Read entire article

Link

The article also introduced me to the concept of astroturfing which I had not been aware of previously..

The CCP has hired thousands of freelance Internet propagandists whose job is to infiltrate chat rooms, message boards and comment areas on the Internet posing as ordinary users to voice support for the agenda and interest of the CCP. They praise China’s one-party system and condemn anyone who criticizes China’s policy on Tibet. They comment aggressively on news reports about China’s food-safety problems, relations with Taiwan, suppression of bird-flu and AIDS information, Internet censorship, jailing of dissidents, support of Sudan’s military in Darfur and other sensitive topics. Comments applaud the Chinese government and slam its critics, all using scripts and lines approved by the party…

…The BBC calls these freelance propagandists China’s 50 Cent Party. The Guardian newspaper calls it the 50 Cent Army. (50 Cent isn’t a rapper in this case, but a reference to the pay: 50 Chinese “cents” per post, which is equivalent to about 7 US cents). Other names include “red vests” and the “red vanguard.”

Some estimates claim that the 50 Cent Army includes a whopping 300,000 people. If that’s accurate, China’s freelance propagandists exceed in number the total populations of 47 countries….

…Why This Isn’t “Astroturfing”

Of course, the Chinese didn’t invent the idea. In the US, for example, political campaigns, companies and other organizations have been known to use paid staff or volunteers to post messages en masse to create a false impression that the public supports or opposes something. A genuine bubble of opinion is called a “grass roots” movement. So faking that is called “astroturfing.”

Read the full article…

The Commission must do its part. It must not rely on one vendor, it must not accept closed standards, and it must refuse to become locked into a particular technology – jeopardizing maintenance of full control over the information in its possession.

This view is born from a hard headed understanding of how markets work – it is not a call for revolution, but for an intelligent and achievable evolution.
But there is more to this than ensuring our commercial decisions are taken in full knowledge of their long term effects. There is a democratic issue as well.
When open alternatives are available, no citizen or company should be forced or encouraged to use a particular company’s technology to access government information.
No citizen or company should be forced or encouraged to choose a closed technology over an open one, through a government having made that choice first.

These democratic principles are important. And an argument is particularly compelling when it is supported both by democratic principles and by sound economics.

I know a smart business decision when I see one – choosing open standards is a very smart business decision indeed.

Read the full text of the commissioner’s speech..

On 10^th June the World Wide Web Consortium launched a new forum aimed at discovering how technology can best be used to improve both governance and citizen participation.

The group is open to governments, citizens, researchers, and any interested parties.

“Open Standards, and in particular Semantic Web Standards, can help lower the cost of government, make it easier for independent agencies to work together, and increase flexibility in the face of change,” said Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director. W3C invites participation in the new eGovernment Interest Group, which is open to the public. The group will identify best practices and guidelines in this area, document where current technology does not adequately address stakeholder needs, and suggest improvements via the standards process

The eGovernment Interest Group kick-off teleconference is scheduled for 25 June 2008

Apologies for the hiatus, I have been completing my  MSC dissertation (on Web 2.0 and Knowledge Management) but I’m back on the air..

I see the UK Civil Service have published some ‘Principles for online Participation’

Here also is a common craft video explaining Social Media in plain english.. its very good… (thanks to Steve Dale for highlighting it..)

Yet the most important issue of those raised amongst adults questioned about the DPA was having the automatic right to correct data about oneself if it is incorrect: 77% said this is very important to them. 71% also indicated that it is very important to them to be asked for their consent if other organisations or Government departments want access to their data originally collected for another purpose. While two thirds claimed that it was very important to them to be aware of the names of organisations or Government departments that hold information about them and what it is.

In the wake of recent publicity regarding government held data loss, 57% of British adults indicated that it is very important to them that the handling of data by Government employees should be on a sliding scale of seniority – the more sensitive the information, the more senior the employee should be.

Read a summary here http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.18160

Or download the results here http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/dgs2008.pdf

The essence of the paper is that we are ‘sleepwalking into a surveillance society’

The surveillance society has come about almost without us realising..

It is the sum total of many different technological changes, many policy decisions, and many social developments. Some of it is essential for providing the services we need: health, benefits, education. Some of it is more questionable. Some of it may be unjustified, intrusive and oppressive. People may have many different opinions. But in fact most people know very little about the surveillance society: it is seen as the stuff of science fiction, not everyday life. So there has been very little public debate about surveillance. The surveillance industry is already massive and (especially since 9/11) is growing much faster than other industries : the global industry is estimated to be worth almost $1 trillion US dollars, covering a massive range of goods and services from military equipment through high street CCTV to smart cards. The surveillance society has come about often slowly, subtly and imperceptibly and by the unforeseen combination of many small paths into one bigger road. It is a road whose direction we urgently need to discuss and debate. Read on

The Data Commissioner’s website is an extremely valuable resource for data controllers, perhaps you are one?

As Web 2.0 technologies proliferate, an increasing number of Australians, especially young Australians, are relying
primarily on information and communication technologies to engage and interact with each other and the world. If governments are to have meaningful interaction with young people, it is therefore important for them to explore
the potential of these communication platforms. But legal considerations must be taken into account when strategising how best to make use of emerging technologies.

The report identifies the practical legal risks associated with activities conducted in online participatory spaces. Encompassing Copyright, Privacy, Defamation, Breach of Confidence and other areas of law, the report outlines the main considerations that arise when engaging in the online environment. It also examines the popular social networking platforms YouTube, MySpace and Second Life in detail, analysing legal issues specific to their Terms of Use and functionality.

Link to report

The site is a resource for government agency people in New Zealand who need up-to-date, easily accessible and authoritative e-government information & resources to assist them to achieve their agency’s e-government goals.

The e-government goals:

• By 2007, information and communication technologies will be integral to the delivery of government information, services and processes.
• By 2010, the operation of government will be transformed as government agencies and their partners use technology to provide user-centred information and services and achieve joint outcomes.
• By 2020, people’s engagement with the government will have been transformed, as increasing and innovative use is made of the opportunities offered by network technologies.

The site contains information on the E-government Strategy, the history of the programme and the ongoing work programme.

This page outlines how the site can be of benefit to government agencies in NZ and can aid collaboration between agencies.

http://www.e.govt.nz/services/workspace/workspace-tools.html/view

The site also outline standards and best practices in a number of different areas from procurement to policy creation to online authentication.

It also hosts information on the NZ Government E-Government Strategy
http://www.e.govt.nz/about-egovt/strategy/nov-2006/index.html

The site also serves as a portal for access to the NZ public sector Intranet

http://www.e.govt.nz/services/psi

The Public Sector Intranet (psi.govt.nz) aims to provide a single point, accessible by all public servants, where they can share information with their colleagues. It makes it easy for people to find information they need for their work, and make contacts in other agencies. It enables a sense of community, shared interests, and cross-agency cooperation.

The Public Sector Intranet (PSI) is provided by the NZ State Services Commission. The Commission launched PSI as a full production system in mid-June 2006.

The homepage lists some outline information about the Public Sector Intranet:

Why do we need PSI?

To achieve shared outcomes and work across agency boundaries, we need tools which support cross-agency work. We can all use PSI to gather together useful information across agency boundaries.

Benefits of the PSI

We can organise and share information and resources for our colleagues to reuse, reducing duplication of effort and promoting collaboration. We can share good practice and specialised services designed for cross-agency use. We can find and access our online-communities and locate useful contacts.

There is no charge for joining or using the PSI.

What will be on it?

Information you can expect to access through PSI:

• news and links relevant to all agencies
• toolkits and good practice
• online communities and cross-agency projects.

How can my agency join?

• Most public service agencies, non-public service departments and Offices of Parliament have already joined
• State sector agencies that are interested in using PSI, are invited to contact the PSI Team.

The NZ ‘E-Government’ Strategy seems to have been recently expanded into an overall ‘Digital Strategy’ involving a large degree of public consultation

The Digital Strategy is about creating a digital future for all New Zealanders, using the power of information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance all aspects of our lives. It is an action plan for ensuring New Zealand is a world leader in using information and technology to realise our economic, environmental, social and cultural goals, more on the digital strategy…

It seems to me that New Zealand may be leading the way in developing an approach to formulating Government Technology strategy. Hopefully a few of the powers that be in Ireland are paying some attention…