Gov2.0 Expo, Part 4: Government as Peacekeeper

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• 1:52 p.m. #

  "Are you safe," an iPhone app, is the first subject. It tells you what bad things can happen near you.

• 2:01 p.m. #

  "Are you safe" only works in a few cities. "We go where the data is," and most cities don't make the data available.

• 2:02 p.m. #

  It's about knowing if you're safe on this corner, not just in this neighborhood.

• 2:03 p.m. #

  Lack of data standardization is a problem. Milwaukee uses five different kinds of data to describe crimes.

• 2:04 p.m. #

  DC is getting huge props for data availability and standardization here. It's the Chuck Norris of data providers. It kicks butt.

• 2:04 p.m. #

  It turns out, we're pretty safe in this room.

• 2:05 p.m. #

  Next, Greg Whisenant (CrimeReports.com):

  <blockquote>

  CrimeReports.com helps law enforcement agencies communicate more effectively with members of the public using Google Maps and timely, location-based alerts. Since launching in 2007, CrimeReports.com currently works with more than 600 agencies nationwide and is growing by about 10% each month. Participating cities include Los Angeles County, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose and hundreds of others.

• 2:06 p.m. #

  Crime data is actually really hard to get. Everything is controlled at the local level, and municipalities don't report to anyone.

• 2:07 p.m. #

  There's a surprising amount of resistance to federal mandates on data structure. As a result, each has its own systems and formats.

• 2:07 p.m. #

  There are 18,000 law enforcement agencies, 93% serve fewer than 20,000 people. Plenty don't talk to each other at all.

• 2:08 p.m. #

  The public can't do it alone. "If you work for government, we need you."

• 2:08 p.m. #

  "If the idea is to convene and not control, we can't expect government and law enforcement agencies to be the superheroes."

• 2:10 p.m. #

  First big mention of Obama today. What can the president do? Lots, it turns out.

• 2:10 p.m. #

  "These ideas are neat right now, but one day I really feel they'll be vital."

• 2:11 p.m. #

  Let's talk diplomacy--Rita King (Dancing Ink Productions):

  Cultural diplomacy is no longer exclusively the domain of the physical world. This project explores how foreign policy can augment engagement with Islamic communities worldwide by utilizing complex, nuanced opportunities provided by 3d Immersive spaces.

• 2:11 p.m. #

  Her project used Second Life: "Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds." Fascinating.

• 2:12 p.m. #

  During the 2008 conflict in Gaza, there were protests organized in Second Life.

• 2:13 p.m. #

  Using virtual worlds, we can convene and moderate discussions, ban the trolls and find new voices. It prevents (physical) violence and creates discussions.

• 2:14 p.m. #

  "Avatars can meet with anyone, anywhere in the world, at anytime," says an avatar.

• 2:16 p.m. #

  Next, Mike McCaffrey (Architecture for Humanity):

  As a result of the 2006 TED prize Architecture for Humanity launched the Open Architecture Network, the worlds’ first open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design.

• 2:18 p.m. #

  Virtual teams around the world--many of whom have never met--collaborate on projects.

• 2:19 p.m. #

  Here's the site behind Open Architecture: http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/

• 2:21 p.m. #

  Now, from State, George Clack (Bureau of International Information Programs):

  The Democracy Video Challenge, a public-private partnership, engages youth, using Web-2.0 tools. The Challenge is an online video competition that asks people to complete the phrase, “Democracy is…” By calling for user-generated material– and providing a platform for views to be heard and discussed- the partnership embodies the Administration’s commitment to engage with people around the world.

• 2:22 p.m. #

  The Democracy Video Challenge asks the rest of the world what it thinks about democracy.

• 2:23 p.m. #

  "The world is suspicious of .gov in a domain name." Also, how do you get attention among millions of people talking?

• 2:23 p.m. #

  State partnered with YouTube, plus partners in the entertainment industry.

• 2:24 p.m. #

  Contest is simple: "Democracy is..." whatever you can explain in three minutes of video.

• 2:25 p.m. #

  Snippets of submitted videos were copied to DVD and distributed around the world. This is public diplomacy and a great way to start discussions.

• 2:26 p.m. #

  Editorially speaking, we've found that minimal control is best. Very few videos violated YouTube's terms of service.

• 2:26 p.m. #

  "You can't anticipate the outcome because you are giving up large amounts of control." That's what worked.

• 2:27 p.m. #

  Panel time: Where do you get ideas? How do you get them started? How do you keep stuff going?

• 2:29 p.m. #

  George Clack, from State, talks about getting the video challenge started. Big part was getting cover from higher up, where a key undersecretary was a former journalist, who got the idea instantly.

• 2:31 p.m. # <p>CrimeReports.com started after founder Greg Whisenant accidentally let a burglar into his building. It turns out lots of people want to know about local crime.

• 2:35 p.m. #

  "Are you safe" came out of Apps for Democracy (in DC). "We had all this data." They also just wanted to make an iPhone app.

• 2:36 p.m. #

  Interesting audience question: Why is so much on the iPhone? What if you don't have one, or don't like AT&T?

  Turns out, the iPhone has most of the users. The other smart phones, even if it's easy to port, just don't have the users yet.

• 2:38 p.m. #

  Social media and virtual worlds "allow people to become protagonists in their own story," says Rita King. Her presentation has me rethinking virtual worlds (which, admittedly, I haven't paid much attention to).

• 2:41 p.m. #

  On making peace in general:

  George Clack: The subtext, when the State Department talks about democracy, is: "If only you could be more like the United States, you'd be happier. You could rejoin the rest of the world."

  "This contest turned that on its head."

• 2:43 p.m. #

  More on that, the local safety guys--Are You Safe and CrimeReports.com--say peace is about meeting basic needs. The web helps us meet one of those needs.

• 2:44 p.m. #

  Q: What have you learned from the stakeholders in your project that you didn't expect?

• 2:45 p.m. #

  There's been positive feedback from people when they get the data. Also, individuals in the government are often more interested in releasing data than the bureaucracy they're a part of.

• 2:46 p.m. #

  Interesting: When people started submitting videos for Democracy Video Challenge, a ton of them used protected music, which disqualified a lot of entrants. Sounds like they're fixing that next year.

• 2:50 p.m. #

  Question on intellectual property, why not use CC or another permissive license?

• 2:51 p.m. #

  The plan next year is to use RumbleFish in an effort to make more music available for democracy videos.

• 2:52 p.m. #

  Special guest Chris Rasmussen talks about innovation using wikis for intelligence gathering. Then it's break time.