How Web 2.0 Can Reinvent Government
Traditionally slow to change, bureaucratic in decision-making and constantly under public scrutiny, governments are ripe for new collaborative technologies, says Anthony Williams, co-author with Don Tapscott of the groundbreaking book Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything (Portfolio, 2007). That book detailed how Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis and social networking would radically transform business models and alter the way organizations think about collaborative relationships.
These days, Williams, vice president and executive editor at the international business innovation think tank New Paradigm, and Tapscott, its CEO, have set their sights on what they call “Government 2.0: Wikinomics, Government and Democracy.” Williams says the Web offers the public sector huge opportunities to collaborate with citizens. He foresees Web 2.0 technologies being employed to transform service delivery, make smarter policies, flatten silos and, most importantly, reinvigorate democracy.
That’s a tall order, but Williams predicts a shift “from monolithic government agencies to pluralistic, networked governance Webs that fuse the knowledge, skills and resources of the masses.” He recently spoke with CIO Insight contributor Paula Klein. What follows is an edited, condensed transcript of that conversation.
http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Expert-Voices/Web-20-Reinventing-Democracy/
