Towards that end, we are beginning to discuss the next one – while nothing is solidified yet, it’s kinda looking like it will be in early January.

In the meantime, we are developing the Compass – a wiki-based guide to use of online communications and social media by Congressional offices.

If you’re not already signed up on the Google Group, do so. Get involved. Stay involved. We are in the midst of a significant paradigm shift for Congressional communication – and together, we can make it into something really amazing!

Goal

“Bridging the gap between citizen knowledge and Congressional needs”

Semantics aside, the goal is simply help Congress use social media better by leveraging the knowledge of the online community and experience of existing staffers. Choosing the right title matters, since users will be searching for it online. A Congressional staffer present, a deputy press secretary, said that she believes it’s likely there’s only one contact in the each office for social media use. That person needs to get good information somewhere. That makes the audience new media officers (or their bosses) searching for ways congressional offices could do to engage their communities.

Where

The discussion then turned to where the repository would be hosted – foundation, House servers or another location? After going through the option, CongressCamp.org was a consensus choice, extending the weekend’s activities further into time.

Features

Another staffer present posed a scenario rooted in recent reality, given that the officer where he works on a press staff of 4 people is currently redoing website, to launch in October. What would have been helpful would have been one place where experts and colleagues share “what you can do, here’s a tool that’s helpful for that task, this is how it helps to do it and, this is how to explain it to your boss.”

Ease of use is also critical. Navigation and UI is key, as is using simple, declarative language. The resource should be editable by community members, which makes permissions an issue. Authentication to prevent vandalism is important, as is a means to flag content to the community. Users are more likely to benefit from a canonical document that evolves over time, as the wiki grows.

The Congress Camp attendees agreed that different sections for committee versus. Representatives and Senators wasn’t needed, at least to begin. Similarly, the resource should not be broken up by party. A staffer present, in fact, noted that he was impressed by how non-partisan the technology has been to this point.

The resource should provide case studies and examples of successful use of social media platforms by Congress, including an emphasis on care in the approach. For example: “Twitter helps us promote our hearings” but we need to dedicate resources to listening while sharing information.

Dealing with different levels of knowledge can be a challenge in educating others about new technologies; sometimes people who get it are bored, those who are new are overwhelmed. Therefore, there should be a gradient of tools and examples for each level, with a natural progression.

Next steps

Assign different roles to key stakeholders, including software procurement, design, content seeding, promotion and then community management.

Big ol’ hi-res photos available for download, print use, web publication, self-promotion etc. (with Photo credit to www.xiana.com) here.

How do we keep up with all these tools and identify the useful ones?

He asked for ways that Congressional offices could:

1. Listen to constituents
2. Develop and build upon trusted relationships with constituents
3. Filter conversations, given the massive amount of communications
4. Manage a two-way dialogue

The session looked at many different examples of Congressional use of social software, starting first with Senate or House pages and then moving to the digital outposts themselves.

Case Studies

• Congressman Steve Israel
• Senator Bernie Sanders and SandersUnfiltered.com
• Congressman Mike Honda
• Congressman John Culberson
• Congressman Bob Latta
• Senator Claire McCaskill and her Twitter presence, @clairecmc
• Newark Mayor Cory Booker
• Deborah Brown, California Secretary of State

The pages chosen were by no means comprehensive or representative of the makeup of either of the two chambers. Each was simply suggested by the participants in the Congress Camp audience and then discussed in the context of how external social media platforms and digital tools were being employed and displayed.

Congressman Latta, for instance, used mobile technology in an innovative way by setting up his own SMS shortcode.

Cory Booker enabled visitors to translate the content of his page using Google Translate.

Congressman Culberson had his Qik feed embedded on his page, presenting a livestream to visitors if he chose to broadcast from his phone.

Metrics for success

As the discussion ranged far and wide, substantial questions emerged about measuring success – what are the metrics? And what are the risks? Noel Dickover pointed out that creating mashups or data feeds for agencies and offices can create legitimate concerns grounded in security and privacy.

If revenue follows engagement in business use of Web 2.0 or Enterprise 2.0, what’s the parallel for Government 2.0? A vote? Passing a bill? Registering new voters? Location-aware technologies may matter in this context, in the future. The goals of the social media efforts of the Center for American Progress, for instance, is measured in terms of extending reach, policy and expertise.

Metrics include:

Tools

The list is long, particularly when it came to Twitter, but one clear suggestion preceded the discussion:

“Don’t focus on one – try many to see what works.”

Choosing tools to integrate into a Congressional office or campaign should also, ideally, be directly tied to the desired outcome. (See “Metrics” above. ) Some platforms, like Facebook or Twitter, are now so big that any public entity is well-served to be represented. Others, like YouTube, are worth considering against smaller options like Blip.tv, Viddler, Veoh or livecasting services like uStream or Qik.

Choosing tools from amongst the many “Web 2.0″ options also shouldn’t ignore “Web 1.0″ options like email, text messaging and HTML-based websites. All of these technologies are familiar to constituents, are lightweight and are not as hindered by issues of accessibility or access to broadband Internet connections.

Acquiring a SMS shortcode for mobile – like txt “LATTA” – is a lightweight way, for instance, to engage constituents who do not own PCs or have Net access. For rich discussion of some of these issues, read this post on discussion of the digital divide at CongressCamp.

Digital strategies involve more than just social media too: Keyword research for search engine optimization (SEO) is important for getting Congressional efforts online to rank high for searches. Google offers a free keyword research tool that helps with that effort. Search engine marketing (SEM) can also help to target constituents looking for specific information. For those who are new to the blogosphere, mapping out influence using blogrolls can help create a list of influencers for targeted social media outreach.

Twitter came up again and again in the discussion of tools. The ecosystem of applications and services that make use of Twitter much effective is substantial and constantly growing, as documented by social media blogging powerhouse Mashable.

The Twitter tools that were brought up included basics, like using Bit.ly for shortening and tracking links, establishing #hashtags for aggregating conversations and leveraging #FollowFriday to find people and build community.

J.mp now offers an even shorter option than bit.ly, with the same advantages.

More advanced options include using TwitVid for adding video to the microblogging network.

Act.ly is now integrated with GovTrack.us for easy bill tracking. For instance, just plug in http://act.ly/HR2221 to an address bar or share it on Twitter for easy tracking of the cybersecurity bill.

TweetCongress is useful to those looking for ways to track the tweets of Congress.

A growing directory of government accounts can be found at GovTwit.com or followed on Twitter at @GovTwit.

TweetProgress tracks progressives on Twitter. The True Conservatives on Twitter social network on Ning.com tracks #TCOT.

If you have more tools, case studies or metrics to suggest, please add them in the comments!

• Who are the people getting involved?
• If only 20% of public are actively online, why not just work with that group instead of working to encourage greater participation?

Example from Gov 2.0:  Tweets for Africa, where SMS was being used in certain communities because it’s the most pervasive platform in those areas

• it’s about understanding which platform works best or is most adopted by a particular community
• exception:  when barriers to developing for multiple platforms are too high, and an app is designed only for one, limiting reach (e.g., iPhone app AreYouSafe is ONLY for iPhone, rather than for multiple platforms

People have cell phones, but getting them online via PCs or using data-side of mobiles is more difficult (whether it’s activating data features of their phones or getting computers, and then making the leap to discovering/using/being comfortable w/Web tech).

App-development issues:  Designers go after most popular platforms; even if you design an app, the bar is set differently and high by each platform owner (and can keep people from devoting time to create multiple implementations).

• For example, when Twitter first premiered, early adopters had set ideas of how the app would be used, and got upset when pool grew and users started using it differently (i.e., screwed it up); some people use Facebook to keep in touch w/family and use Twitter to follow celebrities, and haven’t thought about fresh ways to use the tools).
• App designers aren’t usually prepared for the variety of ways the community will use the apps (Gov 2.0 speaker:  “one size doesn’t fit all, but multiple sizes will fit most”); most people teach common denominator, because it’s the one that will be used.
• the specific apps may go away, but formats/modes of communication persist (e.g., the shift of users from single communicators to broadcasters within the same medium, SMS –> syndicated Twitter)
• also, for early adopters, there’s a comfortable feeling when tools make interaction easier; but for users who have no idea of earlier adaptation, changing to new tools is foreign

Getting-online issues:  PC access in libraries generally falls into two categories:  express stations (15 minutes, which requires the skills to find information/do tasks quickly) and longer-use stations (generally 1 hour at a time)

• library staff commented that people for 1-hour stations, biggest challenge is helping people get their resumes together (limited station time and staff time) and the dearth of stations to accommodate people coming in to apply for jobs online)

Innovative solutions are needed to accommodate user training needs as well as resume building; examples:

• in buildings w/affordable housing, buildings include computer lab on ground floor w/training programs that help people develop skills and build resumes (and hence, find jobs)
  • Community Preservation & Development Corporation in DC does this
• Creating mobile labs (SUV/vans) w/computer stations and taking them to places that need the services; people who are low-income are working more hours for less pay (i.e., don’t have or won’t take time to go get trained and go to library to use resources)

Offline engagement is much more resource-intensive (retail politics, talking to people one-on-one or in groups); also, for people who don’t have basic technical knowledge, it’s a much more uphill learning process, especially for older users.  Nonusers have a difficult time relating to the Web if they don’t understand navigation/content relationships (i.e., not just the mechanics, but the base concepts).  One example is the dual meaning of common Web terminology:  one user taking “default” to mean something bad, rather than an automatic go-to (i.e., user associated “default” with loan/credit trouble).

How does this all relate to Congress (app development, constituent relations)?

• Tools have to be chosen to maximize # of connections, not just optimizing connection w/existing users
• Policies are generally tailored for engaged citizens
• Counterpoint:  Congresspeople know who their audience is, so they can more easily figure out the right tools to reach them (in a way that other organizations may have to work harder to do)
• Counterpoint again:  It’s not always certain how people are being reached, so being sure about which tools are working (or could work) isn’t always clear
• Web apps can allow Congresspeople to hear from people more directly, rather than always having the filter of staffers
• Engagement concern:  as we create/implement new tools for constituent relations, we should be thinking about how these tools can bring in new audiences, not just engage the ones you have (i.e., early adopters)

Could we reaching potential underserved users as part of their education?

• Lacks:  tech-savvy teachers, equipment at home to continue use, broadband reach
• TSA was trying to get agent feedback via tech tools, but agents generally weren’t in front of computers

1) A list of case studies of elected officials online to check out for ideas and comparisons, and

2) a list of tools to check out and consider using for any government office or elected official just getting online.

Case Studies of Govt. Officials Online

Rep. Steve Israel

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Rep. Mike Honda

Rep. Mike Rogers

Mayor Cory Booker, Newark – great case study of a local politician using social media, esp. Twitter

CA Secretary of State Debra Bowen – state level politician who is very engaged in social media

Rep. Bob Latta — great example of Member of Congress using mobile/SMS technology — one of the first Reps to do so

Sen. Claire McCaskill — excellent use of Twitter & Tumblr

Useful Tools to Consider

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

TwitVid – great for sharing videos on Twitter

Bit.ly – share & track analytics on links

TweetCongress - find other Members of Congress on Twitter

GovTwit - huge directory of government officials on Twitter

TweetProgress – directory of progressives on Twitter

Qik – useful for livestreaming video

SMS – check Bob Latta’s website for ideas on how to use mobile tech to communicate with citizens

GovPulse – search the federal register

DataMasher.org – mash up various types of govt data

The Congressional Record:

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. GPO Access contains Congressional Record volumes from 140 (1994) to the present. At the back of each daily issue is the “Daily Digest,” which summarizes the day’s floor and committee activities.

Thomas.gov

The Library of Congress THOMAS site is the source for federal legislative information.THOMAS provides several options for finding bills and  resolutions.

Congressional Digest

Library of Congress Web Archives (LCWA) is composed of collections of archived web sites selected by subject specialists to represent web-based information on a designated topic. It is part of a continuing effort by the Library to evaluate, select, collect, catalog, provide access to, and preserve digital materials for future generations of researchers. The early development project for Web archives was called MINERVA.

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Search for information on members of the US Congress from 1774 to the present day by entering a name, position or state.

Office of the Law Revision Counsel

The Office of the Law Revision Counsel prepares and publishes the United States Code, which is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States.

Clerk of the House

OpenCRS

American taxpayers spend over $100 million a year to fund the Congressional Research Service, a “think tank” that provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events. Yet, these reports are not made available to the public in a way that they can be easily obtained. A project of the Center for Democracy & Technology through the cooperation of several organizations and collectors of CRS Reports, Open CRS provides citizens access to CRS Reports already in the public domain and encourages Congress to provide public access to all CRS Reports.

Standards:

xml.house.gov

Bioguide id — this tag identifies all members of Congress and is often embedded in various types of documents. We hope to help expose this id table for use by system developer

inferred

Session participants:

Andrew Weber – Law Library of Congress and Thomas.gov

Katie  Filbert – Wikimedia Foundation volunteer

Daniel Bennett – e Citizen Foundation

Cate Long — Riski

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas

Peruse and download More Photos. Publish to your heart’s content with credit to www.xiana.com.