Guideline for External Use of Web 2.0 in the Government of Canada

After years of hearing  ”it’ll be released next week” promises, I finally got to witness the official announcement this morning from Minister Tony Clement: The Treasury Board Secretariat’s Guideline for External Use of Web 2.0  is now public.

Here is an excerpt from Tony’s speech:

“Web 2.0 tools provide additional means of interactive communications between government institutions and Canadians. These tools are the modern-day equivalents of town halls. They can be used for various purposes including recruitment, emergency communications, and service delivery. They also help provide valuable information to the public, stakeholders, and act as tools for consultations.

BC Social Media Engagement Learning Centre

I was recently given permission to share a “work in progress” extranet site from the Government of British Columbia. Please note that it is currently a mirror and has not yet been officially launched.

A quick note on social media governance

There are some general best practices and trends that I’m noticing are emerging in modern “social” organizations. Here are some governance recommendations based on these “best practices”:

• Social media strategy should fall under the portfolio of marketing , communications or equivalent
• Official social media engagement should fall under client services, customer service, or equivalent.
• Social media content should come from the various content experts in the organization
• Social media guidelines should be created by the “strategy” team and approved by HR and Legal
• Unofficial social media participation can come from anybody at any time. Nobody “owns” it. Need to follow guidelines, which are merely reminders as opposed to restrictions. Note: It is crucial that your organization positions them that way as well.

I’d be curious to hear thoughts from other consultants and/or practitioners. What are you noticing?