Many were stunned this week by the Massachusetts election results. When Republican State Senator Scott Brown defeated Martha Coakley in the race to fill the Senate seat held by a democrat for the past
37 years, media headlines were overtaken by descriptors like
‘eye-opener,’ ‘wake-up call’ and
‘shocker.’
Senator-elect Brown ran an impressive campaign (well summarized on
kennedyseat.com), which relied heavily on social media and conversations, and authentic connections made with the citizens of Massachusetts. Again, we witness a decided political victory that was spawned by the ability not simply to talk, but also to listen, validate, value, and connect.
The words chosen by Senator Brown during his
acceptance speech were a reminder to all: “…this Senate seat belongs to no one person and no political party - and as I have said before, and you said loud and clear today, it is the people's seat.”
Among our many blessings is the fact that we live in a democracy. The very word implies both the right and expectation for people to have a voice, be included, and make choices. Government does not decide for its constituents – it decides with them. To do so successfully is a careful balance, and when that balance is struck, it’s a beautiful thing. But when the scale begins to tip and constituents begin to feel excluded or ignored, funny things start to happen.
Like an election upset. Or worse.
The people have spoken loud and clear in Massachusetts. And I would imagine that the results made many politicians take notice of the power beholden to the people – and wonder how they might avoid replicating a similar upset during their next election.
But beyond Congress, the issues thrust into the spotlight this week permeate throughout all of government: the need to understand constituents, listen to them, make decisions that take their input and ideas into account, and ultimately make the best decisions for the people represented.
Sounds a lot like our mantra of
Engage. Listen. Act.
The collaboration needs of one of the world’s largest and most complex organizations – the U.S. Government – are varied. There are times when very methodical
public comment is needed, other times when open collaboration or
crowdsourcing is beneficial to identify new ideas, and still other times when
mobile communication is needed to reach beyond the Web with immediacy.
Whatever the mission,
INgage Networks enables our public sector customers to leverage the Web to help their cause, becoming more transparent, open and inclusive in their representation…all supporting the call of the
Open Government Initiative. Our roots began in government and our technology continues to evolve to meet our customer’s changing needs. We were
Gov 2.0 long before it became a favored buzzword. In the words of analyst
Mark Koenig, "A pioneer in creating private social networking sites in government as well as large corporations, INgage Networks may be in the right place at the right moment."
The moment is now. We offer valuable resources within our
Gov 2.0 Starter Kit to help you seize the moment, and heed the call of the Open Government Initiative, which is to break down barriers to transparency, participation, and collaboration between the federal government and the people it is to serve.
