www.socialsecurity.gov

>> WELL, IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE, AND THANK YOU FOR
THAT INTRODUCTION.  I GUESS IT MAKES ME A MEMBER OF
MY GENERATION TO HAVE ALREADY HAD EIGHT JOBS BEFORE I WAS 30.
THAT'S A VERY COMMON GEN X THING. ONE OF THE CONSISTENT THEMESTHROUGH THAT TIME WAS AN INTEREST IN ENGAGEMENT
WITH THE ONLINE WORLD.  I'VE BEEN ON THE INTERNET  SINCE 1991, WHEN I FIRST LOGGED ON TO A BBS.  AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF WHY I WANTED TO COME AND TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT HERE, BECAUSE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE A CONTINUUM OVER THE PAST DECADES THAT NOW LEADS UP TO THIS MOMENT AND SOME OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND SOME OF THE TRENDS THAT ARE HAPPENING RIGHT HERE.  SO IT'S TRUE, YEAH,I WAS A (FRENCH WORD).  YOU PRONOUNCED IT BETTER THAN I DID.
I HAD A SEMESTER OF FRENCH,  I'M AFRAID THAT'S IT.  BUT, I ALSO WAS A TECH JOURNALIST BEFORE THIS ROLE, AND I WAS REALLY FOCUSED ON COMPLIANCE, WHICH IN GOVERNMENT IS A FAMILIAR TERM, ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU
HAVE TO DO BECAUSE OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS.  NOW I'M ACTUALLY FOCUSED ON SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, WHICH IS THIS IDEA OF GOVERNMENT 2.0, WHICH IS IN MANY WAYS REFLECTING THE SAME TRENDS ONLINE, PEOPLE CALL WEB 2.0 FORWARD. SO LETS SEE IF I CAN FIGURE OUT
THE CLICKER AND GO ON. OKAY. SO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA A LITTLE BIT, TALK ABOUT EGOVERNMENT, OPEN GOVERNMENT AND WE
GOVERNMENT, AND THEN THE FUTURE GROWTH OF GOVERNMENT 2.0.
SO, THE FIRST THING IS SOCIAL MEDIA.  IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S PRETTY GOOD AWARENESS OF WHAT THAT IS HERE, SO BLOW RIGHT BY THIS.  AS OF TODAY'S WIKIPEDIA ENTRY, SPEAKING OF SOCIAL MEDIA, IT'S MEDIA FOR SOCIAL
INTERACTION USING HIGHLY ACCESSIBLE AND SCALABLE
PUBLISHING TECHNIQUES.  THAT'S A LITTLE JARGONY.
HOW ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE PUBLISHED ONLINE THAT THE
COMMUNITY CREATES.  SO, INSTEAD OF BROADCASTERS,
TURN ON THE TV OR THE RADIO, TRADITIONALLY WHERE PEOPLE WHO
ARE GATEKEEPERS TO CONTENT, NOW PEOPLE CAN PUBLISH THEMSELVES.  THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT OVER HUMAN HISTORY.  I MEAN, YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION MEDIA WE'VE HAD OVER THE YEARS, WHETHER IT'S GOING BACK TO THE TABLETS THAT THE ROMAN'S WERE
USING, OR PAPYRUS, OR MEDIEVAL MONKS SCRIBBLING AWAY,
UNTIL YOU FINALLY GET TO GUTENBERG, RIGHT, STARTS TO DEMOCRATIZE THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT, AND THE CHANGES THAT DROVE A LOT OF THE CONSTRUCTION IN EUROPE ON DOWN TO THE TELEGRAPH, AND THEN THE TELEPHONE, AND NOW WE GET TO SOMETHING THAT'S ALSO QUITE DIFFERENT WHERE WE ALL CAN TALK ABOUT.   SO, THE THING IS THIS ISN'T NEW,
PER SE, RIGHT?  IT'S NEW IN THE SENSE THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE USING IT,VASTLY MORE PEOPLE ARE USING IT, BUT IF YOU GO BACK TO THE OLD INTERNET, BEFORE THERE WAS THIS WHOLE WEB IN SOCIAL LAYER, THERE WAS THIS THING CALLED, YOU KNOW, THE DARPANET AND ARPANET, AND YOU HAD, YOU KNOW,PEOPLE LOGGING ON AND TALKING TO EACH OTHER. THEY WERE FINDING  EACH OTHER.  LITTLE BITS AND BITES, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE EARLY (INAUDIBLE) OPERATORS, PEOPLE WERE FINDING SIGNAL,
FINDING VOICES IN THE ETHER AND TUNING IN. AND THE FIRST BULLETIN BOARD SERVICES CAME UP.  THIS HAPPENED TO BE WARD CHRISTENSEN WHO
CREATED THE FIRST ONE.  PRETTY SIMPLE.  COMPUTER PEOPLE COULD DIAL INTO. YOU HAD TO, YOU KNOW,  ACTUALLY SHARE THE CONNECTION.  ONLY ONE PERSON COULD BE ON AT A TIME.  THAT'S WHEN I FIRST WENT ONLINE.
DIALED IN FROM MY COMPUTER WHEN I'M IN SCHOOL.  USENET, ALSO AN EARLY THING, PEOPLE COULD POST ARTICLES AND THEN READ THEM.  AGAIN, NOT HUGE PENETRATION, BUT PEOPLE WERE DOING IT BACK AND FORTH.
THEN THE COMMERCIAL ONLINE SERVICES POPPED UP.  THERE WAS A WEB BEFORE THE WEB. IT JUST WAS CONSTRAINED.  PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THE INTERNET WAS GOING TO BE A SERIES OF CLOSED GARDENS, RIGHT, THIS IDEA THAT PEOPLE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS DEMOCRATIZED ACCESS. YOU'D HAVE TO PAY A LOT OF MONEY FOR IT.  IT WAS MEASURED BY THE KILOBYTE.
AND YOU COULD ONLY GET TO LITTLE BITS AND PIECES.
AND IT WAS, EVEN THEN, TOUTED AS A REALLY FUN THING, RIGHT?
YOU COULD GET ONLINE AND START TALKING TO PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT
WAYS, AND THEY HAD PEOPLE MARKETING THAT.  AND IF YOU GET TO THE NEXT BIT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE LOTS OF FUN IDEAS THAT CAME AWAY FROM SCI FI THAT TRIED TO ACTUALLY SOCIALIZE IT.  THINK ABOUT THE WAYS THAT PEOPLE RELATED TO EACH OTHER IN A PROFOUNDLY HUMAN WAY, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS STILL MEDIATED BY REALLY LIMITED ELECTRONIC MEANS.  AND THEN YOU GOT TO SOMETHING MORE FUN, STARTED TO GET TO CHAT ROOMS.  SO, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO WAIT TO PUBLISH SOMETHING AND THEN HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ IT AND THEN GO BACK IN A THREAD, YOU COULD DO IT IMMEDIATELY.  SO THE LATE 80'S YOU STARTED TO  GET INTO THIS SYNCHRONIZED INTERNET WHERE YOU HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO PEOPLE IN REAL TIME ALL AROUND THE WORLD.  AGAIN, A FAIRLY SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE, BUT THE FIRST INSTANT MESSAGING PROGRAMS POPPED UP.  AND THEN THIS FELLOW CAME ALONG, TIM EARNESTLY. AND OVER IN SWITZERLAND HE PUT TOGETHER THIS SIMPLE WAY OF CREATING FORMATTING
FOR WEB PAGES, AND THEN SOMEBODY ELSE CREATED A BROWSER TO GO THROUGH THAT, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE STARTED TO SEE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WAY OF INTERACTING ONLINE.  IT WAS STILL STATIC, RIGHT, IT WAS STILL PEOPLE PUBLISHING THINGS ONLINE, THEY HAD TO KNOW THE (INAUDIBLE), THEY HAD TO KNOW HOW TO USE FTP, THEY HAD TO DO ALL THIS STUFF TO GET IT ON THERE,  BUT THEY COULD DO IT. AND THOSE EARLY WEB PAGES WERE KIND OF CLUNKY, BUT THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE THERE,
AND PEOPLE WERE CREATING THEM, NOT LARGE BUSINESSES. AND THEN IT STARTED TO GET INTO A FUN PLACE. BLOGS STARTED POPPING UP IN 1994.
EARLY ON THEY WERE JUST DEFINED BY THEIR FORM. REVERSE  CHRONOLOGICAL POSTS ONTO TO A PAGE, AND PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE FANCY BLOGGING SOFTWARE, RIGHT.  IT JUST WAS A MATTER OF THEM BEING ABLE TO UPDATE A PAGE AGAIN AND AGAIN. IT REALLY TOOK OFF WHEN BLOGGER
AND LIVE JOURNAL CAME ONLINE IN 1999 AND MADE THE PROCESS PUSH
BUTTON PUBLISH LIKE. AND THEN I GRABBED A SCREEN SHOT
FROM ONE OF THE MORE FAMOUS GOVERNMENT BLOGS RIGHT NOW,
WHICH IS, OF COURSE, THE WHITE HOUSE, WHICH WE BOOTED ITS BLOG AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ADMINISTRATION.  WIKIS CAME ALONG ALSO IN 1994,INVENTED BY A FELLOW NAMED WARD CUNNINGHAM, THAT'S FROM A HAWAIIAN WORD FOR FAST, AND HE WAS ACTUALLY COMING OUT OF PREVIOUS ITERATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY, RIGHT, THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN BUILD UPON OTHER PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS AND IDEAS AND COLLABORATIVELY
CREATE A DOCUMENT. THAT'S SOMETHING WHICH HAS NOW EXPLODED, RIGHT? AND USE THE MOST FAMOUS WIKI IN THE WORLD IS WIKIPEDIA, ONE OF THE TOP TEN WEB SITES IN THE WORLD.  AND WIKIPEDIA NOW CHALLENGES THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA AND MANY OTHER JOURNALS FOR HAVING
ACCURATE INFORMATION, AND IT'S UPDATED IN REAL TIME.  WHEN GEORGE STEINBRENNER DIED, YOU COULD GO TO HIS PAGE WITHIN FIVE MINUTES AND SEE THAT THAT WAS ACCURATELY REFLECTED WITH A WARNING THAT SOMEONE HAD JUST DIED AND THINGS WOULD CHANGE.  SO, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING EVOLUTIONS OF REAL TIME KNOWLEDGE  EXCHANGE ON THE PLANET.  IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT IDEA, AMERICA ONLINE, RIGHT.
EVERYONE PROBABLY HAS A COUPLE OF CD'S THAT SHOWED UP ON THEIR
DOORSTOP OVER THE LAST DECADE OR SO, AND THEY'VE STOPPED COMING FINALLY.  BUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH AOL'S APPROACH IS THAT PEOPLE STARTED TO GET ONLINE TO THE WEB NOT TO COPY, NOT TO PRODIGY,BUT TO GET ONTO THIS INTERNET THING.  AND AOL HAD THEIR OWN IDEA FOR A CLOSED INTERNET, BUT THEY ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BEYOND IT. IN THOSE EARLY DAYS, PEOPLE STARTED TO SEE SOMETHING VERY FRAGILE BUT THAT WAS BUILDING AND POWERFUL. PEOPLE WERE TALKING
TO EACH OTHER. FIRST SOCIAL NETWORK, SIX DEGREES, BACK IN 1997,WAY BEFORE ALL THIS OTHER STUFF HAD POPPED UP, BUT A SIMPLE IDEA,
PROFILES CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER.  YOU COULD FRIEND OTHER PEOPLE,FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE, SEE THEIR STUFF ON THERE. THAT'S GROWN A
LITTLE BIT SINCE THEN. ALL RIGHT.  WE NOW KNOW -- WE KNOW THE NUMBERS, RIGHT.  WE KNOW THAT SIX DEGREES WAS FIRST (INAUDIBLE) 2002,
THEN MY SPACE, THEN FACEBOOK, DIG, FLICKR, AND LINKEDIN,
THOSE ARE ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF SOCIAL NETWORKS THAT HAVE HAD RESONANCE.  FACEBOOK IS NOW WELL ON ITS WAY TO 500 MILLION USERS.  MARK ZUCKERBERG RECENTLY ALLOWED THAT THEY ARE LIKELY TO HIT A BILLION USERS IN THE NEXT TWO, THREE YEARS MOST LIKELY AT THE RATE OF GROWTH.  AND FOR THE GOVERNMENT, THERE HAD BEEN SPECIFIC SOCIAL
NETWORKS THAT PEOPLE HAVE JOINED, USUALLY AROUND SPECIFIC NICHES, AROUND THE MILITARY OR AROUND STATE DEPARTMENT.  GOVLOOP IS MORE GENERALIZED.  THEY HAVE NOW OVER 30,000 DIFFERENT PROFILES.   AND THEN THERE'S -- WE STARTED TO GET INTO REALLY DISRUPTIVE SPACE IN 1999 BECAUSE OF THE INFLUENCE OF BROADBAND.  THE FASTER INTERNET CONNECTION STARTED TO DRIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF INTERACTION.
ONE OF THE FIRST INTERACTIONS PEOPLE WANTED IS TO SHARE STUFF
WITH ONE ANOTHER.  AND SHAWN FANNING OVER WHEN HE WAS A COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR AT NORTHEASTERN WROTE A SIMPLE PROGRAM WHICH ALLOWED YOU TO SHARE THE FILES ON YOUR COMPUTER ONLINE. TURNED OUT TO BE PRETTY POWERFUL.  THAT HAS DRIVEN A LOT OF CHANGES SINCE THEN, AND CERTAINLY THINGS LIKE BIT TORRENT AREN'T GOING AWAY.THEY'RE USED FOR A LOT OF GOOD IN THE SENSE OF PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO EXCHANGE LARGE FILES OVER THE INTERNET. OBVIOUSLY, THEY'VE CREATED A LITTLE BIT OF DISRUPTION AS FAR AS COPYRIGHT AND
ELECTRICAL PROPERTY. THEN RSS, REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION. THIS IS A FUN GRAPHIC FROM SMASHING MAGAZINE.  THIS IS SIMPLY A WAY THAT YOU
CAN SUBSCRIBE TO A WEB PAGE, TO A BLOG, TO SOME PART OF THE
INTERNET, AND IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY UPDATE YOU WHEN SOMETHING CHANGES THERE.  THAT'S A SIMPLE CONCEPT.  ADOPTION HASN'T REALLY TAKEN OFF IN TERMS OF PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDING OF RSS SPECIFICALLY, BUT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND A FEED ONLINE, AND YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE TO FEEDS.  SO IF YOU HAVE A SERIES OF NEWS PAGES ON A PORTAL, YOU USE AN RSS.
SECOND LIFE ACTUALLY GOES BACK TO 2003. WE WENT FROM THIS KIND OF WONKY PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WERE PLAYING VIDEO GAMES TO ACTUALLY HAVING VIRTUAL SPACES ONLINE NOW WHERE YOU CAN INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER.  AND SECOND LIFE ACTUALLY IS PROFITABLE.  THEY'VE HAD A LOT OF TROUBLE WITH GROWING PAINS THEY'VE CONTRACTED RECENTLY, BUT THEY'RE STILL AROUND. IT'S A PERSISTENT VIRTUAL WORLD WHERE YOU CAN GO AND INTERACT WITH PEOPLE, INCLUDING A LOT OF DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  YOU TUBE, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S ONLY FIVE YEARS AGO THAT YOU TUBE LAUNCHED?  BUT THEY DID. VIO VIDEO TOOK OFF FROM LAZY SUNDAY, AS I SAID SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, AND THAT BROUGHT THEM THE PROMINENCE, AND SINCE THEN, IT'S EXPLODED. HERE'S THE PRESIDENT DOING A FIRESIDE CHAT USING YOU TUBE OVER THE PAST YEAR. REAL TIME STATUS UPDATES REALLY STARTED HITTING 2006.  SO, THIS IS PLAYING AROUND WITH TWITTER, AND THEN FACEBOOK QUICKLY ADOPTED THAT, AS WELL, BUT THEN THEY'VE KIND OF BEEN TRADING BACK AND FORTH FEATURES.  THIS IS THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN UPDATE FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE.  I'VE BEEN TWEETING, IN FACT, FROM HERE.  OTHER PEOPLE REALLY TWEET WHEREVER THEY ARE.  HERE'S A FUN TWEET THAT JUST HAPPENED RECENTLY.  THE KREMLIN JOINED TWITTER, AND THE WHITE HOUSE RETWEETED THE KREMLIN.  KIND OF A BIT OF A CYBERGLASS (INAUDIBLE) MAYBE.  IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.  AND THEN LIVE STREAMING STARTED TO POP UP. I'M ACTUALLY STREAMING MYSELF HERE.  THE QUALITY ISN'T GREAT, BUT I CAN DO IT.  AND JUST THE FACT THAT THAT'S POSSIBLE WITH A LAPTOP AND INTERNET CONNECTION AND A WEB CAM, THAT'S ALSO CHANGED
THINGS A GREAT DEAL. NOW PEOPLE CAN BECOME THEIR OWN TV STATIONS. THEY CAN DEMOCRATIZE WHAT'S HAPPENING.  THEY CAN OPEN UP  GOVERNMENT MEETINGS.  THEY CAN OPEN UP TOWN HALLS.
AND IT'S PERSISTENT.  FIRST YOU TUBE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SHIFTED AROUND THE CONVERSATION, SO THERE'S AN ONLINE COMPONENT. IT WASN'T THE PERFECT MEDIA, BUT IT WAS A TIPPING POINT.  TUMBLER IS ANOTHER
FORM OF BLOGGING. THAT'S ITS OWN LITTLE NETWORK.  PEOPLE CAN PULL SNIPPETS, LIKE A DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK, GO BACK AND FORTH.  MYBARACKOBAMA.COM CHANGED THE WAY THAT SOCIAL NETWORKS ARE THOUGHT OF IN TERMS OF POLITICS.  THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'LL PROBABLYSEE A LOT MORE OF OVER THE NEXT  COUPLE OF YEARS IN TERMS OF THE MID-TERMS AND THEN ONWARDS.  EVERYONE ELSE IN WASHINGTON HAS PAID ATTENTION.  AND THEN OPEN GOVERNMENT.  KIND OF A TIPPING POINT HERE.
THAT'S WHY I'M HERE, RIGHT? BUT IT'S CERTAINLY PART AND PARCEL OF THE TRANSITION ONLINE AS THE GOVERNMENT HAS RECOGNIZED THAT SOMETHING HAS CHANGED.  THE INTERNET IS NOT A STATIC PLACE ANYMORE. PEOPLE ARE WRITING TO IT.  PEOPLE ARE INTERACTING. THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IS PAYING
ATTENTION TO WHAT HAPPENS THERE.  WHAT HAPPENS THERE MATTERS,
AND IT COMES BACK OFFLINE. SO THAT IS A RECOGNITION THAT THIS COLLABORATION OF PARTICIPATION ELEMENT IS IMPORTANT.  SO RECOGNITION THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE THAT MAY NOT HAVE EXISTED IN QUITE THIS FULLY REALIZED WAY.  THAT'S WHY BETH NOVECK IS
HERE TO TALK TO YOU ALL.  TWITTER REALLY CAME OF AGE THROUGH AROUND ELECTION.  I REMEMBER VERY CLEARLY THAT POINT WHEN CNN WASN'T COVERING THE STORY, AND YOU COULD GO ONLINE AND SEE SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.  I THINK MOST AMERICANS DID.  THAT'S WHEN THEY SAW THERE'S SOMETHING MORE TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING THERE.
THAT'S WHEN I THINK ALL OF THE GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD
REALLY REALIZED THAT THIS STUFF WASN'T JUST FOR KIDS,  IT WASN'T JUST FOR GEEKS, IT WASN'T JUST FOR THE (INAUDIBLE).  THERE WAS REAL POTENTIAL TO SHARE INFORMATION BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY IN WAYS THAT WOULD BE MEANINGFUL TO THE REST OF THE
WORLD AND SO THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD COULD PARTICIPATE
IN A GIVEN COUNTRY'S STRUGGLE IN A GIVEN COUNTRY'S ATTEMPT AT REVOLUTION.  TWITTER'S ROLE IS OVERSTATED, AS HAS BEEN RECENTLY SHOWN.  THE NATIVE VIDEO, VERY FAMOUSLY, OF THE ONE ON YOU TUBE WAS ACTUALLY E-MAILED OUT, RAN AS AN ATTACHMENT. SO WHILE IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE ROLE OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN TERMS OF RAISING AWARENESS, IT REALLY WAS THE OLD FORMS OF
TECHNOLOGY IN TERMS OF CELL PHONES, IN TERMS OF VIDEOS,
IN TERMS OF E-MAIL, THAT MADE THE MOST BIGGEST DIFFERENCE.
FOURSQUARE IS ONE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA DARLINGS OF THE MOMENT.
YOU CAN WALK AROUND WITH A SMART PHONE, ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS OF THE PAST FIVE YEARS.  WE'RE USING GPS AND UPDATE WHERE YOU ARE.  THAT ALLOWS FOR NEW FORMS OF ITERACTION, NEW WAYS OF INTERACTING WITH YOUR FRIENDS, NEW WAYS OF INTERACTING WITH YOUR ENVIRONMENT AROUND YOU. AND THEN POSTERIS IS A VERY LIGHTWEIGHT LOGGING.  I WENT TO THE FARMERS MARKET UP IN MAIN THIS PAST MONTH AND POSTED A SERIES OF PICTURES
RIGHT FROM THE MARKET, THEY WENT UP AS A LIGHTWEIGHT SLIDE SHOW.  A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE USING THESE THINGS TO TELL STORIES, TO LIFE STREAM, IF YOU WILL.  YOU CAN E-MAIL AND POST, ET CETERA.  GOOGLE WAVE IS STILL A LITTLE BIT CLUNKY, BUT IT'S A WAY THAT YOU CAN INTERACT WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO HAPPEN TO BE IN YOUR CONTACT LIST AND COLLABORATE WITH THEM IN REAL TIME ON WORK, AND THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE WORKING ON THE KINDS OF APPS THAT MIGHT ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT BEHIND THE FIREWALL AT DIFFERENT
ORGANIZATIONS, TOO. AND NOW WE ARE HITTING SOME TIPPING POINTS WITH GOVERNMENT, AS WELL.  LAST YEAR, THE FEDERAL CIO COUNCIL ISSUED AN ACTUAL POLICY AROUND THE SECURITY OF SOCIAL MEDIA. I SEE THEY'VE GOTTEN SOME ICONS UP THERE.
BUT THERE'S A RECOGNITION THAT EMPLOYEES WERE USING THIS STUFF
AND THERE NEEDED TO BE GUIDANCE FOR HOW TO DO IT.
AND I SEEM TO HAVE GOTTEN ON THE ICON A BIT.
WELL, ALL RIGHT, WE'LL KEEP ROLLING WITH IT.
MAYBE WE CAN GET RID OF THE (INAUDIBLE) SHARE?
LET'S SEE. OKAY.
WELL, (INAUDIBLE). ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS
FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, I THINK, AND IT'S STILL
FILTERING DOWN IS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ACTUALLY
CAME OUT WITH A SECURE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY,
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY NOW BEEN A VERY INTERESTING TRANSITION TO
SEE AROUND THE GOVERNMENT, AS THERE'S A RECOGNITION THAT
OUR ARMED FORCES ARE USING THESE THINGS TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH
OTHER, TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE BACK HOME.
IT'S JUST THEY NEED TO DO IT IN A SMART WAY.
THIS IS THE WHOLE IDEA OF LOOSE TWEETS SINK SHIPS, RIGHT?
YOU CAN'T POST FROM SOMEWHERE THAT WILL CAUSE
OPERATIONAL HARM, BUT THERE MIGHT BE OPERATIONAL
VALUE TO TALKING WITH OTHER PEOPLE THAT JUST SIMPLY WASN'T
THERE BEFORE. IN THE FUTURE, THERE'S ALL KINDS
OF FUN THINGS, RIGHT? THERE'S AUGMENTED REALITY WHERE
YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO HOLD UP YOUR PHONE OR DEVICE AND SEE AN
OVERLAY DURING DIFFERENT THINGS. THERE'S THE VIRTUAL
WORLD WE WENT INTO. THE MOBILE TREND IS CHANGING.
GEOLOCATION MEANS, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT
CAN KNOW WHERE YOU ARE THEN MASHUPS WHERE YOU PUT ALL
THAT STUFF TOGETHER. SO, WHAT DOES THAT
ALL MEAN FOR GOVERNMENT? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF
THOSE TECHNOLOGIES CAN AND HAS BEEN USED IN SOME WAY BY
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THEY ARE
USING IT IN A WAY TO FURTHER THEIR PUBLIC SERVICE, TO FURTHER
THEIR BUSINESS PURPOSES, TO ACTUALLY TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE
BETWEEN DIFFERENT EMPLOYEES, TO INTERACT MORE EFFICIENTLY
WITH CITIZENS. AND THE REASON THAT'S IMPORTANT
RIGHT NOW IS BECAUSE AT THIS TIME, 83% OF INTERNET USERS,
I MEAN, ARE GOING TO GOVERNMENT WEB SITES TO FIND INFORMATION,
TO GET SERVICES THEY ARE INTERESTED IN.
THEY ARE LOOKING FOR IT. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR YOU.
THEY ARE LOOKING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE.
AND, BY IN LARGE, THEY ARE ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT HAPPY WHEN
THEY GET TO THESE SITES AND CAN DO STUFF.
IT MAKES THEM HAPPY, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO TO A
PLACE, THEY CAN JUST GO ONLINE WHERE THEY HAPPEN TO BE.
AND THE FLIPSIDE OF THAT IS THAT THE SOCIAL MEDIA SIDE OF
THIS STUFF IS TAKING OFF IN A REALLY FAST TREND.
THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS DOUBLED IN THE PAST YEAR.
IT'S ON A STEEP TREND. BECAUSE THESE PARTICULAR KINDS
OF TECHNOLOGIES, SOCIAL MEDIA, THIS LIGHTWEIGHT LAYER THAT'S
GROWN UP OVER THE WEB, HAS DEEPER PENETRATION INTO
CERTAIN POPULATIONS THAN ANY OF THE TECHNOLOGIES I'VE MENTIONED.
FOR SOME REASON, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT
DIGITAL NEPHROGRAPHERS AND SOCIOLOGISTS WHO
ARE LOOKING AT THIS. THE MINORITY POPULATION IS USING
SOCIAL MEDIA AT RATES THAT ARE ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN
THE GENERAL POPULATION. THEIR CONSUMPTION OF THE DATA
DRIVEN WEB SITES IS DIFFERENT, BUT SOCIAL MEDIA
THEY'RE IN PARK. AND THESE ARE THE CONSTITUENCIES
IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT SIMPLY HAVEN'T HAD ACCESS TO
THESE KINDS OF INFORMATION SERVICES BEFORE.
THESE ARE THE FOLKS WHOSE VOICES HAVE LARGELY BEEN UNDER
REPRESENTED IN THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE.
NOW THEY ARE AT THE SAME TABLE. THAT'S YOUNGER PEOPLE,
THE MILLENNIALS, MY YOUNGER COUSINS, MINORITIES,
AND PEOPLE OF LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS.
ONE OF THE REASONS THAT'S HAPPENING IS BECAUSE
PEOPLE GET PHONES, AND SOME OF THE NEW RESEARCH IS
SHOWING THAT WHEN PEOPLE CAN DO IT, THEY GET THE SMART PHONE.
SMART PHONES HAVE BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH NOW THAT PEOPLE CAN
AFFORD THEM EVEN IF THEY ARE FROM THE LOWER RANKS OF THE
ECONOMIC LADDER, AND THAT ALLOWS NEW KINDS OF ACCESS.
WIRELESS ACCESS AROUND CITIES, COMBINED WITH THAT,
COMBINED WITH CHEAPER LAPTOPS, MEANS THAT PEOPLE CAN GET
INFORMATION, AND THEY ARE DOING IT THROUGH ONE ANOTHER.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THIS PART OF
THE WORLD IS THAT IT'S A PARTICIPATORY MEDIUM.
WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT? WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT?
WHAT ARE YOU READING? WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
WHY ARE YOU DOING IT? WHAT DID YOU SEE?
HOW DID YOU GET THAT DONE? WELL, I WENT ONLINE.
WELL, I TALKED TO THIS PERSON. SO, THERE'S NOW A PARTICIPATORY
LAYER TO AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. SOMETIMES IT'S PRETTY RAW.
IF YOU'RE A GOVERNMENT AGENCY, IF YOU'RE A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL,
AND YOU STEP INTO THE ONLINE DEBATE, YOU BETTER PUT UP SOME
SERIOUS THICK SKIN, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY TOUGH.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT JOURNALISTS GET BEAT UP PRETTY
BADLY ONLINE TOO, BUT IT'S WORTH GOING THERE TO
LEARN ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY SAYING.
AND WHAT'S INTERESTING, IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE
PEOPLE ARE GOING, THAT THE TWO MOST VISITED SITES
ARE THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION AND THE IRS.
[LAUGHTER] >> SO THAT TELLS YOU
THAT THEY ARE COMING TO LOOK FOR THESE THINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE
VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM. SO THEY ARE INTERESTED IN HAVING
OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE STUFF
THAT MATTERS MOST TO THEM, WHICH ARE DEATH AND TAXES.
SO THERE'S ALSO SOME INTERESTING FINDINGS.
A LOT OF THIS STUFF IS COMING OUT OF INTERNET.
AND LIFE PROJECT, IF YOU'RE NOT READING THEIR
STUFF, HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. THEIR RESEARCHERS ARE TOP NOTCH.
AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE CHANGING WAYS THAT WE INTERACT
ONLINE AND WAYS THAT MOST OTHER PLACES AREN'T,
AT LEAST IN AS MUCH DEPTH. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S
INTERESTING IS THAT WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE MORE ABOUT WHAT
GOVERNMENT IS DOING, WHEN THERE'S MORE TRANSPARENCY,
WHEN THERE IS MORE OPENNESS, IT LEADS TO MORE TRUST.
WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? WELL, IF YOU'VE WATCHED OTHER
POLLS, YOU KNOW THAT TRUST IN GOVERNMENT IS AT HISTORIC LOWS
RIGHT NOW. SO THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY,
AS WE SAY, TO REBOOT THAT RELATIONSHIP A BIT.
SO WHAT ARE GOVERNMENT USES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA?
SOME MORE RECENT ONES, SOME THAT ARE PERTINENT,
EPA ADMINISTRATOR, HOW IS TWEETING, USING FACEBOOK,
HOW IS A NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED TO COLLABORATE OIL SPILL ITSELF,
PUSH TOGETHER THINGS ON TWITTER, AND THEN DATA WAS RELEASED,
COMPREHENSIVE THINGS. THERE IS ALSO A MAPPING
SOFTWARE THAT IS PUT OUT AND A CITIZEN RESPONSE.
STORM REPORTING. BELIEVE IT OR NOT,
WEATHER.GOV HAS ACTUALLY FIGURED OUT THAT WHEN ENOUGH TWEETS
ABOUT A GIVEN EVENT HAPPEN, THEY MIGHT WANT TO
PAY ATTENTION TO IT. NOW, ONE PERSON TWEETED ABOUT A
TORNADO, OKAY, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, 20, ALL GEOLOCATED.
OKAY, NOW WE HAVE AN EVENT. AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN,
WE'VE SEEN THE NEWS BREAKS FIRST THROUGH THESE NETWORKS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF JOKES
MADE, YOU KNOW, ABOUT PEOPLE TWEETING INSTEAD OF
RUNNING TO SHELTER. BUT HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW,
PEOPLE GET INTO THEIR DOORWAY AND THEN SAY,
I'M EXPERIENCING AN EARTHQUAKE. BUT YOU SEE IT
HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
GOVERNMENT TO TAP INTO SOCIAL NETWORKS, SO-CALLED OPEN
SOURCE INTELLIGENCE, TO GET INFORMATION THAT JUST SIMPLY
ISN'T THERE ANYWHERE ELSE. AND THEN THERE'S MORE
FUN THINGS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE REAL RESONANCE.
YOU SAW THE FIRST LADY PARTICIPATE IN HER FIRST ONLINE
CHAT YESTERDAY ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO HER,
CHILDHOOD OBESITY. AND THEY LAUNCHED A WEBSITE,
LETSMOVE.GOV. THEY ARE USING LOTS OF SOCIAL
MEDIA AROUND, USING VIDEO, USING FACEBOOK,
USING WHITEHOUSE.GOV, USING YOU TUBE, I MEAN,
ALL THE DIFFERENT TOOLS AT DISPOSAL TO GET AWARENESS ABOUT
THIS IMPORTANT THING, WHICH IF YOU LOOK AROUND
AMERICAN STREETS AND SCHOOLS IS NOT A SMALL DEAL.
SO WHAT'S THIS GOVERNMENT 2.0 STUFF, THE THING I REPORT UPON?
WELL, IT'S KIND OF THE ANALOGUE OF WEB 2.0, THIS IDEA OF A
REBITE WEB, THE IDEA OF BLOGS, WIKIS, RSS,
SOCIAL NETWORKING, ALL THAT JARGON,
BUT THOSE THINGS THAT ALLOW PEOPLE TO PUBLISH THE WEB.
WELL, IN THE SAME WAY, PEOPLE NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY
TO PUBLISH TO INTERACT WITH THEIR GOVERNMENT,
TO SUBMIT IDEAS FOR IMPROVING SERVICES,
TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON HOW THOSE SERVICES ARE DELIVERED.
ASK QUESTIONS AND GET THEM ANSWERED.
TO OFFER SOME DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, MAYBE,
ON HOW POLICIES ARE BEING MADE. TO ADD THEIR FEEDBACK
ABOUT A LAW. CONGRESS IS PRETTY
ACTIVE RIGHT NOW. IT'S USEFUL TO BE
ABLE TO ACTUALLY GIVE LEGISLATORS MORE FEEDBACK.
SO, MY DEFINITION IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN MY BOSS.
TIM O'REILLY IS A LONG TIME TECH PUBLISHER.
I THINK HE'S RIGHTLY REGARDED AS SILICON VALLEY'S INTELLECTUAL.
HE'S THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT THIS GOVERNMENT AS A PLATFORM IDEA,
AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A GOOGLE OF THAT AND SEE WHAT HE'S
THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF THAT. THAT'S THE IDEA THAT MUCH IN THE
SAME WAY THAT SAY, AN APPLE ALLOWS PEOPLE TO BUILD
APPLICATIONS FOR ITS IPHONE, GOVERNMENT CAN ALLOW THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE AND ALLOW DEVELOPERS TO CREATE
APPLICATIONS USING ITS DATA, CAN ENABLE THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO
MAKE TOOLS THAT HELP GOVERNMENT WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY
IN CONCERT, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
TECHNOLOGY, THOUGH, THAT ALLOWS GOVERNMENT TO BE
MORE EFFICIENT OR PRODUCTIVE, TO DELIVER ESERVICES BETTER,
THAT'S HOW I EXPLAIN IT TO MOM. IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
I ALWAYS HAVE TO EXPLAIN MY JOB OR WHAT I'M WORKING ON TO MOM.
SO IT'S ANY KIND OF USE OF TECH THAT MAKES GOVERNMENT DELIVER
ITS SERVICES BETTER, ALLOWS CITIZENS TO CONNECT WITH
eServiceS MORE EFFECTIVELY, THAT ALLOWS OPEN
GOVERNMENT TO EXPAND. AND THERE'S THIS REALLY
INTERESTING RELATIONSHIP THAT I'M STARTING TO SEE THROUGH MY
REPORTING ON THIS. AS I MOVED OUT OF THE REGULATORY
COMPLIANCE REALM OF THE WORLD OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE
BECAUSE OF MANDATORY LAWS, MANDATORY REGULATIONS,
INTO GOVERNMENT 2.0, WHICH IS MUCH MORE
ABOUT WHAT'S POSSIBLE, I'M STARTING TO SEE THIS
RELATIONSHIP, THIS RECIPROCITY. EGOVERNMENT HAS BEEN
AROUND FOR DECADES. ALL RIGHT, THIS IDEA OF GOING
ONLINE AND DOING SOMETHING, OF GETTING THE LICENSE,
OF GETTING YOUR REGISTRATION, OF ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO GET A
SERVICE ISN'T NEW. EUROPE HAS BEEN WAY OUT IN FRONT
OF THAT FOR A WHILE, AND, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENT
MUNICIPALITIES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAVE ALL PLAYED WITH
IT AND ARE GETTING BETTER, BECAUSE THE TECHNOLOGY
IS BETTER. PEOPLE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO
DMV REGISTRATIONS ON THEIR MOBILE PHONE RIGHT NOW,
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU CAN GO ONLINE.
BUT THERE'S THESE OTHER TWO COMPONENTS NOW THAT JUST WEREN'T
THERE IN QUITE THE SAME WAY. THERE'S THE OPEN GOVERNMENT,
I THINK PEOPLE HERE PROBABLY HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT THE OPEN
GOVERNMENT COMPONENT IS, AND THIS IDEA OF WE GOVERNMENT,
WHICH IS ALL THAT SOCIAL LAYER WHERE WE ARE NOW ALL
PARTICIPATING TOGETHER, WE'RE ALL TALKING TOGETHER,
WE'RE ALL HELPING ONE ANOTHER FIND THINGS ONLINE, FIND NEWS,
FIND SERVICES. THERE'S A CONNECTION.
IT IS STILL EVOLVING. THIS IS ALL REALLY EARLY DAYS.
ALL THE STUFF FROM THAT TIMELINE,
YOU SAW THIS INCREDIBLE PUSH IN THIS LAST FIVE YEARS.
EVERYONE IS STILL FIGURING OUT HOW THIS CHANGES THINGS,
AND WE'RE DOING IT IN MORE OR LESS REAL TIME,
AND PEOPLE ARE STILL GETTING CAUGHT, TRIPPED UP BY IT.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT MORE MISTAKES,
BUT THERE'S ALSO GOING TO BE A LOT MORE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE
WHERE THESE THINGS CAN CHANGE THE WAY THAT GOVERNMENT WORKS,
THE WAY THAT PEOPLE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE DECISIONS.
AND NOW THERE'S OPEN QUESTIONS, RIGHT.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO RELEASE DATA SETS,
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE ECONOMIC
VALUE FROM THEM, HOW ARE THE WAYS THAT THAT DATA
IS RELEASED GOING TO BE SECURED SO THAT THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY
FOR THOSE WHO DO MEAN US HARM, FOR CRIMINALS,
NOT TO BENEFIT FROM IT? HOW -- NOW THAT THIS
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT, ITS REPRESENTATIVES,
ITS ELECTED OFFICIALS, ITS APPOINTED OFFICIALS,
ITS THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES, CAREER PEOPLE,
AND NOW THAT THAT IS BEING REBOOTED, THERE'S NO
GOING BACK, RIGHT? BUT AT THE SAME TIME,
THERE'S GOING TO BE A NEED TO THINK THROUGH HOW TO
WORK WITH EACH OTHER. THERE'S SO MUCH ANGER RIGHT NOW
ABOUT THE WAY THAT GOVERNMENT IS OR IS NOT WORKING THAT
IT'S DIFFICULT TO FILTER THROUGH TO THE POSITIVE
OPPORTUNITIES SOMETIMES. SO THE QUESTION IS WHERE WE ALL
SIT BACK AND LISTEN AND ENGAGE AND PARTICIPATE IN MAKING
SOMETHING THAT WORKS BETTER. NOW, THAT'S, I THINK,
MOST OF MY TIME. IS THERE A QUESTION THING WE'RE
DOING HERE OR ARE WE CALLING IT? >> (INAUDIBLE)
>> OKAY. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR ME,
THIS IS MY CHANCE TO TALK TO YOU.
ANYONE OUT THERE? OKAY, WELL, THAT'S COOL TOO.
ALL RIGHT. WE'LL LEAVE THIS UP.
>> YOU'RE GOING TO BE AROUND, THOUGH, FOR A LITTLE WHILE?
>> I'LL BE AROUND. I'LL BE AROUND UNTIL 1 O'CLOCK.
>> RIGHT. SO IF HAVE YOU A
QUESTION FOR ALEX -- [APPLAUSE]
>> SO WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE HIM A LITTLE PARTING GIFT HERE.
IT'S A CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION PRESENTED TO ALEX
HOWARD FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT AND COMMITMENT OF TIME TO OUR
OPEN GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE AWARENESS DAY.
WE HEREBY CONFER UPON YOU HONORARY TITLE OF
"OPEN SSA EMPLOYEE". [APPLAUSE]