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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IT leaders in government are wrestling with several competing forces in the Web2.0 world. The greatest force is a push for change towards more user-focused computing.  But a resisting counter force threatens to delay this change.

The counter force here is institutional inertia. Big organizations are just slow to change, and the larger, more complex the organization is the slower it can be to change.  Change in IT is particularly hard since new IT must work with the old IT and since users have varying degree of control over the organization’s IT budgets. All this adds to inertia in the adoption of new Web2.0 service models.

There are ways to address inertia and speed the delivery of Web2.0 concepts in large organization.  Here are a few proven methods:

1) Stay mission focused
2) Make fast gains that scale to the size of the enterprise
3) Leverage out of band networking
4) Address security and policy concerns up front

Here is more on each:

1) Stay mission focused. The greatest cause of inertia in large government organization is the need to keep everyone focused on critically important missions.  Use that fact to help speed the delivery of your Web2.0 project by ensuring everyone understands the mission-focused nature of your project.  You can build an overwhelming case for your project if you logically show a transformational improvement to your agency’s ability to accomplish its goals and support the mission. I’ve seen the power of staying mission focused help small teams make dramatic change at some of the largest agencies in the government, so this is a force you definitely want on your side.  

2) Make fast gains that scale to the size of the enterprise. Make your first Web2.0 project one that will serve a great number of users and help them all do something better.  For example, hosting a blog or wiki server is something that can reach all ends of your enterprise for a relatively low cost and will help you prove to management that you are focused on the mission. By fielding capabilities that can be used by the entire workforce you will be demonstrating to all that Web2.0 has incredible potential.  After fielding blogs and wikis you can move to secure enterprise mashups, a way to bring the true power of Web2.0 to every user in the enterprise. 

3) Leverage out of band networking.  The chain of command is very important in government organizations and all large enterprises, and I would never advocate going around it.  But direct contact with users, vendors and other mission partners is also critical to success of modern IT.  So why not use modern IT to help with your networking?  Interact with your users in their collaborative environment.  And meet them where they connect online… Does your agency have a database of experts?  Sign up.  Do your users and vendors use capabilities like LinkedIn.com or Second Life?  Meet them there. Don’t limit yourself to technical interactions.  Direct face to face connections via conferences and executive networking (like through our own ExecutiveBiz, of course) are critically important to ensuring strategic alignment between IT programs and the workforce.

 4) Address security and policy concerns up front.  A huge concern in all agencies today is the need for protection of the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.  Web2.0 capabilities can be built with security, but only if that security is planned in from the start.   Policies for Web2.0 capability usage are also important to address.  Management will feel more confident in the program if you can propose sound policies that will accomplish the role out of new capabilities.  For example, what type of postings will be considered appropriate to your agencies internal blogs? And which ones will be considered appropriate to those that face your agencies customers?  Policies associated with Web2.0 capabilities, like all policies, are only effective when made public.  For a good one see the policy for the public facing blog of the US Government at http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/page/policies

All citizens and the entire government workforce can benefit from the introduction of Web2.0 into government IT.  But we should all understand the government IT workforce faces some daunting challenges in fielding these capabilities.  It can take lots of work and lots of prior planning to succeed in this environment.  Success will come sooner by focusing on the mission, delivering early successes, staying connected with all mission partners, and by addressing security and policy issues up front.

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

James Surowiecki, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of The Wisdom of the Crowds, will speak at the New New Internet’s Web 2.0 for Business Conference this November extolling the virtues of large group collective intelligence and its impact on Web 2.0 applications.

In the first pages of his best selling book, Surowiecki uses the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire as an example of his theory in action. Followers of the show will remember the lifeline that allowed a struggling contestant to poll the audience for help with a question. Surowiecki’s wisdom of the crowds theory applies this spirit of collective intelligence to a variety of business cases and social trends.

As we’ve posted before, all Web 2.0 tools are built upon the theory that a group of individuals can help shape our understanding of the world in ways one particular expert cannot. Inherent in almost any Web 2.0 tool is the faith in this theory. From open source software and wikis to prediction markets and Google’s algorithms. All these applications benefit - either explicitly or implicitly - from the input of the masses.

In his book, Surowiecki explains that often times “expert judgments are very poorly calibrated –which means that there’s little correlation between an expert’s confidence in his judgment and the accuracy of it. That’s why it’s worthwhile to cast a wider net, and why relying on a crowd of decision makers improves…your chances of reaching a good decision.” This explains why corporate web pages are giving way to more dynamic and collaborative ways to interaction with organizations. A corporate blog, or an employee-created wiki taps into this wisdom in ways a stagnant webpage cannot.

Executives who prefer to take the reins themselves are likely to relish in the several and significant caveats dropped throughout the book. For example, Surowiecki’s crowds theory really only works if individuals are relatively uninterested in the knowledge or actions of others. If this is not the case, a herd mentality is born with often catastrophic consequences, as seen in the Columbia Disaster.

Problems also pop up when the crowd becomes biased in the same direction and more concerned with the opinions of others rather than their own, as seen in stock market bubbles, “instead of worrying about how much a company is really worth, investors start worrying about how much other people will think the company is worth,” Surowiecki warns.

It all this leaves you with questions, pick up a copy of Surowiecki’s book, or sign up for the conference to hear him explain his theory and it’s impact on businesses in person.

If you’ve spent any time in front of a computer in the last two years you’re likely to have come across a variety of new tools being touted, sometimes loudly, as the ultimate solution for any business. Often under the dubious moniker Web 2.0, this menu of tools ranges from blogs and podcasts to RSS feeds and Wikis.

If these gadgets bring to mind images of giddy teenagers and personal diaries you’re not alone. A recent Information Week survey found “half of business technology pros are either skeptical about blogs, wikis, online social networks, and other new Web tools, or willing — but wary — about adopting them.”

In an effort to shed some light on this area, we drafted a brief Web 2.0 lexicon of sorts. Use the links and examples in these definitions as stepping stones to explore these tools. But, as with any Web 2.0 application, we’d like to collaborate with our readers to add and refine this list. What new Web 2.0 tools is your business using?

Blog: short for “weblog”, a blog is simply defined as a web page that contains time stamped entries in reverse chronological order, with the most recent entry on top. Blogging’s main appeal is in the software services like WordPress, TypePad, etc. These services are usually free and dont’ require a great deal of computer expirence. No longer reserved for computer programmers with knowledge of HTML, now anyone with an Internet connection can join in the conversation.

Blogroll: a list of blogs or websites recommended by the blog’s author. Be sure to visit these sites; you’ll get a sense for the what blogger regularly reads and these sites are typically related to the authors’ topic in one way or another.

News aggregation: think of it as your inbox to the Internet. Aggregators gather information from multiple web sites, typically via RSS (see below). An aggregator can you save you time as you surf the web. Rather than constantly visiting your favorite websites individually and checking for new content, and aggregator can pull unread content from an infinite number of sources and compile the relevant materials into one, easily managed source. Visit Bloglines and Google Reader for examples of popular RSS aggregators. Setting up an aggregator is as easy as creating an email address and it’s the best way to monitor what’s being said about you, your company, topic, or industry.

Podcasts: Podcasts are simply the audio version of text-heavy blogs, with regularly updated clips, usually available via a podcast catcher like Itunes. Despite the name, you don’t need an Ipod to listen to podcasts. You can play podcasts directly through your desktop speakers.

RSS: stands for Really Simply Syndication. A universal format that allows other websites, such a news aggregator, read and compile information. Take a look at CNN’s RSS page for an example of this tool in action. This allows users to track new content on the Internet based on keywords or topics.

Social bookmarking: just like you’d bookmark your favorite webpage, social bookmarking is the collective equivalent of adding your favorite webpage to your personal bookmarks. Sites like DIGG and del.icio.us allow users to see what websites and blogs are popular among a large pool of people. Click here for a full list of social networks sites.

Tagging: keywords that describe the content of a particular blog post, podcast, or website. Tagging helps organize web 2.0 content so that it’s easily searchable. An example of tagging is right here on this blog. At the end of every post, we categorize the topics within the post – as seen on the categories list on the right hand column.

Wikis: any system that allows for collaborative editing and publishing. Google Docs, which allows for multiple users to edit the a document at the same is an example of a Wiki in its most basic form. Wikipedia is the shinning example and likely the reason the World Book Encyclopedia sales are falling flat. A word of caution though, Wikis can be created and edited by anyone. Generally, the wisdom of the crowds theory holds true, but it’s important to check the content against scholarly journals, news outlets, etc.

Does your company use social networking sites to share ideas? Do you allow employees to blog on behalf of the company? How about a weekly podcast from the CEO? If you have a Web 2.0 story to share, join the conversation by posting a comment.

If your business is in the Washington area, you’ve no doubt been solicited to attend what seems like an endless collection of summits, conferences, symposiums, and panel discussions. All too often, participants wander out of these cumbersome meetings feeling that it was a waste of time.

This frustration is common and it stems from the simple fact that you weren’t part of the planning. The speakers, topics, and itinerary for most of these events were created months in advance without your input.

The New New Internet is looking to turn this process on its head by developing a conference created solely by the Washington-area’s business leaders.

One of the most important aspects in any Web 2.0 application is the ability to harness the wisdom of the crowds: the collective knowledge inherent in a particular audience. We thought we’d put this theory to the test as we hold a series of dynamic focus groups that have allowed the wisdom of crowds to help shape and design the upcoming Web 2.0 for Business Conference on November 1st, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, VA.

We have actively involved local contacts from Microsoft, Google, AOL, Citizant, Lockheed Martin, The Washington Post Company, and a whole host of other businesses. The feedback and suggestions for topics we’ve received from these folks has been invaluable.

Keep an eye on our event page as the subject matter is refined and speakers are booked.

Employing the Wisdom of Crowds means we need to hear from you too! Be sure to add your suggestions for web 2.0 topic ideas to this blog posting. Your input, along with the stellar line up of speakers, will make this event the place to be for the area’s top business executives, web innovators, and social media professionals.