http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044908,62054304,00.htm?scid=rss_z_nw
ZDNet Asia, 22 May 2009, Eileen Yu
S'pore govt needs holistic Web approach
The Singapore government will need to adopt a
whole new mindset and holistic strategy, in its efforts to engage its
citizens via the Internet and other new media platforms, say industry
watchers.
The local government has in recent months indicated a desire to engage
Singaporeans on a new level, in cyber space, to be in sync with an
increasingly tech-savvy population.
Raphael Phang, vice president of IDC's Government Insights
Asia-Pacific, said Web 2.0 and other new media tools are at the
forefront of the transformation of how governments interact with their
people.
Citing U.S. President Barack Obama's use of new media during last
year's U.S. presidential elections and YouTube videos showing G20
meetings in the United Kingdom, Phang said such forms of engagement are
already evident across the globe. The IDC analyst added that
politicians in the region, including Malaysia, Singapore and Australia,
have also started blogs.
More recently, the U.S. White House held an online town hall meeting
and accepted questions submitted via the Web. The Obama administration
received over 104,000 questions sent by 90,000 people.
Phang said in an e-mail interview: "One key
lesson that can be learnt from these examples is that the Internet and
new media can, and is having, a significant impact on the way citizens
view their government--whether the government participates, or does not
participate in its usage."
The general population is already embracing new media, regardless of whether governments do likewise, he said. Given the adoption and impact of such platforms, he noted that it is important that governments become proactive users as well.
During his National Day address in August 2008, Singapore Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong, spoke at length about new media and its
impact on the island-state. Over 80 percent of households in the
country have broadband, and there are some 6 million mobile phones in a
population of 4.5 million.
"The young people are totally immersed in this [new] medium," Lee said
in his speech. "People are writing their own content, sharing it with
others, organizing interest groups... All this has changed the way the
government works." He added that his administration is communicating
and engaging with Singaporeans online.
And at the forefront of such efforts is Reach, he said, referring to
the government portal set up in October 2006, as a platform for
citizens to submit feedback and discuss government policies online.
Holistic approach, new skills needed
Steve Hodgkinson, research director for public sector at Ovum, said in an e-mail: "Use
of the Internet as a one- and two-way communications channel is now
pretty much expected of democratic governments, so Singapore is playing
catch-up on this one. The
government will need to be mindful of the fact that new media is more
about participation than it is about managing or controlling."
As such, ministers and senior government officials will need to acquire
new skills, as well as adopt a new culture and mindset, Hodgkinson
said. Participating in new media using "old media skills" will not produce the results the Singapore government seeks. For instance, putting a ban on online content will only serve to attract attention to it, he said.
The challenge is that it takes time and experience to learn these new
skills, and participate effectively in the new media environment, he
noted. On top of that, mistakes are very public, he added.
"The government will need to work out ways to proceed in a measured
manner while it gains these skills to avoid embarrassing mistakes that
could lead to a reversal of enthusiasms for more open communication,"
Hodgkinson said. "It would be wise to engage some advisors who are very
experienced in the use of social media in the public sector context."
The Singapore government needs to recognize that the younger generation
is very different from previous generations, said Ang Peng Hwa, a
professor at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information,
Nanyang Technological University.
The tone and method of
communication that worked during the era of the country's former prime
minister and founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, is unlikely to work today,
Ang told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail. "This generation wants to engage with
government and politics on their own terms--on issues they care about,"
he said. And in terms of the quality of inputs and diversity of views,
he noted that the results of this engagement may also not be what
government officials want.
There are also costs involved in managing Web 2.0 communications if the
government intends to be responsive, he added. Users expect a 24-hour
turnaround and these new communication platforms need to be attended by
two people, on a work shift, even during holidays, he said.
Regardless, Ang said these forms of engagement are necessary and
governments will need to deploy whichever new channels of communication
the populace is moving toward. These include SMS, Twitter and instant
messaging, he said.
Phang explained: "Unlike traditional media, blogs and other Web 2.0
technologies represent a more accessible medium that citizens can use
to interact with the government, and with other citizens.
"It is also important to remember that because new generations of
citizens are educated in the Internet-enabled age, they will expect to
operate in a similar environment that they have been used to when they
enter the workforce. The same can be said for those joining the civil
service as government officials," he noted.
Governments then need to understand each media platform and the
objectives of using that channel of communication, he said. They should
approach this in the same way they do with traditional media such as
newspapers, television and radio.
Online media, Hodgkinson said, are typically more relaxed and
"uncontrolled" with regard to the types of topics discussed and views
expressed. He added that it is up to any democratically-elected
government to decide what it deems appropriate, and not appropriate,
especially in dealing with sensitive issues such as religion and race,
which can be socially divisive.
While the Internet is intrinsically more open and participative,
enabling greater freedom of expression and transparency, governments
can still decide how much freedom and transparency they to allow, he
said.
"The hope is, over time, the
transparency of the Internet will become a force for more open and
transparent government generally. But, of course, this is a pretty simple and naïve view given the complexities of politics."
High-level official blogging
Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo was the first, and
one of the few, ministers in the country to blog. The Cabinet minister
began blogging in 2006 and co-hosts two blogs, covering a wide range of
issues including his memories of Star Trek, Singapore President S. R.
Nathan's recent visit to Japan's Hiroshima Peace Memorial, and last
month's ministerial evacuation at the Asean Summit in Pattaya,
Thailand. His blog also features photos of the minister making official
visits to Washington D.C., for example, where he met U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton.
When contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to respond to
questions on whether Yeo is provided a set of guidelines on issues he
blogs about, as well as how he manages his online profile.
According to Siew Kum Hong, currently employed as a legal counsel at a
tech company, most--if not all--major companies today have codes of
conduct for employees who blog or have online profiles. However, the
Singapore-based lawyer is not aware of similar codes established
specifically for government officials in the island-state.
Siew is also one of the country's Nominated Members of Parliament
(NMPs), who are unelected MPs first introduced in 1990 as an avenue to
allow citizens with no political party affiliation to participate in
Singapore's parliamentary debates.
"I doubt if the Instruction Manual covers blogging," he said in an
e-mail interview, referring to the administrative handbook all local
government officers refer to as a guideline for their daily operations
and duties. "In terms of legal boundaries, the only significant
difference between government and companies would be that the former is
covered by the Official Secrets Act. Otherwise, the usual laws will
apply to both equally."
According to Ang, Yeo strikes an appropriate balance between his role
as a Cabinet minister and online personality. Government officials
including ministers, have to "toe the official line" even if they
personally disagree with it, he noted.
As a minister, Yeo does this well in his blog, while at the same time reflecting views and insights that are personal, Ang said.
He added that new, Web-based form of engagement with the public should
be embraced by government officials, though there are some caveats and
cautions. "But, such engagement is necessary. Singapore is now among
the leading pack in its use of IT, and we should aim to continue to be
among the leaders," he said. "Such forms of engagement will teach us to
be more inclusive of groups and views."
Yeo had been quoted in local news reports to say that his participation
in new media platforms, which also includes a Facebook account, keeps
him in touch with the younger generation.
He had referred to Obama's use of new media as an important vehicle
behind his victory in last year's presidential elections, reaching
pockets of Americans who might otherwise have stayed away from the
mainstream process.
Ultimately, Siew said, the Internet is just another platform and avenue
for the Singapore government to reach out and engage citizens.
Improving its interaction with the population will require a
fundamental review of "its philosophical approach to engagement", he
said. For example, the proposal by the AIMS to allow civil servants to
comment on government policies was rejected, in line with an
overarching government policy that applies both online and offline.
The AIMS was an advisory council, established in April 2007, to assess
how new media is impacting the local society and recommend ways the
government can address such impact.
The government accepted, and rejected, some of the council's
recommendations. For instance, it now allows individuals to participate
in online advertising for elections by blogging or posting election
materials, though some safeguards will be implemented to ensure
accountability. However, it dismissed the AIMS' recommendation to allow
civil servants to voice personal opinions on government policies,
noting that this would "compromise the performance of their duty".
Siew said: "Once the government develops a philosophy and strategy,
then Internet-specific measures can be implemented to execute that
strategy."
Engagement requires some guidelines
Phang cautioned that blogs, unlike official press statements that are
vetted, are typically more informal. However, citizens will not view
such information any differently, he said, adding that blogs written by
government officials should be managed sensibly.
"The content will be no different from what is put out in other media,
and the guidelines governing this information is the same as any made
public, where there is the element of taking responsibility for what
you say," he noted. "The Internet can be viewed as a vast open network
in which information can quickly be turned into dis-information."
Hodgkinson said: "Government officials and ministers should definitely
not be encouraged to blog or set up an online profile without knowing
what they are getting themselves into, or without being trained in how
to blog, being supported by appropriate guidelines and support teams,
and having 'disaster' plans in place to deal with undesirable
events--without just resorting to turning a blog off in a panic."
The Ovum analyst suggested that a clear distinction must be made
between political blogs that reflect a minister's personal views on
policy issues, and blogs used by the government to communicate policies
and related issues. The latter should avoid any political discussions,
he said.
Politicians and government officials who do blog should do so on a
government-hosted, rather than public, platform to ensure posts are
authentic, Hodgkinson said. Content should not be overly sanitized or
politically correct or the blogger will lose credibility, he added.
"Be open to debate and criticism, and deal with it transparently with facts and logic, rather than rhetoric," he said.
Some Singapore government officials, however, seem unprepared for negative comments that may emerge from the blogosphere.
Earlier this year, now-Acting
Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Lui Tuck Yew,
described the Internet as an ineffective self-regulated environment.
He noted that the online community did not do enough to quell "unkind"
remarks made by local bloggers, that were targeted at a local
politician. Lui, as quoted in local news reports, said: "Many of those
responses were not rebutted nor answered, And, I think it is not
healthy for some of those to remain on the Net unchallenged,
unquestioned, and unanswered."
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