Introducing Robert Gibbs: The First Press Secretary in a Tech-Conscious White House

Robert Gibbs recently held his first press conference as the new press secretary for the White House. The PR student in me listened intently to this man, wondering how he will adapt this traditional government role to an aggressively innovative administration.

Adapting to a Technologically Conscious White House

Similar to many government press secretaries, Gibbs has a strong background in traditional media relations, but how will he integrate his established skill set to a role that will probably heavily rely on new technology? Though his role in the White House focuses on interacting with print and broadcast outlets, his involvement with the Obama campaign most likely showed him the importance online communications will play in this administrations’ daily activities.

I hope Gibbs will reach out to bloggers and online news sites for press conferences, interviews, and other events. He should also maintain a prominent presence on change.gov and the interactive new whitehouse.gov. Bridging this gap between the president and citizens while providing access to variety of journalists will be difficult and time-consuming, but it is necessary to maintain the level of transparency Obama’s team keeps stressing.

Keeping Up with the President

While serving as press secretary for someone as savvy as Barack Obama, Gibbs is going to have to be aware of the precise action a transparent government demands from the official spokesperson. That’s why it surprised me to discover Gibbs already slipped up this month when he avoided answering the most popular user-submitted question on Change.gov, forcing the President to answer it on live television. As Nisha Chittal points out, aides can’t practice “politics as usual” in the Obama administration. I hope Gibbs will learn from his mistake, and will practice the type of transparency Americans are now demanding from their government.

So, as President Obama receives immense praise for the actions he took during his first week in office, how do you think Robert Gibbs has done as the new press secretary? Do you think he will continue practicing politics as usual, or will he match the standards set by his administration?

4 Questions Obama Needs to Answer Before We Can Have a Wiki White House

Last week, I attended the Wiki White House panel at the Google office in downtown D.C. The event, co-sponsored by the New America Foundation and Wired Magazine, featured an exciting conversation about the future of social media under President-elect Barack Obama’s administration. You can watch the video of the panel here.

We all understand the Obama era will fundamentally change how government, especially the president, communicates with citizens. It’s a moot point that has been blogged, tweeted, and podcasted about for months. Yes, the Obama campaign (and now administration) used social media to energize and educate millions of people about political issues. But how will that continue once Mr. Obama takes his seat in the Oval Office? Will the ideas translate well to other branches and departments? The panel and audience raised several questions that need to be answered:

Will government leaders understand social media?

The reason social media is so popular is because it builds communities and allows people to interact with others across a variety of platforms. People who are active online understand this, but many large businesses don’t get it.We’ve all read case studies where clients push to use the technology because everyone else is – they don’t think about the reasons for or implications of being active online.

So does the government, and everyone who would be using social media tools on its behalf, understand the importance of communication? For example, many of the government officials I follow on Twitter post a steady stream of press release headlines. They don’t respond to @replies or answer constituents’ questions. This isn’t communicating, it’s broadcasting. What measures will the Obama team take to overcome this?

How will First Amendment rights be observed?

Politics and government are topics that breed discourse and heavy debate. People don’t always agree, and sometimes disagreements can lead to personal, vicious attacks. What will the government do to monitor and regulate these discussions without infringing on the First Amendment?

How will the government engage those who aren’t online?

Not everyone is online, and not everyone who is online participates in social media. Will the government urge more people to be active online? Or, as a panelist mentioned, will people follow the adage “build and they will come?” What about Americans who do not have access to the Internet, especially those with disabilities? The new administration will have to develop comprehensive plans to overcome these obstacles.

What will communications’ positions look like in the new administration?

As someone with a PR background, I’m interested to see how positions in PR and communications will change in a Wiki White House. The panel stressed the need for a CIO and CTO (Chief Technology Officer), but I wonder how traditional positions like press secretaries will adapt to this era of wide open communication. Will these positions become more involved in the process, or will the role grow obsolete?

As always, I’m convinced that integration will be key. Those who work for or as press secretaries will be talking more openly with bloggers and implementing more Web 2.0 strategies to keep up with an administration that recognizes its importance.

I know this is a bare-bones list, but the panel only lasted an hour and a half – I’m sure it could have lasted for days with the numerous possibilities social media makes available to the government.

I’m interested in how you think government communication, both internally and externally, will change in the next four years. Will you be happier with Government 2.0?

Social Media and Politics: Candidates Interact Directly with Voters

Living in Washington D.C. and working for a public affairs firm has made me more politically inclined than ever before, and I still feel as though there is too much information for me to fully grasp everything that is being thrown my way. Which is not a good thing – especially during a high-intensity election year.

I could spend hours sifting through the campaign sites on the New York Times or Washington Post Web sites trying to educate myself on the myriad issues that presidential and congressional candidates are addressing in their platforms, but as a Gen Yer I want something a little more… personal, conversational, direct. And then I want to read news articles to supplement these conversations – they shouldn’t be my sole source.

Luckily, politicians are taking advantage of social media tactics that make campaigns more personal with their constituents (hey, isn’t that a novel idea?). Federal and state Senators and Representatives are blogging (and allowing comments). The White House has a Twitter account. Barack Obama has changed the face of online campaigning with his appearances on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. John McCain is breaking the generation stereotype and showing up on these outlets, too (albeit with far less momentum than his opponent). Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has joined the conversation, and even several government agencies are showing up on the new media map. Both the House and the Senate have Twitter accounts to track legislation moving across their respective floors.

I don’t know about you, but this is very exciting for me. For the first time, I feel like I’m hearing these messages directly from the people I may or may not be voting for. There isn’t a staged press conference, no paid advertisements – just an open dialogue where I can interact with the people who will be representing my voice.

Actually, on that point, an interesting thing I’d like to know is just how interactive are these politicians and groups. I’m not talking in terms of updating and using the tools, but the practicality of it – if I were to @BarackObama on Twitter a question about his platform, what are the odds he’d get back to me or even see the Tweet amidst his 40,000+ followers? Does John McCain (okay, I’ll even take a staff member who might relay information to him!) actually check to see how many people are watching his YouTube videos?

So while this is an excellent step in bridging the gap between politicians and the people they serve, I hope true engagement and interaction do not take a back seat to the publicity and fund raising elements that these tactics have obviously ignited.

Regardless, I’m very happy to have multiple media to evaluate and learn about candidates’ and their platforms while also staying informed about current government issues. As a social media aficionado, I hope to see this trend expand as more and more in the public affairs realm begin to experiment, and I’d also like to see the effect this has on young voters this fall.

So what about you? Are you using any of these tools to stay up-to-date on the candidates or other issues? Do you think this will help politicians reach out to audiences that might have been missed otherwise?