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If you want a window into the degree to which CIOs have embraced social networking -- and the impact of Web 2.0 technology is having on the organizations for which they work – look no farther than Washington.
Yes, Washington.
Okay, the Feds aren’t usually on the downhill sloop of the technology adaptation curve, but these days a new generation of CIOs and CTOs are running the technology show within the Beltway. And many of them have adapted everything from Facebook and Twitter to cloud computing services as the tools of their trade.
Part of this stems, of course, from President Obama’s mandate to make the government more transparent and collaborative. This is a priority for both the national chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra and chief information officer Vivek Kundra. At the American Council of Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s Management of Change Conference in Norfolk, Va. on June 1, Kundra stressed the importance of the federal government leveraging Web 2.0 technology to serve citizens and access their ideas for government.
But the acceptance of social networking is not necessarily y the result of a top-down mandate from the White House. Everybody’s doing it, or all most. Today, at least 51 members of Congress and 19 U.S. Senators use Twitter to communicate with peers and constituents. The Army has just given the green light for soldiers to tap into Facebook and Twitter. The US Navy CIO Rob Carey has his own blog and is an ardent champion of Web. 2.0 and social networking.
"As I am a passionate believer in open communication and collaboration, I am heartened to see that there is a strong desire to use these tools as part of our way of doing business within the Department. I was also happy to learn that Secretary Ray Mabus is also very interested in how these tools can further the business of the Department,” Carey wrote in his in his June 9 blog, “Web 2.0 and the DON.”
”In fact, many commands have begun using Web 2.0 and social media tools,” he continued. “SPAWAR (The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center), for one, has invested a great deal of energy into the development of an internal social networking application. They have also created an internal network of blogs they call 'Blog Planet.'"
Linda Cureton, CIO, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, is also an outspoken believer that CIOs need to get with the social networking program. “You can be the CIO that tries to jump on a railroad track and run past a speeding locomotive and not get run over, or you can be a CIO that lays track to outline what the technology can do for your agency,” Cureton said during a recent panel discussion about the Web 2.0 in the federal government.
Like Carey, Cureton also has a blog. In her June 12 post, she discussed Goddard’s first launch into the new technology. “We took a leap of faith and rocketed into social networking this week with the launch of Spacebook, an employee intranet that features user profiles, group collaboration spaces and social bookmarking,” Cureton wrote. “This is similar to Facebook, except that it is restricted to NASA’s secure internal network. It’s open to every employee of NASA.
“I need to tell you that this whole Web 2.0 thing gives people the willies. We delayed the launch one week to make sure we addressed the very valid concerns raised by our stakeholders. Our legal folks wanted to make sure that we met our policy and regulatory obligations; our IT security folks wanted to make sure that we didn’t expose NASA data or NASA networks to any additional risks; and finally our Office of Human Capital people wanted to make sure that we were all well-behaved and personally accountable
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“There are a lot of phobias associated with social networking… Somehow … someway … we worked through those issues. .. One of the most amazing things about these Web 2.0 technologies and the greatest value to NASA is the ability to help us create a culture of engagement and collaboration that makes each individual employee much more effective. Engaging the public, harnessing the power of crowds, and open and transparent government … asmy friend Efrain would say … it’s ALL good Poopsie.
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