“Real” Networking and Government 2.0

Taking advantage of social networking using tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Sibdu is nice. And when you’re in lead generation mode like us, using old-fashioned tools like e-mail (yes, e-mail is old fashioned nowadays) and the phone is okay, but a bit lacking in the whole “personal” thing.

I attended three business networking-related events this week: my old BNI networking group in Bethesda (Maryland), the Second Tuesday event sponsored by Capital Cabal, and the Social Media Club DC event on government 2.0.

My conclusion? I really need to get out of the office more.

Now don’t get me wrong: social networking using online tools (like Portalfuze — sorry, had to get a quick plug in there) is here to stay. But no matter what kind of business you have and where your “peeps” are at — I’d normally say “customers,” but a lot of people interact with others who are important to them, but not necessarily customers — you need face time.

Whether it’s at local networking functions like I’ve indicated above, or at regional/national conferences or meetings for whatever business you’re in, you need to match a face to a username, avatar or e-mail address. You need to press the flesh. And while you can build very close relationships online, a personal appearence can go even farther in the bonding process.

For example:

• At the BNI meeting, I re-solidified relationships I already have with several people there. And thanks to the efforts of friends in that group, we are getting referrals into several companies and organizations
• At Second Tuesday/Capital Cabal, I met several people, including a person whose company may be good with which to partner, and another whose association needs to bring members under one social-media site
• At Social Media Club DC, I saw several people I already know, solidifying relationships. I also met a few new faces, and hopefully that will lead to new business for us. Plus I learned a heckuva lot about government 2.0 and social media.

Since the BNI group and Second Tuesday are pure networking events, there wasn’t a lot of learning going on; hence, no Twitter stream. Social Media Club DC, though, is a much different story. Want to know more about government 2.0?

Well, several people (including myself) were Twittering throughout the panel discussion — which was absolutely excellent, by the way. The panelists were:

Moderator: Steve Radick, Booz Allen Hamilton (http://steveradick.com/)

Panelists:

Chris Dorobek, Federal News Radio co-anchor, The Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris (http://dorobekinsider.com/)

Mark Drapeau, Associate Research Fellow, National Defense University (http://www.ndu.edu/CTNSP/drapeau_bio.htm and http://mashable.com/author/Mark-Drapeau/)

Steve Field, Media Relations Manager, Ground Systems at BAE Systems (http://dring.wordpress.com/)

(NOTE: to get to their Twitter streams and follow them — and yes, I recommend following all of them — just click on their names above.)

All were fantastic. And you can see how great it was, too, by going to Twitter Search and searching the hashtag #smcdc. Or just click here and I’ll do all the heavy lifting for you. The panel comments and observations from those in the audience are fascinating, and really gives one insight into government 2.0.

My 40,000-foot takeaways?

1. Social-media tools will make government better and more transparent, but don’t expect anything overnight
2. The Obama administration will make the changes more quick, but not as quick as those of us who want it to be (especially those who work for the government and want to start using those tools)
   1. For those in government who want to use the tools, many people there said this, so it’s probably true: ‘Tis better to ask forgiveness than ask for permission.
3. Social media has the capability to make government more than just transparent, in terms of the information it offers. Social media also enables citizens to interact with government in ways they never could before. My question is: will government listen? And my answer: those who deal with the citizenry will want to, but they may be stymied by those bureaucrats above them.
4. The big obstacle to government 2.0 and social media? “That’s not how we’ve done/do things.”

Nothing’s insurmountable, though. And hopefully, the Obama administration’s positive attitudes towards social media will influence all areas of federal (and even state and local) government.