Web 2.0 and the "social Internet" are very powerful technologies and ideas that governments should certainly be exploiting. However, in the headlong rush to act, all sorts of stray ideas risk being "caught up in the fishing net." The truth is that most governments have a large backlog of potential high-value projects that could work by simply exposing great information databases to businesses and private citizens the old way. Governments should do this by using plain old-fashioned "Web 1" because it is well-understood, cost-effective and low risk. For example, making food safety inspector reports about restaurants available to public access is a relatively simple e-government portal service addition. However, because people think of online restaurant review Web sites as "social," a nice, simple government B2C idea can easily get confused and conflated with Web 2.0 thinking. Of course, it would be technically feasible to offer the food safety inspector reviews as a published Web service for people to do Google Map-based "mashups" — but how much additional citizen value would this deliver for the associated risk? There are new technologies here, unforeseen outcomes and increased difficulties with technology planning — for example, predicting server loads.

So, yes, by all means start performing Web 2.0 experiments, but please take care to separate your risk categories. And when you do seek real Web 2.0 ideas, remember they center on genuinely two-way or multiway mass contribution for their new value. For example, a government that encouraged keen restaurant goers to ask for a kitchen visit, take a couple of mobile phone photos and post them up to a central site would be doing something truly second wave and revolutionary. Recruiting socially active citizens as media support to the food safety inspection process could be helpful on many levels. It's the same basic principle of leveraging volunteer support that governments already apply through engaging with charity organizations or operating a "special constable" part-time police force (see www.policespecials.com).

The particular promise of the social Internet for governments is that it allows "microcontibutions" from citizens to help meet different objectives — some of which have previously been inaccessible to citizen involvement because of the overheads. Spending 10 minutes with a camera to record the state of a restaurant kitchen as a citizen contributor or a few hours as a special police constable walking the beat are basically the same concept using different media, involvement level of granularity. Think a little more deeply about e-government 2.0 before acting.

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Cost-efficiency, user-friendliness, and low risk factors are all very important when considering new technologies for different programs and initiatives. If appropriate testing and instructional tools are utilized, one can foresee a gradual implementation of best practice programs.

Alvira Khan
Florida Atlantic University
FAU Alumna