We are now entering an era of sociopolitical influence, a framework for governments that influences and is influenced by its constituencies through real life interaction and now, new media. Some may say that this isn’t anything new. Certain governments over the years embraced the aspects of digital community in Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Many also believe that President Obama is the first “Social Media” President. I, however, am a far more pragmatic optimist. While many governments and also President Obama have embraced media to learn, interact, and also influence citizens, we are merely at the beginning of a new age of digital democracy where people play an active role in government now and over time.
One of the greatest lessons in social media is that everything begins with listening and such is true for any form of leadership. Governments and their administrations have much to learn. Not only are new media channels rich with insight, they are also interactive. There are people on the other side who have expectations of recognition, acknowledgement, and engagement. As such, the ability for information to come back represents a challenge to many top-down organizations. And, these challenges must be addressed.
Information has historically traveled one-way, from them to you. But, now governments aren’t only learning to listen, they’re exploring means to hear, respond and act. For example, even though the Obama team used social tools to engage with voters during the 2008 election, the channels pushed more than they pulled. Allow me to clarify that statement. The Obama team pushed wonderful content and triggered aspirations and as a result, “pulled” record-breaking donations to help Obama win the Presidency. This is something that I examined at great detail in 2008 for TechCrunch. It’s a wonderful start. The Obama Administration also realizes that the 2012 election will also require that new media channels pivot from top-down to now include bottom-up communication that triggers the A.R.T. of social media: Actions, Reactions, and Transactions.
Interactive engagement is powerful. Without intelligence, however, the ability to transform digital citizens into active stakeholders will prove elusive. In the end, what matters most is that people feel that they were heard and that change was evident. For governments, it’s critical that people are also engaged and directed to take actions that trigger desirable outcomes. In addition to intelligence, social media requires orchestration and the ability to design programs and experiences that positively influence behavior. By activating the human algorithm, governments can inspire a new generation of collaboration and productivity that accomplishes tasks, solves problems, and helps where help is needed. At the same time, the A.R.T. associated with new media programs will trigger a social effect that extends the reach of any political body or organization through the social graphs of engaged citizens potentially influencing friends of friends and audiences of audiences to empathize with efforts and movements.
In June 2011, The White House published a blog post that indicates change is in the air, “What Our Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers Told Us.”
The post begins with a positive note that indicates that the White House is indeed listening in social media:
Over the past few months, we’ve been working to improve the White House’s social media presence to provide our Facebook fans and Twitter followers with timely, relevant and interesting updates about what’s happening at the White House and around the Administration.
The White House conducted a series of surveys with Facebook fans and Twitter followers asking for their feedback on online programs. The two surveys received thousands of responses and the White House social media team shared the highlights.