Back to Basics: What the public values most is time

Does technology make our lives better? My answer, is, "yes, but..." Our relationship with technology is filled with ironies.

Social media makes me more connected with my friends, but my Blackberry buzzing away in the evening makes me less connected with my own family.

The PC, Internet, and increasingly robust productivity tools have empowered the average office worker to do more in a day than I'm sure my grandfather could do in a week, but we're all working more hours than ever because expectations have increased just as fast as productivity.

At a conference on digital engagement [website, event landing page] last week in London, many of the ironies and challenges society faces with advances in technology were discussed. One presenter shared a survey that showed that the average U.K. citizen felt more 'short on time' than ever. Many presenters shared disturbing information on the social injustice that results from "digital exclusion" which we refer to in the U.S. as the "digital divide" where many lower income people lack the access and knowledge to benefit from technology.

I took many lessons from the conference, and I want to share two that I think are relevant to those of us working in technology in the public sector:

1. Access is critical:
   
   Technology access is increasingly a basic human right in western society. We can't force people to use technology, but the social injustice that results from lack of access is too serious to ignore. One speaker emphasized that central government's role in the U.K. is not to provide "the fastest possible speed of connectivity," but to focus on "universality of access." I agree. New evidence may emerge about the benefits of higher speed broadband, but given budget constraints, it only makes sense to start with a focus on ensuring that that everyone who wants access to a PC and the Internet can get it.
2. Wanting it is as important as having it:
   
   If technology saves people time and makes their lives better, more people will take advantage of whatever access they do have.
   
   As we role out new and improved services, we need to remember how short people are on time. When we build capabilities for digital communication with the public, online civic participation, and online services, we need to make the tools useful if we want them to get used.
   
   That means that our top priority should always be using technology to make it less time consuming to interact with government. It is always interesting for us working in technology to build tools for citizens to do complex things online (look up government spending information, provide input into policy, review political donations by zip code, see a map of crime patterns, etc.), but I think it's important to balance our desire to provide complex services with the need to make the basic services and communication capabilities easy and efficient for citizens to use. To me, the basics are making government information easy to find and use and making the most common and critical daily interactions with government (paying taxes, tapping basic services, paying fines, receiving public health information, staying up to date on roads and public transit) as efficient as possible.

At our company, we believe that our service is most valuable when it is used to help government reach people who would not have had the time to walk to city hall, show up at a town hall meeting, or read a government publication before the Internet and digital communication services like what we provide existed. With technology constantly improving and giving us opportunities to do complex and amazing things, the conference was a good reminder of this important starting point - the basics.

GovLoop (the Facebook for Government) joins up with GovDelivery

Have you heard of GovLoop? It's a place where anyone working in the government community around the world can connect to share ideas, solve problems, and make friends. In less than 1.5 years, GovLoop has gone from an idea to a vibrant community with more than 18,000 members. If you work in government, it is imperative that you join and contribute to this community. You need it and it needs you.

If you work with government and have a passion for continuing to make it better, I hope you'll join GovLoop now and encourage your colleagues to do the same. You won't believe all of the great conversations and resources. For example, is your agency debating whether it needs a social media policy? On GovLoop, one discussion thread on the topic has reached over 65 comments with links to specific examples and real-world advice from practitioners across the world on how they have solved the problem.

Today, I'm pleased to share the news that GovLoop has joined up with GovDelivery to form one company that is focused on doing awesome work with government. GovDelivery's mission is to provide the best possible communications platform to the public sector. GovLoop connects government to improve government. It is a great match, and we're really excited about it.

Why are GovLoop and GovDelivery such an exciting combination?

• GovDelivery serves over 300 government agencies across all levels of government; in 2009 alone, government agencies have already sent over 1 billion messages to stakeholders using the GovDelivery platform.
• We've seen the need for better collaboration across government, but most importantly, we've been a part of the amazing things that can happen when different government agencies work together. The GovDelivery Collaboration Network (an idea brought to us by our clients) has allowed different government agencies to cross-promote their content on GovDelivery so a citizen interested in information from the CDC is also offered relevant updates from NIH, FDA, and FEMA. It's a simple concept, but the results are powerful: the average government agency using the network has seen subscription rates more than double.
• Every day 10,000 - 100,000 new people signup to receive updated information from a government entity using GovDelivery-- 15-30% of the people signing up everyday work in government, the military, or as government contractors (the same groups that participate on GovLoop).

GovDelivery is known for its work helping government improve email communication with the public, but since launching the collaboration network using a simple Web 2.0 mashup concept in early 2008, we've deployed a number of additional social media integrations and innovations including the ability to stream updates into a shareable widget, a share this email capability, and a discuss this email blogging capability.

What we've learned reinforces what we've heard from our clients: social media is most powerful when it creates connections that either improve government, improve citizen access to government, or both. While we will continue to help our clients use the GovDelivery platform to launch content into social media, we believe that, together with GovLoop, we can help create the kind of connections between government people and organizations that lead to enduring and positive change in the governments we serve.

This will be good for our clients, the people in the government organizations we serve, and for the public.

GovLoop and GovDelivery believe that we can work together to help grow the GovLoop community so it becomes even more vibrant than it is today. We also intend to work together to give GovLoop more resources than it has had in the past. Effective immediately, GovLoop President Steve Ressler is working full time on GovLoop and he will be building a team to work with him in support of the community. I encourage you to read what Steve has to say about all of this here.

If you are a current GovLoop member, I personally commit to you that I will do whatever I can to support Steve in making GovLoop even more awesome. Steve is a terrific leader, and his leadership at GovLoop has helped unleash the power of the community. From the time I first met him at Gov 2.0 camp (where he sold me a terrific GovLoop t-shirt), I hoped that I would have a chance to work more closely with him.

I welcome your feedback on this exciting change. You can find me on GovLoop or comment on this blog.

If you are a current GovDelivery client, please take the following steps:

1. Join GovLoop if you have not done so already
2. Join the newly created GovDelivery User's Group in GovLoop where you can share your ideas and seek collaboration with other GovDelivery users and the GovDelivery team
3. Consider starting a GovLoop Group around your government organization and/or relevant topics where improved collaboration with other entities/agencies is needed; there are free groups and premium groups available

Best regards,

Scott Burns
CEO & co-founder
GovDelivery

P.S. You can read the GovLoop press release here.

Oakland County, Mich., Uses GovDelivery to Save Money and Keep Residents Up-to-Date

By Zach Stabenow, Executive Vice President & Co-Founder, GovDelivery

We like to highlight innovative agencies that are using creative ways to “Reach the Public.”  Today, we are showcasing how Oakland County, Mich., uses GovDelivery’s communication platform to enhance costs savings, as well as keep citizens informed during a challenging public health scare: the H1N1 flu epidemic.  When news of the epidemic was dominating the news cycle in late April and early May, many citizens clamored for information about the disease and its impact on their local communities.  Oakland County realized that posting information on a static website would not be a sufficient enough means for communicating urgent updates to concerned citizens.

As this Government Technology story highlights, Oakland County relied on the GovDelivery digital subscription service platform that allowed citizens to sign up for notifications via email, RSS feed or text message when it updated its website.  And, our platform allowed Oakland County to give citizens options as to how they wanted to receive the information. 

As Phil Bertolini, deputy county executive and CIO of Oakland County, noted in the article, Oakland County decided that allowing citizens to choose how they would receive the information was critical when dealing with these urgent H1N1 alerts.  The county’s website has 25,000 pages of content with 170 different content managers providing updates.  GovDelivery provided an automated process for sharing information that did not overburden these information managers. 

From an overall ROI perspective, by using GovDelivery’s platform, Oakland County has been able to save $268,000 in annual mailing and printing costs.  Also, check out this video interview of Mr. Bertolini discussing actual ROI from using GovDelivery.  Finally, if you are based in Michigan, we recommend you check out Bertolini’s presentation Mi-GMIS Fall Conference next week, where he will discuss how the county’s is improving service to the public through collaboration and innovation, and saving money during tough budget times.  

Friday's Food for Thought: What is Labor Day Really All About?

Welcome once again to the Friday’s Food for Thought post on our Reach The Public blog. As many of our readers know, we like to examine a topic or theme in a way that hopefully inspires, confounds, excites and even enlightens. For today’s Friday’s Food for Thought post, we are taking a critical look at the Labor Day holiday to examine what it is really all about. So here's a brief history, a few interesting tid-bits and a funny video for you to enjoy.  Happy Labor Day!

The True Meaning of Labor Day
Many of us know Labor Day as the last holiday weekend of the summer season. We often mark it with backyard BBQs and preparation for the first days of school. So, what is it really all about? Well, again, thanks to our friends at Wikipedia, I can tell you that the holiday originated in Canada out of labor disputes ("Nine-Hour Movement") first in Hamilton, then in Toronto in the 1870s, which resulted in a Trade Union Act which legalized and protected union activity in 1872 in Canada. The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5th, 1882 in New York City. In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and USMarshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority.

The 30 Best Careers for 2009
While 2009 has certainly been a tumultuous career for the economy; there are certainly plenty of great career opportunities out there. And, we consulted with the folks at U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing of the 30 best careers for 2009. And guess what career made the list? That’s right: Government Manager. So take that, Amy Poehler!

 

And That’s Really Good, Because Uncle Same Needs 270,000 New Recruits
This just in – the federal government is heading for an employment crisis. A new study conducted by the Partnership for Public Service forecasts that the federal government will soon be dangerously understaffed. This is due partly to the big problems the current administration is tackling, and the massive wave of federal retirements right around the corner. Government needs to streamline its hiring procedures and make sure it’s competing for the top talent it needs. Here’s the take from the Washington Post.

 

These Guys Really Need a Holiday!

To send you off into a Labor Day weekend, here’s a trailer from the classic movie “Office Space.” Hey, you got to be doing better than these guys, right? Enjoy!

GovDelivery's Role in Government Communication

I have been contacted many times recently regarding GovDelivery's role in the communications practices of our clients and in protecting the privacy of people interested in receiving updates from the government.

If you're not familiar with GovDelivery, our mission is:
"To provide the public sector with the most effective digital communication solution."

We provide a web-based software platform for government agencies, enabling them to reach the public efficiently and effectively with up-to-date information by email, mobile text message, and through social media channels.

While we frequently highlight the work done by our clients, I do not typically comment on the work we do for specific clients. GovDelivery's role is to provide a world class platform that supports each client's mission and communications goals. Ultimately, we are successful when our clients are able to keep the public informed. Asking GovDelivery to comment on a particular client's outreach approach is like asking Microsoft^® to comment on a letter that someone writes in Microsoft Word.

However, in the interest of full transparency, this entry addresses some frequently asked questions regarding GovDelivery's privacy policy and our role in working with various public sector organizations in the U.S. and U.K.

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Q

What types of organizations use the GovDelivery platform, and what is GovDelivery's role?

A

GovDelivery works almost exclusively with public sector organizations. GovDelivery has no commercial clients. We provide a web-based (Software as a Service) software platform that our clients use to manage outbound communication with the public through various communication channels (email, text messaging, RSS and social media). GovDelivery is never involved in fundraising or advocacy on behalf of non-profit or political organizations. While we serve the offices of many elected officials at all levels of government, we do so without regard to the political affiliation or political objectives of our clients.

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Q

Where do GovDelivery clients get the email addresses and mobile phone numbers used to reach the public through the GovDelivery digital communications platform?

A

GovDelivery's clients can offer updates on specific topics through their websites, and often include a subscription sign-up (opt-in) form. Some GovDelivery clients serving a similar audience cross-promote content (topics) from related government agencies by offering subscription items from other agencies (think of this as ‘one stop shopping' for government information that is of interest to a particular citizen). Finally, GovDelivery allows clients to upload existing contact lists into GovDelivery.

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Q

Who owns the contact information stored by GovDelivery? What is the privacy policy?

A

GovDelivery's clients own the contact information they gather and store within GovDelivery. GovDelivery is simply the ‘channel' or software platform that our clients use for communication, we do not own any of the contact information. Each client determines the privacy policy related to the contact information it gathers, stores and manages within its GovDelivery account.

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Q

Does GovDelivery ever share one GovDelivery client's contact list with another organization?

A

No. GovDelivery does not share contact information collected and stored by one client with any other clients under any circumstances.

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Q

Does GovDelivery sell or distribute email lists to government entities or other organizations?

A

No, GovDelivery does not offer any email lists for free or for sale to its clients and does not provide any data mining services. Clients are responsible for building their own contact lists using tools provided by GovDelivery or using other means for gathering contact information from interested citizens.

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Q

How does GovDelivery prevent its system from being used to "spam" the public?

A

Our clients use the GovDelivery platform to communicate with the public. Because GovDelivery serves only public sector clients, messages sent through GovDelivery never fit the legal definition of spam which applies only to unsolicited commercial emails. We do not have commercial clients. We provide our clients with a broad range of tools that make it easy for citizens to choose what content they receive, when they receive it, and how they receive it. GovDelivery also provides tools that make it easy for agencies to allow subscribers to confirm subscription requests and to unsubscribe from receiving information. Furthermore, we accept unsubscribe requests on behalf of our clients by phone and by email. Not all of our clients use all of the tools available to them because not all of these measures are useful in every environment. As a software provider, GovDelivery's role is to provide our clients with a broad range of tools to ensure that they can manage contact information effectively in a way that is acceptable to end users.

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We are pleased to play an important role in helping government improve communication with the public on issues ranging from local city council meetings to national emergencies.

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions regarding the role GovDelivery plays. Although we won't post or respond to any comments or questions related to specific clients, we are happy to respond to questions regarding our company, our policies, and the services we provide.

Friday's Food for Thought: From Cave Drawings and Smoke Signals to Social Networking. We've Come a Long Way, Baby...

Welcome to this Friday’s Food for Thought post. Today's theme is all about the history of communications. Our co-existence with other humans requires communication on some level. From early cave drawings and smoke signals to today’s social networked-world, our tools for communication have evolved, but the end result is the same: good communication skills lead to better relationships and a happier and more productive society.

Cave Drawings

It is believed that cave drawings were the first form of human communications. Dating back 32,000 years ago, the first cave paintings were discovered in Lascaux, France. They hadn't developed the fine art of French winemaking back then, but they did pioneer a form of communications that permeates our society: visual communications.

The Smoke Signal

Speaking of visual communications, the smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communications. It originally started in Ancient China, where soldiers stationed along the Great Wall would alert each other of impending enemy attack by signaling from tower to tower. Of course, most of us know about usage by North American Indians.

The History of the Alphabet

For the written language to flourish, we needed an agreed-upon alphabet. So, when was the alphabet first developed? Funny you should ask. Thankfully Wikipedia has the answer: it was first developed in ancient Egypt. By 2700 BC Egyptian writing had a set of hieroglyphs that represented syllables that began with a single consonant of their language. So, it all started with symbols.

Where We Are Today: Social Networking

One would have to live in a cave (like that pun?) to not see how social networking has become the new frontier of human communications. It is ubiquitous and the government has gotten into the game. If only there was a social network for cave dwellers 32,000 years ago. My how things would be different today.

The Kinks: Ape Man

What better way to cap off today's communication history lesson than with a 1970s hit from the Kinks called “Ape Man." Ray Davies’ artistic vision for this song certainly reminds of how, as humans, we are not far from being cave dwellers. Hope you enjoy and happy Friday!

Federal agencies like GPO engage ("win") with citizens and other agencies through email and social media

We enjoy sharing stories about government agencies that are improving communication and engaging the public in efficient and creative ways (Massive Public Outreach on Swine Flu, Email Rules!). The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Bookstore is leveraging email in a very mission-critical way. GPO has implemented an email alert system to inform the public about new government publications for sale, and nearly 60,000 subscribers have signed up for this service already (read the press release here).

“GPO’s core mission is to keep Americans informed on the documents of our democracy,” said Public Printer Bob Tapella. “This system is another way for GPO to carry out its historic mission. A simple email alert will let the public know about the various publications available from our agency customers.”

U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) was recognized for Excellence in Communication at a recent roundtable event on May 28th. The award was presented to GPO Director of Marketing and Sales, Jeffrey Turner, for "Scoring a Slam Dunk [with its] Sweet 16 Promotion," and increasing winning title sales by 241% and subscribers by 200%. During GPO's "Sweet 16" promotion, email alerts were effective in keeping citizens informed and excited about the voting and results. 

 

GPO’s "Sweet 16" Results

• Over 139,000 votes received during the 11-day promotion.
• Top vote-getter, Black Americans in Congress, received 62,225 votes.
• Rounds with email reminders garnered on average 4.68 times more votes than the round without.

As social media and Web 2.0 continue to grow in popularity and relevance, it is vital that government entities leverage new tools and connect communication channels to reach a larger audience. Social media and email are highly complementary with each fulfilling different roles in engaging citizens. Email and digital subscription management (EDSM) is a comprehensive communication solution that automates integration between email and Web 2.0 technologies.

Web 2.0 and social media is transforming the way government communicates with the public. The most effective government organizations are engaging in all channels. GovDelivery is working with 300+ government entities to integrate email and Web 2.0 communications. GPO has launched the Collaboration Network to partner with more than 20 federal government agencies to cross-promote content and further its reach. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was the first agency to promote compelling content through social media using Information Sharing Widgets and Share This Email at the onset of the H1N1 outbreak. These tools allow smaller, local agencies to inform citizens by installing the dynamic widget or “sharing” the information through email and social media channels. The City of San Ramon, California, not only posted HHS’s PandemicFlu.gov news widget but created their own emergency widget to keep residents informed. The National Guard Bureau and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have launched Discuss This Email blogs to increase transparency and engage with the public.

Email is the number one use of the Internet and can be leveraged to promote other communication channels and to further distribute compelling content. It’s exciting to see government agencies, large and small, use collaboration and integrated communications to reach the largest possible audience and offer enhanced service to the public.

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