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Digital Conversations
Using Digital Technologies to Reach
and Engage Citizens

Christian Idicula // idicula.ca

Digital has changed the way
we interact, how fast we
react, and the space in
which we act


Remember this?


Apple changed the landscape


Today they have done it again


Level of engagement

Speed of delivery

Technology is everywhere

Est. 20 million mobile phone users in Canada
3 billion worldwide

Laptops lead the growth in computer sales

Christian Idicula // idicula.ca Bloomberg. 5 June 2008

Critical trends shaping society

“Conversations Economy”

“Cloud Computing”


Conversation Economy
• More than “social networking”

• Conversations are more than just talking

• Listening. Meaningful Engagement.

• Sharing ideas. Influencing choices.


Campaigning: Elect Don Iveson


Campaigning: Obama ‘08


Simply belonging to the latest
social network isn’t a web
strategy in and of itself
-  Jordan Behan, telltenfriends.com
“The Age of Conversation”


Cloud Computing
•  Moving away from desktop applications to
Web applications

•  Reflects the ubiquity of the Internet

•  Started with portals

•  Google is the flag-bearer
•  Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Reader, iGoogle,
Scholar, etc.


Crowdsourcing

Knowledge and ideas are not centrally
contained. They are dispersed amongst the
crowd.


Human Hierarchy Creative Collaboration

The way we’ve organized The way we actually behave
ourselves

Christian Idicula // idicula.ca Source: D. Armano // L + E

Collaboration


Bookmark sharing


Community advice


Microblogging


Brand-Consumer Collaboration


Separating reality from hype

Closed gardens vs. Open dialogue

Which will outlast the other?


Who are we talking to?


Your Audience = Real People


People are more than a title


“People – online or offline – have
learned from experience not to
expect consistency when
communicating with the
government – except from the tax
agency”

Colin McKay, canuckflack.com
“The Age of Conversation”

Example:
New Zealand Police Act
• National police force set up a wiki to solicit
public input to the New Zealand Police Act
before being sent to parliament

• Citizens to help edit a piece of pending
legislation


Example:
BC Ministry of Transportation
• Combining MapQuest data with real-time
traffic data to provide timely advisories to
motorists

• Allows citizens to make better use of the
overtaxed road network


Example: CNN / YouTube
• During the Republican and Democratic
debates in the US, anyone from around the
world could submit questions to the
candidates

• Demonstrates how citizens can become
actively involved in the electoral process by
leveraging tools with which they are
already familiar


Example: Diplopedia
• US Department of State

• Repository of organizational knowledge

• Enables foreign service officials to share
vital information with colleagues around the
world


Example: Intellipedia
• Created by Director of National Intelligence
• “Wikified” but highly secured intelligence
portal
• Promote better intelligence gathering and
sharing across a variety of federal
intelligence agencies
• Helping to build bridges between younger
employees and their senior peers


Challenges
•  The value is not always quantifiable
–  It’s not about profit or loss

•  Opening up can be a culture shock
–  Not everything can be controlled or filtered

•  Requires a dedicated effort to succeed
–  Half-hearted is barely noticed


Your biggest challenge is this:

People are busy, on-the-go, and can tune out messages
they don’t want to hear


Effectively using digital tools
•  Create an experience across channels
•  Provide opportunities for meaningful
engagement
•  Deliver relevant content


Consistent experience
•  People want simple, comprehensive ways
to manage their lives
–  Healthcare, education, registrations

•  Provide a consistent experience across
multiple channels
–  Every touch point is important


Meaningful engagement
•  Interactions should be efficient yet
rewarding
–  It’s not a numbers game

•  Ease of use is critical
–  Their success is your success

•  Conversations are exchanges, not lectures
–  Citizens can provide valuable returns

Relevant content
•  Deliver the content
–  Sharing information is critical to the
conversation

•  Giving up some control
–  Failures are due to tight grips

•  Multi-channel strategy
–  All channels should work together

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Digital Conversations: Reaching and Engaging Citizens

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Digital Conversations: Reaching and Engaging Citizens