Contribute positively to conversations.

10.  Instant feedback from readers is the best part of Twitter.  Listen to others; engage them; have a conversation.

My next post will be very specific to the use of Twitter for government initiatives…so until then, enjoy your weekend!

The Bethesda Chapter of Young AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association) has been hosting a great series, “Federal Web 2.0 – Virtual Podium Series” by bringing in some key players in Government Web 2.0.  In the latest webinar, Lynn Dean, Manager of Strategic and Web Communications at TSA talked about some of the major challenges of Web 2.0, and establishing a blog on a Government website.  One excellent hint was to remember that, since the change in administration; you “Have the President on your side.”   The TSA blog, Evolution of Security, also has its bloggers on Twitter, @TSABlogTeam.  It is great to see the Federal Government getting creative, removing roadblocks to Web 2.0 technologies, and developing policies around them.

One of the presentation’s main points was that you must educate yourself and others to recognize the importance of using blogs and other social media to communicate with your stakeholders.  GovLoop has a great forum on “must reads for Social Media/Government Web 2.0,” including a list of resources they have put together.

Lynn Dean’s presentation can be found on the YAFCEA Bethesda Chapter’s website.

With the upcoming administration changes, it seems safe to predict that we will see a shift in the use of new Web 2.0 social media technologies by the U.S. Federal Government. Much like the Apple/PC commercials, if the Government doesn’t start to embrace, use, and empower their employees to get involved in the social network and media areas, they will start to look more and more like Mr. PC, instead of looking like the younger, hipper, and more knowledgeable Mr. Apple.

Dr. Mark Drapeau points this out very well in his article Government 2.0: How Social Media Could Transform Gov PR on the PBS website. Dr. Drapeau explains the issue of the Federal Government embracing this change the following way:

…governments are very different from private corporations…Bureaucracy and entrenched special interests make collaboration between agencies difficult…Constant turnover of elected officials and political appointees as well as year-to-year budget concerns make long-range planning nearly a fantasy.

But the Government will have to change in order to keep up with the industry around it, which is the same industry that supports it. As industry embraces Web 2.0 and starts to encourage more communication to be passed through these technologies, the Government can’t afford to stay behind. Not everyone in Government is behind the Web 2.0 curve. The Coast Guard recently embraced using Facebook to communicate. Collen Graffy, the current Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, and Rep. John Culberson (R-Tex) use Twitter to keep people up-to-date on what they are doing.

Dr. Drapeau points out that the Government can use these new social network tools for PR to:

(share information) between agencies; collaborate with outside partners like humanitarian workers; public outreach and crowdsourcing (def. the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call)…engage people in meaningful ways, understand public sentiment, recruit and retain employees, and harness…collective intelligence.

At a time when it is critical for information to flow quickly and for issues to be discussed in a timely manner, it is also time for the Federal Government to think in a new way about communication and to see that, while there may be risk in delivering information quickly over the Web 2.0 space, the positives surely outweigh the negatives when it comes to the results of playing in this brave new world.

A recent article in Washington SmartCEO hit the nail on the head about Twitter and many senior level staffers’ unwillingness to embrace the new media. Laura Van Eperen and Allison Gebhardt in Twitterpated: How You Can Learn to Love Social Media write:

“If you immediately associate the word ‘twitter’ with ‘chatter about trivial matters,’ your vocabulary may be robust, but your knowledge about cutting-edge social media is probably lacking. Ask a 25-year-old young professional about Twitter and he or she will undoubtedly reference the popular social networking Web site that allows users to micro-blog by sending and receiving short text-based information. And so exists the great divide in today’s workplace regarding social media.”

Like many of my generation, I shied away from Twitter since I didn’t understand the concept of “micro-blogging.” Why in the world would anyone want to spend the time to tell strangers what they’re doing at the moment, and what value could these fragments of information hold for others?

But over the last month, I’ve discovered how much value Twitter really can have. It’s amazing how many interesting and relevant bits of information I gain by simply glancing at updates from those I’m following. I learn about great new books, new web sites, and technologies. I get links to important articles relating to my many different interests. I have the opportunity to let people know what Mind & Media is working on, share information that I believe important, promote my blogs, share inspirational quotes, and gain connections quickly that I never thought possible.

Eperen and Gebhardt encourage senior executives to take advantage of their “built-in experts” (the young people in their companies who can give them a tour of Twitter and other social networking tools). And they encourage all of us to join in the conversation since “it is time to stop resisting and start embracing the expanding workplace generation of social media enthusiasts — your [organization's] ’street cred’ and future bottom line will depend upon this new media marketing evolution.”

Sounds like a good New Year resolution to me! www.twitter.com/Bright_Builder

I’ve been told by several Federal clients that their agency prevents them from blogging on behalf of their organization. I can understand why this may be the case: the Government, like most of us, is afraid of what might be said and how they could look to the world. While I definitely understand this concern, we’re encouraging our Government clients to embrace blogging as an opportunity to enhance their agency image, promote and share the expertise of their best and brightest, recruit others with similar interests, and gain valuable public insight.

And we’re not talking about the formal, heavily controlled blogs that we see many agencies putting forth. Rather we’re encouraging our clients to welcome and value the open, honest feedback that is inherent in a Web2.0 environment.

Employees should be encouraged to share expertise on their agency’s blog, on other industry-related blogs, or even on their own personal blogs. Besides the ability to glean valuable feedback from these interactions, employees can demonstrate that Federal employees have unique insights and abilities, which can draw others (including bright recruits) to the agency. Blogging can also be a means to earning praise and public recognition, as well as publishing credit, along with straightforward satisfaction for their efforts — essential to enhancing job satisfaction and retention!

There are downsides, of course. Negative things will be said, but the positives outweigh the negatives, and in today’s increasingly Web2.0-driven society, employees, especially Generation Ys, just expect to communicate in this way.

Of course, we’re biased. We’ve been blogging for awhile (both professionally and personally) and swear by its ability to reinforce one’s online presence and credibility. That said, we’d love to hear from any of you working in the Federal sector; please share your opinion on whether or not you believe blogging would benefit your agency! Don’t worry, we can keep comments anonymous. What are the organizational hurdles keeping you from blogging?

A few months ago, I mentioned an article by Tom Kuhlmann called “5 Myths About Rapid E-Learning.” It seems I wasn’t alone in being impressed by Tom’s take on the subject because now he has launched a whole blog on the subject.

Tom’s blog offers tips, tricks, and information about the world of rapid e-learning, a world that most of us are involved in as either developers or students taking e-learning courses. I am looking forward to Tom’s insights.

Over the past few months, I’ve offered up tons of info nuggets and assessments on new media’s evolution and impact on marketing, communication, and society….

But this weekend (while searching YouTube for Lloyd Dobbler’s, a.k.a. John Cusack’s, “future plans” monologue from Cameron Crowe’s much-loved 1989 film, Say Anything), I stumbled upon something that really brought all of those referenced metrics, articles, and white papers to life—16-year-old aspiring musician Eric Striffler’s MySpace band profile, featuring the song “She Wrote About Me in Her Blog.”

Lyric highlights include:

She wrote about me in her blog,

and I read it,

and thought to myself she goes deeper than anticipated… 

She came online,
and I lost track of time,
we talked into the morning,
and not once did it get boring… 

Now we’re both out in the open,
we can’t hide behind the keyboards anymore…

The song tells the tale of how a someone used a blog to create specific content to reach a desired target audience in order to start a conversation and ultimately build a relationship.

I can’t imagine better evidence to prove the relevancy and impact of blogging than a song based on blog interaction. For the younger set (tomorrow’s older set, FYI) blogging is more than mainstream.

Then check out this snarky diagram by famed designer Paula Scher. It breaks down the all-too-typical flow of blog comments and content.

It’s a great depiction of how any idea can get turned inside out, and how the presentation of any perspective is sure to invite its counter-punching counterpoints.

(Props to Ze Frank for pointing this out.)