Inaugurating Web Governance

Much has been said about our new president and the savvy use of Web technologies to create a groundswell of support and participation. While we agree that the precedent set by Obama's campaign is inspiring, it's important to note that it is not technology alone that made his online campaign a success.

2008 was definitely a banner year for multi-channel campaigning and use of Web 2.0 technologies, but more than any other campaign, the Obama online presence dominated. Naturally, much of that should be credited to the man himself, but we should also give props to the masterful implementation of solid Web governance.

When you look across the span of Obama Web sites, from BarackObama.com, to Change.gov and now Whitehouse.gov, you can't help but notice the continuity. From the look and feel to editorial content and navigation - it all flows to create a seamless user experience. What's more, the integration of blogging, video and social networks is  consistently used as a strategic expression of Obama's progressive policies. When you're campaigning on the promise of change and transparency, what better expression than the pervasive use of the Web? The trick is to leverage top-down management of these Web properties. Clearly Obama himself isn't Twittering or uploading daily videos, but he created the guiding principles and empowered his Web team to execute against them. The quality of the Obama Web products is a clear manifestation of what happens when you have well thought out Web policies and standards in place. 

As many speculate about whether or not President Obama's example will lead to the adoption of Web 2.0 in Federal sites, we can't assume that throwing dollars into technology implementations will address the need.

We've worked in the Federal sector for a number of years, and have yet to come across a full-time Web team or a budget for a central Web program. A true governance framework needs to be implemented before any (more) mandates are passed regarding Federal Web requirements. As my colleague Lisa Welchman wrote:

"One of the reasons lots of Federal sites are over-large and
disorganized is that they were developed with no over-arching plan or
strategic guidance. Agencies know their audience and mission best. So,
I’m not suggesting explicit content or technology guidance at a
high-level, but some good strategic policy. Let’s learn some lessons
from Web 1.0 and apply them to Web 2.0. "

Let's take a lesson from President Obama and approach the Web with a commitment not just to technology, but setting appropriate strategy and governance to truly align the Web with organizational mission. 

 Can we do it? Yes we can!