Government 2.0 Panel at Center for American Progress
Written by: Derek Yale
Today the MetroStar Team has journeying down the Center For America Progress in the nations capital to hear Tim O’Reilly, Andrew Sherry, Alec Ross, and Faiz Shakir speak on a panel about “Web 2.0 and the Federal Government”. If you cannot attend, you can watch the live webcast of the panel event.
Overall the talk had a heavy focus on “Diplomacy 2.0″ and the Department of State‘s campaigns applying Web 2.0 applications to promoted public diplomacy. The talk was more interesting from a conceptual level since MetroStar System’s created X-Life Games, the State Departments first Government 2.0 mobile diplomacy game. Here is a brief description if you are interested in learning more or have not heard about it yet:
“X-Life Games is a free game for mobile phones designed to improve diplomacy by communicating American culture and English Language. Launched in March 2009, the X-Life Games project is a pilot program developed by the State Department and MetroStar Systems. It is a Government 2.0 example of the Department of State’s Diplomacy outreach initiative whose purpose is to bridge cultures, encourage exchanges, and break down cultural barriers.”
The Center for American Progress coordinated this event with the release of a new video called White House 2.0 and three Gov 2.0 related papers.
White House 2.0 - Web 2.0 Technology and the Government
Video Description:
“Peter Swire discusses Web 2.0 issues specific to the federal government and how the Obama administration can promote open government and new technology for all Americans.”
3 CAP Government 2.0 reports released today
- It’s Not the Campaign Any More - How the White House Is Using Web 2.0 Technology So Far
- Six New Media Challenges - Legal and Policy Considerations for Federal Use of Web 2.0 Technology
- How to Buy Free Software - Procuring Web 2.0 Technology for the Federal Government
From Diplomacy 1.0 to Diplomacy 2.0
The panel emphasized the shift from Diplomacy 1.0 > Diplomacy 2.0 referring to the latter as “21 Century State Craft.” It was quite intriguing to think about how the set of tools that are available to “craft states” has fundamentally changed for government over the past 100-200 years. Another way of putting it: Diplomacy 2.0 is applying information technology to go beyond the traditional crafting of states. Also there was a heavy focus on mobile phones and smart phones as a platform for the government to reach a wider audience globally, because access to the internet is not universal to or affordable for all citizens.
“It is far likelier that people in the developing countries are going to be accessing the internet through a smart phone…we cannot wait for ubiquitous broadband access to the internet” - Alec Ross
There was a keen awareness in the panel that everyone in the world is not afforded the same set of tools, has the same access to information or even the same internet because of government censorship.
The Heart of Diplomacy 2.0
I think that this begins to get at the heart of diplomacy 2.0, mobile diplomacy and mobile diplomacy gaming: the notion that if you want to be a modern diplomat then you must meet other people where they are (or at least where they can actually go) otherwise how can you ever seek to reasonably engage them?
All in all it was a pretty good event, but they could have allowed for more time for questions at the end.
Update: For those of you who missed the webcast watch the full event video
Posted on June 1st, 2009 in Community, News, Our Culture.