Social Media at the White House and at the State House
President Obama was swept into the White House by using so many social media tools to engage voters. Now that he is in the White House, social media has been injected into all aspects of white house communications. Most notably by having a White House blog, embedding you tube videos on whitehouse.gov and creating the Citizen Breifing Book on change.govthe president-elect’s website, a way for you and I to influence policy at the highest level. No matter your political stance, the ability to get your idea to the White House is a win for the common person.
But how can web based tools be utilized at other levels of government? One great example of the use of online tools with a social aspect is the state of Kansas’ transportation department website: Kansas T LINK Calculator.
The calculator lets “you to create your own theoretical Kansas transportation program [by] developing [a] budget by making assumptions about current funding sources and choosing from a variety of potential new funding options [and] allocate funding on a variety of transportation modes.”
Basically the calculator lets you adjust where the money comes from and where it goes to in transportation policy by adjusting many different assumptions to achieve your personal best policy plan for the department. The site then lets you submit your plan so that the department can gauge public sentiment and understand the user’s values and priorities for setting policy.
It is a specific and real way that you can engage a specific state agency and provide feedback. The transparency President Obama jives on is one concept that lines directly to the principles of Gen Y and the relationship revolution.
I can’t wait to see how the government begins utilizing online tools as a way to increase efficiency and transparency to the government services area.
How do you think the government can get online and increase interaction, transparancy, and effeciency? The comments section is yours!
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I think the out dated tech in the white house reminds me of the difference between the established business and the start up. The entrepreneur, while without the army of employees, established customers, and barrels of money, has the advantage due to its potential for speed, agility, and innovation. I think this administration will update the white house but more importantly, I hope this group will continue to engage it’s followers because transformational change is going to come from the start-up spirit of the American people on both sides of the aisle.
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