Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful Review

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(More customer reviews)Anyone interested in using the Internet to help improve the way government works should read this book. Noveck presents an excellent background describing the problems with existing government decision-making processes, a case study of the Peer-to-patent process she helped develop and recommendations for developing effective Internet based applications.
The book is well written and edited, easy to read and full of examples that will spur your creativity. I read it quickly and thought it was very good, but as I go back and re-read sections I think it's extraordinary.

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Wiki Government shows how to bring innovation to government. In explaining how to enhance political institutions with the power of networks, it offers a fundamental rethinking of democracy in the digital age. Collaborative democracy-government of the people, by the people, for the people-is an old dream. Today, Wiki Government shows how technology can make that dream a reality. In this thought-provoking book, Beth Simone Noveck illustrates how collaborative democracy strengthens public decisionmaking by connecting the power of the many to the work of the few. Equally important, she provides a step-by-step demonstration of how collaborative democracy can be designed, opening policymaking to greater participation. "Wiki Government" tells the story behind one of the most dramatic public sector innovations in recent years - inviting the public to participate in the patent examination process. Patent examiners usually work in secret, cut off from essential information and racing against the clock to master arcane technical claims. The Peer-to-Patent project radically transformed this process by allowing anyone with Internet access to collaborate with the agency in reviewing patent applications. "Wiki Government" describes how a far-flung team of technologists, lawyers, and policymakers pried open a tradition-bound agency's doors. Noveck explains how she brought both fiercely competitive companies and risk-averse bureaucrats on board. She discusses the design challenges the team faced in creating software to distill online collaboration into useful expertise, not just rants or raves. And she explains how law, policy, and technology can be revamped to help government work in more open and participatory ways in a wide range of policy arenas, including education and the environment.

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It's Your World, So Change It: Using the Power of the Internet to Create Social Change Review

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(More customer reviews)It makes some sense, but in this day and age, cynicism seems to be the rage, kind of hard to resonanet with a whole lot of people.

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There's been plenty of hype about the "netroots," and online activism on both the right and left. But most of it's been celebratory, not practical. This is a practical, start to finish guide to promoting any cause and participating in any social movement on the social Web. Long-time activist and online community expert Tom Head covers everything you need to know about e-activism, including: " Using the Web to find activism jobs and volunteer opportunities " Using Google Alerts, RSS feeds, and other tools to stay informed " Building cause-related web sites - even if you have practically no money or web experience " Engaging effectively on social networking sites " Promoting causes, events, or organizations without spamming " Getting more attention and links for a cause " Keeping allies informed via email, blogs, text messaging, and Twitter " Organizing local activists using global media, and using online activism to support on-the-ground work " Blogging to promote a cause: when it works, and when it's not worth it " Avoiding the common mistakes e-activists make

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Yes We Did An inside look at how social media built the Obama brand Review

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(More customer reviews)I can't believe that I paid money for this book. I'm strongly considering finding Ms. Harfoush's PO Box, returning this book to author, and seeking a refund. Or sending her a copy of Lester Wunderman's Being Direct.
I think I should preface my comments by saying that I work in the online marketing industry, was impressed by the Obama campaign, and was looking forward to an interesting read highlighting the strategy and tactics behind the revolutionary Obama campaign. I found nothing. I found abysmally little insight. The strategies did not make it past basic direct marketing. The book so completely lacks any details that it reads like a high school "How I spent my summer vacation" essay punctuated with smiley faces and hearts over the i's.
For example, take chapter 13 Analytics and Online Media, this chapter runs 6 pages. The social media section can be summarized "Obama campaign spent a lot with google, we got a 15 to 1 ROI". Though what is ROI here? Donations? Votes? Engagement? Harfoush doesn't say. The equally short analytics section mentions the "campaign embraced a philosophy of constant iteration by using the data they collected to instantly adjust and course correct". Course correct what or how, she never mentions. Results of this iteration she never mentions. Did they improve campaigns X percent? Did they find any voter insight? Did they discover that Ohioans love Nafta related content? We'll never know. To what level or detail they tracked or course corrected she never mentions. She claims that "building flexibility and agility into internal processes" could allow companies to evolve and meet consumer needs despite the fact it runs contrary to their philosophy. In fact, the clients I have worked with in online marketing appear to be vastly more sophisticated than the Obama campaign judging by the examples in this book. This chapter, an interesting and thriving field in direct marketing it even has its own cool conference graphing social patterns, is so shallow I can't imagine a High School English teacher would have found it acceptable.
Another treat, the Text Messaging and Mobile chapter includes these gems as takeaways: "Always let users opt in, Create a conversation, and Engagement to Go". Always let users opt-in, this has been an industry standard for years, and frankly in the mobile space I wouldn't be surprised if non-opt communications are illegal for SMS. It has the same problems fax marketing had 30 years ago, it costs subscribers to receive them! Of course you need to get them to opt in, you're actually going to cost them money not merely inconvenience. Create a conversation, nothing new or novel there. Engagement to Go is summed up like so "With the rise of mobile applications and smartphones, new opportunities will emerge for organizations to provide value-added services for consumers in the real world. With increasingly sophisticated devices being released in the market, mobile technology will play an important role in upcoming political elections". Wow. Incredible insight.
There are many other problems: the layout makes it hard to read, also-ran feeling to the narration, aggrandization of fundamental techniques that companies have been using for years ("The last element of hypersegmentation was donation history" she equates not emailing subscribers who can't donate any more "hypersegmenation", blech), etc. I think I'll just stop here. If you're a marketing professional or work in social media do yourself a favor, and avoid this book like the plague.

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FOREWORD by Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics and Grown Up DigitalThe Obama campaign's mastery of social media for everything from fundraising to volunteer coordination has been widely reported. Until now, there hasn't been an in-depth analysis of how they did it.In Yes We Did, new media strategist and campaign headquarters volunteer Rahaf Harfoush gives us a behind the-scenes look at the campaign's use of technology, from its earliest days through election night. She reveals strategic insights organizations can apply to their own brands. Discover how unwavering strategic vision and collaborative technologies–email, blogs, social networks, Twitter, and SMS messaging–empowered a formidable online community to help elect the world's first "digital" President.

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