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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>Alkags, <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>I did not follow the
link you provided; I just jumped in cos this topic is too close to my heart. So
my apologies if I go on a tangent.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>The simple answer to
your question is…it would take the Head of Civil Service to blog. If Boss
is blogging, then I as a civil servant wants…No, must know what he is
blogging about. The copy cat syndrome may take care of the rest. But on a more
serious note, the Web 2.0 tools have provided a platform for collaboration in
the enterprise including government leading a concept which is slowly but
steadily gaining ground known as Government 2.0 or as other people prefer, Collaborative
Government. This is meant to be the successor of e-Government and the technologies
driving this movement include blogs, wikis, marsh-ups etc, all the so called
social networking tools. For Gov 2.0 to take off, there must be a paradigm
shift in the public service value chain where these tools can be used for
consultation and information exchange between government and its stakeholders.
For instance, instead of having a zillion workshops to discuss and input into a
policy document, why not create a wiki and get people to contribute? See the
challenges?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>My take is, Blogs, Wikis
etc are about Collaboration at the workplace, at home etc. And therefore, to
get buy in and get people to use these tools, we have to encourage the spirit
of collaboration. Unfortunately, collaboration is one of the *<b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>taboos</span></b>* in government. Just look around
you, the number of competing projects within government and the lack of harmonized
planning on national projects. According to research by Frost and Sullivan, in
a study conducted in 2006, Government ranked as the least collaborative sectors
while 36% of an organisation’s performance is a factor of collaboration. So,
that is the challenge, to instill the spirit of collaboration, then provide an
enabling environment and get the tools known and working for us. But, lets
start small…lets get the Head of Civil Service to blog…any ideas?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>Harry <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>African eDevelopment
Resource Centre<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>3rd Floor, <st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Nelleon Place</st1:address></st1:Street><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><font size=3
color=navy face=Garamond><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;
color:navy'>Raphta Road</span></font></st1:address></st1:Street><font
color=navy face=Garamond><span style='font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>,
Westlands<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><font size=3
color=navy face=Garamond><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;
color:navy'>PO Box</span></font></st1:Street><font color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-family:Garamond;color:navy'> 49475</span></font></st1:address><font
color=navy face=Garamond><span style='font-family:Garamond;color:navy'> 00100<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=3
color=navy face=Garamond><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;
color:navy'>Nairobi</span></font></st1:City><font color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region></span></font></st1:place><font
color=navy face=Garamond><span style='font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>Cel +254 725 650044<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>Land +254 20 4453445<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><a
href="http://www.africanedevelopment.org/">www.africanedevelopment.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><a
href="http://egov-notes.blogspot.com/">My Blogg</a></span></font><span
class=MsoHyperlink><u><font color=blue><o:p></o:p></font></u></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>***********************************************************</span></font><font
color=navy face=Garamond><span style='font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:blue'>March 2008 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Capacity</st1:PlaceName></st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Building</st1:PlaceType></st1:place></st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
Opportunities</span></font><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>Fiber Optics: 3-6
March</span></font><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>VSAT Field
Engineering: 17-19 March</span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>Records Management
17-21 March (<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dar es Salaam</st1:place></st1:City>)</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>GIS 26-28 March</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'>Book Now, Limited
spaces available<br>
</span></font><font size=5 color=black face=Webdings><span style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Webdings;color:black'>P</span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'> </span></font><font size=1 color=black face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black'>Please consider the
environment before printing this e-mail</span></font><font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Garamond><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Garamond;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
kictanet-bounces+harry=africanedevelopment.org@lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=africanedevelopment.org@lists.kictanet.or.ke] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Al Kags<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Thursday, March 20, 2008
12:17 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">harry@africanedevelopment.org</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> KICTAnet ICT Policy
Discussions<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [kictanet] Public
Servants and blogging</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://davepress.net/2008/03/10/public-servants-must-blog/">http://davepress.net/2008/03/10/public-servants-must-blog/</a><br>
<br>
I just came across the above article and I wonder what the thoughts of this
groups. One would imagine beyond the official policy and regulations there is a
social impediment to public servants blogging. What would need to happen to get
us to a point where we have official public blogs?<br>
<br>
I also am reminded of an interesting article (below) by the CEO of Sun
Microsystems that was published in a Havard Business Review a while back - If
you want to Lead, Blog. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin-bottom:6.0pt'><span class=st><span name=st id=st><font size=5
color="#660000" face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:#660000'>If</span></span></font></span><font size=5 color="#660000"
face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#660000'>
<span name=st id=st><span class=st>You</span></span> <span name=st id=st><span
class=st>Want</span></span> <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span>
<span name=st id=st><span class=st>Lead</span></span>, <span class=st><span name=st
id=st>Blog</span></span></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><i><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial;font-style:italic'>by</span></font></i><font size=1 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial'> <i><font color=black><span
style='color:black;font-style:italic'><a
href="http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbrol/en/includes/sasearch.jhtml?author=Jonathan+Schwartz"
target="_blank"><font color="#660000"><span style='color:#660000;text-decoration:
none'>Jonathan Schwartz</span></font></a></span></font></i></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Many senior executives at Sun, including me, have blogs that can be read
by anyone, anywhere in the world. We discuss everything from business strategy <span
name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> product development <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> company values. We host open letters from
the outside, and we openly respond <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span>
them. We talk about our successes—and our mistakes. (<span name=st id=st><span
class=st>If</span></span> <span name=st id=st><span class=st>you</span></span>
don't believe me, go <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> <a
href="http://www.blogs.sun.com/roller/page/jonathan?entry" target="_blank">www.blogs.sun.com/roller/page/jonathan?entry</a>=dear_john.)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>That may seem risky. But it's riskier not <span name=st id=st><span
class=st>to</span></span> have a <span class=st><span name=st id=st>blog</span></span>.
Remember when, not long ago, CEOs would ask their assistants <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> print out their e-mails for them, and
they'd dictate responses <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> be
typewritten and sent via snail mail? Where are those leaders now? (The last of
my contacts of that breed just retired.) In ten years, most of us will
communicate directly with customers, employees, and the broader business
community through blogs. For executives, having a <span class=st><span name=st
id=st>blog</span></span> is not going <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span>
be a matter of choice, any more than using e-mail is today. <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>If</span></span> <span class=st><span name=st id=st>you</span></span>'re
not part of the conversation, others will speak on your behalf—and I'm
not talking about your employees.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Blogging lets <span name=st id=st><span class=st>you</span></span>
participate in communities <span name=st id=st><span class=st>you</span></span>
<span name=st id=st><span class=st>want</span></span> <span name=st id=st><span
class=st>to</span></span> cultivate—whether it's your employees,
potential employees, customers, or anyone else—and leverage your
corporate culture competitively. Here's a good example: Sun, like every
organization, receives e-mails from happy customers lauding one employee or
another for good work. The idea came up that we should post these e-mails on a
"wall of fame" on our intranet. But we realized that this venue would
profoundly limit the number of readers, so someone suggested putting the wall
of fame up on my external <span class=st><span name=st id=st>blog</span></span>.
Immediately, people raised the concern that by identifying our best employees,
we'd make them recruitment targets. Well, of course that could happen. But it
cuts both ways. The upside is the positive ripple effect on workers' morale and
on the public's perception of the company. What's more, my competitors'
employees could see what I'm saying about my team and could decide whether I'm
more compelling than their own leaders. So rather than being a threat <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> Sun, blogging about my best employees can
build loyalty and be a recruitment tool <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span>
boot.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>How do <span name=st id=st><span class=st>you</span></span> get started
on a <span class=st><span name=st id=st>blog</span></span>? I suggest clearly
defining a blogging strategy and guidelines. (Or go ahead and use ours at <a
href="http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/blogs/policy.html" target="_blank">www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/blogs/policy.html</a>.
Just make sure <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> change the
company name.) Then find your voice. Be honest and open. Be respectful of your
audiences. Don't treat blogging like advertising—it's not. Use humor.
Link <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> those who interest and
influence <span name=st id=st><span class=st>you</span></span>.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Once <span name=st id=st><span class=st>you</span></span> get going,
don't micromanage the process. Your legal and corporate communications teams do
not have <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> be involved in
every post—after all, they're not involved in every e-mail <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>you</span></span> send or telephone call <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>you</span></span> make. Once in a while, <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>you</span></span> may need <span name=st id=st><span
class=st>to</span></span> add some clarifying language. (For example, a 14A
filing was required for my <span class=st><span name=st id=st>blog</span></span>
posting about acquisition intentions, just as it would be for many other forms
of communication.)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>But the rule of thumb is simple: Know the guidelines, then let loose. <span
name=st id=st><span class=st>If</span></span> <span class=st><span name=st
id=st>you</span></span>'re unclear about your company's policy on something,
ask around. Maybe it needs <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span>
be more carefully defined.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Be sure <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> listen <span
name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> feedback and respond <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> legitimate ideas—from inside and
outside. And, most important, write the <span class=st><span name=st id=st>blog</span></span>
yourself. Authenticity is paramount. Some senior executives hire people <span
name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span> write their blogs. Don't bother.
It's like hiring someone <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span>
write your e-mail. It's not going <span name=st id=st><span class=st>to</span></span>
work.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Trust me, your market and your employees are clamoring for executive
engagement and insight. They will value and remember your candor. And <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>you</span></span>'ll be surprised by how much <span name=st
id=st><span class=st>you</span></span> learn from them.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Reprint: F0511J</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face="Arial Narrow"><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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