An article appeared as if by magic in Government Technology this week called "Getting Government's Wiki On." The only way to characterize the article is as...peculiar. Peculiar because the article really didn't have a lot of substance other than to say that a wiki is defined as "a group-created Web site, or a Web application that allows users to add and edit the content." The author is Paul Taylor who is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Center for Digital Government (CDG), an organization that produces the magazine aforementioned among its other services for state and local government.
While there wasn't a lot of substance there was a a lot of food for thought (I guess food is a "substance" though, isn't it?). Mr. Taylor posited that a "WikiGovernment appeals to the highest ideals of public service." He went on to talk about its value in making public policy discussions relevant and public policy making and the delivery of public services possible in new ways. His "least value" case is the most interesting due to its implications:
"At the most rudimentary level, wiki would eliminate bottlenecks in implementing mandates to write public documents in plain English by letting a community of people who know the subject matter edit it for themselves, rather than letting deputized English majors do it.
A pure wiki would transform public records into living documents. The radical redefinition of government transparency does not place trust in technology so much as in communities and their collaborations."
He then calls for a managed wiki which would expand or contract functionality and roles as needed.
I'm not sure what to think about this. If we have a pure or managed wiki that could alter legislative language, so that its in plain English, well, that might be a bit sticket (sticket wiki, get it?) If we have a managed wiki then its just a collaboration site that would be a white board for public documents language revision - which seems to be a bit limited. Then again, it might be a great idea that is germinating at this stage and with a lot more thought and discussion, would significantly contribute to discourse and to government at whatever level its implemented.
Usually, I'm pretty opinionated on things public sector and CRMish. This one has me thinking but not certain about what I think the value is or even if there is any value.
Is this wiki wacky? Or is this wiki a great idea that could provide a measure of renewed faith in government institutions?
Anyone care to let me know what they think? Please?
There is a wiki government.
http://www.metagovernment.org
Posted by: Meta | April 03, 2007 at 01:03 AM