chieftech's blog

Its not not about the technology | CC-BY

From RN Future Tense: Our nod to the federal election campaign and an update on Gov 2.0 initiatives

listen now | download audio

Here's the road map: we'll start by doing a reality check on the use and value of social media during the current federal election campaign; then we'll look at the Gillard administration's 'Declaration of Open Government'; and we'll end in the US with an update on Barack Obama's progress in implementing Gov 2.0.

via abc.net.au

Sorry. On a bit of a podcast bender at the moment! However, this is a great reality check on the state of the Australian 2010 election online.

I actually find myself agreeing with a lot of what Stilgherrian had to say:

  • The major political parties have applied a "veneer of web 2.0" to the campaign, but are still talking at people;
  • People are fooled by people delivering the party line online;
  • The number of people on Twitter is still quite small and doesn't reflect the all important marginal seats or the totality of swinging voters;
  • Getting a marketing message to go viral - in any sphere - involves luck; and
  • Following from the last point, you can't ramp up and create an active and influential online community overnight.

Personally, I think its quite likely that we will see a similar impact as seen in the UK election.

However, there are a couple of things I don't think FutureTense really addressed in this episode:

  • The impact of our changing media and information consumption habits;
  • The fact that political conversations are taking place online - but not just on Twitter and Facebook (so just because it isn't easy to aggregate the conversation, it doesn't mean it isn't happening);
  • How polling and listening to social media might be different; and
  • How traditional mediums, like TV - for example Q&A - are incorporating social media into the mix, so it is a complementary channel.

I also agree with Nicholas Gruen that the Declaration of Open Government was a bit of a fizzer, but I remain optimistic. However, the ethereal levels of open government isn't where the real change is happening. I'm seeing increasing interest from government agencies in developing social media strategies, but these are aimed at engaging online with communities, and looking for ways to be more efficient and effective. This is grass roots, practical Government 2.0 and social innovation that everyone understands - and this will be around long after the election ends.

Enrolling to vote online: What happens when Gov 2.0 runs into indifference

This is not an official AEC website. It has been made by an independent advocacy group as part of our campaign to make enrolling easier.

via enrol.getup.org.au

Government 2.0 doesn't have to be about running nice fluffy community consultations online or getting MPs to use Twitter. It can be deeply practical too. So, with a federal election coming in Australia, advocacy group, GetUp!, have created a site to help people enrol or update their electoral role details online.

The fact that they've even created this site raises the question of why you wouldn't just use the official Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) site? Well, because you can't actually enrol online - the GetUp! site captures your enrollment electronically, but then faxes the form to the AEC.

However, according to the Sydney Morning Herald an AEC spokesperson has warned:

 

"A digitally constructed signature wouldn't be valid, and we would require a hardcopy signature on an enrolment form"

This is odd, because the AEC will accept a scanned form via email. However, I've always thought that an email was good enough anyway under Australian law?

However, perhaps what is more concerning it the attitude all round with this problem. Why wouldn't we want people to be able to enroll to participate in one of our most import civic rights, using the most convenient method possible? It also reminds me that digital inclusion is a two-way street.

UPDATE

Apparently, the AEC was swamped by people trying to beat the deadline for enrolments, which caused a few problems.

From the Daily Telegraph:

THE Australian Electoral Commission went into meltdown yesterday as thousands of first-time voters tried to register.

The AEC pleaded for patience as its fax lines jammed and many frantic voters swamped the phone lines trying to report the problem. A spokeswoman said the AEC was trying its best to cope with an unexpectedly large demand.

And the SMH:

The rush to join the roll ahead of the Monday night deadline was so fierce the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) at lunchtime boosted its call centre staff by 200 to 700.

The AEC website also crashed for almost an hour as Australians rushed to register to vote ahead of the August 21 poll.