The Canadian government has demonstrated exceptional foresight with its embrace of the Web 2.0 initiative. Essentially, Web 2.0 sets down guidelines for online collaboration. Whether these guidelines refer to making websites accessible to the hard of hearing or creating a recognizable template for blogs and wikis, Web 2.0 encompasses the spirit of connectivity and sharing that fuels so much innovation on the Internet.
Part of the government’s impetus for adopting Web 2.0 has to do with its exploration of the collaborative potential of social networking sites. Social networking sites allow governments to both motivate their in-house personnel and connect effortlessly with the public. This has made it exceptionally easy for government departments to poll the public on upcoming policy initiatives or simply advise them of a change in legislation. Workers within the government love social networking sites because they allow them to quickly share information on arcane topics. The design of the social networks also makes it easy to keep track of different ideas in all sorts of different media formats.
In other words, Web 2.0 acts as a highly cost-effective facilitator for greater and more effective collaboration within the government. In order to take full advantage of this, the government is actively seeking developers who can provide data storage and management systems that help to augment the climate of collaboration and innovation on the Internet. The development of government specific tools that provide the functionality of commercial social networking sites such as Facebook or YouTube is especially in demand.
Canada’s Web 2.0 initiative can be viewed as the new social infrastructure for the 21st century. Instead of investing millions of dollars it doesn’t have in the creation of brick and mortar information centers, the government is spending far less money on the development of digital infrastructure. By adhering to certain guidelines, the government is creating a public space that is accessible to all while remaining highly informative and adaptable to the ever-changing nature of collaboration itself. Web 2.0 offers the public unprecedented access to their government officials while offering the technology sector the unprecedented opportunity of helping to construct the future of an entire nation, if not the world.
Related articles
- What is Web 3.0, anyway? (2lix.com)
- Web 2.0 – Simply Explained (ulamb.wordpress.com)
- Why Web 2.0 is so important (stritar.net)
- The Social Side of Business 2.0 (dworkinassociates.wordpress.com)
- Integrating Social Media into Public Service Websites (csedev.com)
