Mergel says that the best way for government managers to engage the public via technology is to use the tools themselves – officials must be seen as both engaged and engaging! As Mergel notes, public managers have to “create energy and vibrancy so that others start finding value in it.” One manager featured in the report puts it this way: “Create the party everyone wants to join.” That’s a wiki good idea.

This applies to all social tools, not just wikis. Get out there and use them!

The biggest issue with Government 2.0 is the digital divide: that some citizens do not have access to these technologies. Mashable points out what some cities are doing to close the digital divide.

Emma Barnett, digital media editor of The Telegraph, thinks a “Twitter Tsar” is a position needed not just in government but in every company.

“But every business ought to have one and the government is no exception – with huge costs to save and an entire nation to efficiently communicate with,” she wrote in a Telegraph article. Admittedly smaller businesses probably will not be able to hire someone solely to look after digital – but someone in every company should be tasked with making the digital output of a business an official part of their brief.”

Every company has a list of projects and responsibilities they want their community manager to manage. But don’t just think about the tasks you want them to complete. Think about finding someone — with a personality and passion that reflects your brand — who can complete them in an independent manner.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., decided to tweet his response after Sen. David Vitter,R-La., criticized him last week for advocating an end to tax breaks foroil companies, which, Markey said, would remain highly profitable without them. Vitter said that Markey doesn’t seem to understand

Read more here.

NASA is making a full-court press with the use of social networks.  Check out their Connect and Collaborate with NASA website.  There they link to organizational and personal accounts on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, foursquare, Gowalla, ustreamTV, and Myspace.

NASA has quite a collection of social network profiles.  I wouldn’t expect any local government to rival this, but look at NASA’s profiles, and see if you can learn something from how they use Twitter, Facebook, and the like.

The primary benefits of Gov 2.0 that IT professionals cite include improved e-services to the public, resident participation in government, and collaboration between agencies. That snapshot of Gov 2.0 evolution offers ample perspective on the challenges for Gov 2.0 at the federal level.

Cities like New York, Boston, San Francisco, Portland, Ore. and the District of Columbia, have all been hailed in the media for innovative use of open data, new urban mechanics, adoption of Open311, and improved e-services. Promoting government transparency through technology is a leading topic of interest for local government officials, though implementation still lags that interest in many counties. Abroad, the growth of government 2.0 in Australia and development of open government in Britain are key case studies to watch, particularly data.gov.uk. Last weekend’s CityCamp in London drew hundreds of citizens, technologists and government workers together to talk about the next steps.

The article even connects government (and web) 2.0 to the foundations of democracy:

“The most powerful force in American democracy is the connection between and among citizens,” said David B. Smith, NCoC’s executive director in a prepared statement. Civic life in America now includes a digital component that allows people to share news and co-create in unprecedented ways. What citizens and local government do with that force is the next great question.

The City of Beaumont, California, found itself in a similar situation, and did something positive in response.  I especially like this quote, from the Public CEO story:

“I think it’s a good learning experience,” said City Manager Alan C. Kapanicas. “Either we’ve done something wrong and we’ve got to fix it or we’ve got to explain what we did right.”

And in response?

In response, the city posted its 1994 contract with Urban Logic Consultants. It was a move designed to increase transparency, as BCRG has advocated for years, said Bingham.

The city’s also has a page on its website for “Myths and Facts about Contract Employees,” refuting the serious allegations without citing the citizens group by name. See the webpage here.

What a way to handle criticism!  It all starts with a mindset similar to this city manager’s.

The NYC.gov Data Mine can be found at http://nyc.gov/data. You are required to use at least one data set from the Data Mine in your application. NYCEDC and DoITT coordinated with over 40 City agencies and commissions to provide the datasets, with 15 new city agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection, School Construction Authority and Campaign Finance Board, participating in DataMine for the first time. CompStat and City budget data, taxi and limousine trip data, complaints to the Department of Buildings, and real-time traffic information.

The best apps in the challenge will win $20,000.  Last year’s winners were Big Apple Ed, Taxihack, WayFinder NYC, and NYC Way.

Federal agencies such as NASA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a presence in Second Life, but most cities haven’t gone there for various reasons.

Edmonton is not the first to get into Second Life, but it’s believed to be the first city to officially recreate itself (geography, terrain and major landmarks). Moore believes the interactive platform can encourage tourism and economic development. Virtual Edmonton is set to launch in August.

“I treat it as a platform from which we can understand and experiment,” Moore said. “Because it’s not behind our firewall, it lives in a place where we can easily interact with the community. Will it be the platform that we stay on forever? I don’t know. But it’s a really easy place to start.”

via Edmonton, Alberta, Replicating City in Second Life.

Projects that were motivated to bring transparency got high marks from the judges, and one such project put Montgomery County in first place in the 500, 000 or more population category. The county measured its IT functionality against benchmarks and published the data on its portal, unlike some other applicants, said Sander.

Another area of particular interest among judges was deployment of technologies that reduced energy usage in concrete ways. Chesterfield County had such a project with its automation of park lights. The upgrade eliminated the need for a worker to drive to various parks in order to turn off lights, which eliminated the possibility they would be on unnecessarily and saved money, Sander observed.

2010 Digital Counties Survey Award Winners Announced.