ExecutiveBiz members have had the pleasure of interacting with a long line of IT thought leaders. One of note is Chris Rasmussen, a great advocate for information sharing and collaboration within the federal space and a master of the use of new tools to get groups working together on hard problems (read more about Chris here). Chris will speak with members again on 24 April 2008 at The New, New Internet.

Federal users are making increasing use of Web2.0 capabilities, and we look forward to hearing Chris’s views on where this is all going. We are already seeing that some of the nation’s hardest problems, like those the intelligence community must address, are being tackled with Web2.0 tools and techniques. One recent development is a YouTube-type capability for the intelligence world called “iVideo.” (see Federal Computer Week’s article on “YouTube for the intell community” for more info). iVideo is based on Adobe technologies, and provides users from around the globe the ability to securely upload video and other media for the use by others. We can expect the use of iVideo will grow dramatically, like the adoption of other advanced Web2.0 tools provided by the Office of the Director of National intelligence (ODNI).

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In the context of enterprise IT, a “mega trend” is a long term movement in time that drives large masses of people and is a forcing function for strategic directions. One of the mega trends sweeping over us all right now is Web2.0. This trend will continue to impact government in 2008. Here are a few probable ways:

• Enhanced innovation: Most large organizations, including government, find the most innovation where there is interaction with others. Innovation frequently seems to come from the edge. With more Web2.0 in government, there will be increased interactions among users internal to government and with citizens. Every interaction is an opportunity to learn of an unmet need which is an opportunity to fuel innovation.

• More deployment of applications for (and by) users: The trend toward enabling users with tools that let them create their own solutions will continue in 2008. Enterprise mashups based on enterprise data is already an expectation among the workforce, but the deployment of this capability in government has been slow to start. As government organizations see how others do it the deployment of secure enterprise mashup capabilities should accelerate.

• Expect less emphasis on huge integrations and more on what Forrester has been calling “dynamic apps.” These are applications designed for people and built to enable people to change them. As John Crupi, CTO of JackBe has noted in his recent post on “What’s Out, What’s In”, “Knowledge workers need ad-hoc and situational data which is dynamically integrated in small amounts.” Government IT departments will begin to deliver on dynamic apps in 2008.

• Enhanced retention and enhanced job satisfaction. People stay in their job for a wide range of complex reasons. One factor in job satisfaction (and dis-satisfaction) in the government workforce has been the relative inability of big IT departments to deliver modern tools to users so they can efficiently accomplish their mission. As more government enterprises deliver secure mashup capabilities, the ability of the government workforce to efficiently and effectively accomplish their mission should increase, which should have a positive impact on retention, fueling additional benefits to the mission of government.

Really we all know the best way to predict the future is to make the future. My hope is that enterprise IT departments from throughout government are planning now to enhance the delivery of Web2.0 capabilities into their environments. Doing so will make it a brighter future for all of us.

Bob Gourley is the co-founder and CTO of Crucial Point LLC and is the former CTO of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Bob blogs on enterprise IT at http://ctovision.com

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff recently launched a blog in what he hopes will “open a dialogue with the American people about our nation’s security.”

Started in the middle of September, the blog, described by the Department of Homeland Security as a Leadership Journal, has picked up steam to several posts a week from the Secretary as well as other contributors, such as FEMA head R. David Paulison and US Customs & Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham.

The most recent post to date is from FEMA’s Paulison as he headed toward the wildfires in California. In a way, the blog acts as a window into the day to day activities of the country’s top government officials. “I’m writing this from the air as I make my way to southern California with Secretary Chertoff to take a closer look at the areas impacted by the wildfires,” Paulison began as he outlined the steps FEMA was taking to help those affected.

The blog is a unique and at times surprisingly frank outlet for Secretary Chertoff who often comments on articles in the mainstream media. “I am particularly inspired by immigrants and their children who have made this nation their own…” he wrote. “I was reminded of this while reading an outstanding op-ed piece by Jason Lim in last Sunday’s Washington Post.”

In other postings, he seems agitated as he responds to less than favorable assessments in the press. “The New York Times editorial staff …hyperventilates today about our efforts to apprehend criminal gang affiliates in the New York area as part of a nationwide initiative to take dangerous illegal aliens off the street,” he wrote in early October, “…I can’t imagine any community that would urge us to leave illegal alien criminals alone.”

As of today, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is the only other of cabinet secretary with a blog. Secretary Leavitt’s site “is the result of the Secretary’s continuing desire to engage Americans in the exchange of ideas on health care and the provision of human services.”

In the spirit of collaboration, both blogs allow comments. Though, both sites employ a moderation policy that reviews all comments before they’re posted. A technorati blog search revealed that both sites have received a steady stream of inbound links and the comments are generally positive in nature. “Mr. Secretary, Thank you so much for keeping us informed - I know how busy you are..” wrote one reader in response to Secretary Leavitt’s 8/16 post on pandemic flu.

Keep an eye out for more from Secretaries Leavitt and Chertoff, as well as other cabinet secretaries to take the plunge into the blogosphere.