[LINK] ABC News: Government communications: online but out of touch

[David Boxall]

On 9/10/2011 7:23 AM, Antony Barry wrote:
> ...
> Government communications: online but out of touch
> Fri 07 Oct 11, 17:06pm AEST
> Annie O'Rourke
> ...
 From the article:
"e-Tax is an honoured exception to the general online hopelessness"
E-Tax works only under Windows. Perhaps not totally hopeless, but it 
doesn't inspire great hope either.
"With 90 per cent of Australian internet users accessing social media 
networks daily"  We're doomed.

While I agree with the general sentiment of the article, lauding Steve 
Jobs as a champion of democracy is a bit rich. Jobs wanted to facilitate 
the conversation only to the extent that he could then own it.

To what extent is the failure of communication between government and 
electorate attributable to Public Service Luddism and to what extent is 
it due to inadequacies among our politicians and their advisers? 
Policies need to be sold. It seems to me that the government 
consistently fails that basic premise.

For example, the mining tax was announced, not sold. The big miners 
promoted their side successfully, to the detriment of smaller miners, 
business in general and the populace. With a diabolically effective 
opposition on side, most of the electorate seems to think that's a good 
thing.

I'm sure you can come up with other examples. My point is, the poor 
online presence is probably a symptom of deeper problems. Improving 
performance in that sphere may be part of the cure; then again, in may 
come about as a consequence of addressing more substantial issues.

-- 
David Boxall                    |  In a hierarchical organization,
                                |  the higher the level,
http://david.boxall.id.au       |  the greater the confusion.
                                |                     --Dow's Law.