Friday's Food for Thought: Ecosystems, Social Media and Government Communication

Welcome once again to Friday's Food for Thought post.  As always, we try to highlight information and ideas that stir the imagination, confound, and heck...hopefully make you laugh!  This week's theme is about the concept of 'ecosystems.'

When you think about it...humans live and work in ecosystem-like environments much like those you'd find in nature.  We are connected through personal and professional relationships that ensure survival. 

So, What Exactly is an Ecosystem?
Let's face it.  It's probably been a long time since we've had Biology 101.  And, for many of us focusing on government and the business world, we probably forgot quite a lot about the biology 'stuff' we learned way back when.  So, here's the quick definition of an ecosystem:  it is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the physical (abiotic) factors of the environment. Now...do you feel smarter than a 5th grader?

Ecosystems and Social Media in Government
Government agencies are now better able to engage its citizens through a multitude of social media channels:  Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, widgets, etc.  In fact, when you consider all of these social media components together, it is an ecosystem.  And, the highest point of the food chain within this ecosystem is communication, which is the nourishment that allows an ecosystem to thrive.

Symbiotic Relationships in Government
A symbiotic relationship, often found in ecosystems, is one where both organisms stand to benefit.  Flowering plants and pollinators (like bees) is a great example.  If you think about it, the relationship between government and citizens is symbiotic.  A government exists to serve its citizens, and citizens rely on government for services, safety and; it's a two-way street.  That brings us back to the fundamental core of a healthy relationship - communication right?   Citizens expect government to provide up-to-date information and proactive communication. 

Now It's Time for "Rap Chop"
We admit this Friday Food for Thought post may have been a bit more serious than the other posts.  "But wait!  There's more!"  In the ecosystem of infomercials, here's an example of how th Slap Chop guy and the Slap Chop product have a symbiotic relationship.  Slap chop quirky guy...slap chop sales! 

Check out this hilarious video of the ubiquitous "Slap Chop"infomercial brought to life through rap music.  Stop having boring tuna, stop having a boring life.  Enjoy!

 

If it Matters, Measure It (and share the metrics!)

One of my first mentors who ran a region of what was then called Ameritech (a baby bell in the midwest), had a saying, "If you value it, measure it." 

The larger the organization, the more this holds true.  In government, tracking results and sharing results promotes transparency, accountability and understanding of the value of the work you're doing within your agency.

The CDC National Center for Health Marketing has taken impressive steps to get their Web metrics online. They've actually been doing this for years.  Here's an example of the kinds of reports they post.

They've recently been recognized in NextGov for their new http://www.cdc.gov/metrics page.

Here are just a handful of the benefits of getting the data out there for the world to see:

• Makes clear to internal and external stakeholders how you measure the impact of what you are doing
• Gives everyone something to celebrate and work towards
• Engages colleagues and helps them see and understand how they might be able to assist with your work.  For example, if getting people signed up for email alerts is one of your metrics as it is at CDC, your colleagues might see that and decide to promote the email alert option at a future conference
• Encourages continuous improvement mentality
• Gives everyone an opportunity to ask tough questions "Is activity A worth the investment?  Should we be using more of technology X if it's working so well?"
• Helps ensure continuity when personnel changes occur

With the plethora of new technologies out there, it is even more important to share your stats with all stakeholders to make clear that the work you're doing matters and that you know how to gauge whether it is successful.  Just like you track the number of page views, Web visits, and the number of people signining up for your email alerts, you should also track Web 2.0 / Social Media metrics. 

You can track your Twitter followership ( If you have a Twitter feed, use TwitterGrader to track followership overtime), number of comments on your blog, number of Facebook fans, and man other metrics without much effort.

There are even external free services that make some of the tracking easy such as Quantcast which I wrote about last year.  I can't vouch for their accuracy, but they provide additional data points that can be helpful.

I don't believe that hard metrics are all that matter.  In fact, I find it much more compelling when we can go further and tie these metrics directly to mission and to $ savings if cost reduction is a goal.

At GovDelivery, we love to track overall growth in the number of messages that government agencies send to the public through our platform.  However, we get most excited when clients can tie the hard metrics directly back to agency/city/county/transit authority mission. 

At the end of the day, metrics are not an end in and of themselves, but if you track them and share them, I'd be willing to bet that they will be a useful tool in gaining support and momentum for your efforts to support your organization's mission.

Friday's Food For Thought: Effective Communication, Fundamental for Relationships and Burgers

Welcome to another installment of our Friday's Food For Thought post where we try lighten the mood with a bit of humor, along with a touch of irony.  Speaking of the latter, today we are taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to the concept of using effective communication skills to survive and prosper in this crazy world.

Think you have effective communication skills?  Perhaps you received that advanced degree and have even worked your way up to that coveted high-level position in the business world.  Laudable, yes, and certainly interpersonal skills helped - unless you are the rare few who succeeded on brains alone. So, are you as great a communicator as you think you are?  You can test yourself by taking this Communications Skills Test.  

If your score did not come out as well as you hoped, perhaps you would like to enhance your commmunications skills.  Check out this comprehensive 'how-to" guide to effective communciations from INC. magazine. 

If all else fails, perhaps you can even take a more basic approach.  In the vein of "All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," how about schooling yourself on how to best communicate with toddlers?  Surely, much can be learned about communications when you go back to this very basic level?

Finally, sometimes it's best to consult with a true guru in communications.  Check out this video to see why communication matters, even when you're hungry for a burger! 

Happy Friday!

rs