New social networking ideas and technologies, including the pervasive YouTube and MySpace phenomena, could make 2007 a pivotal year for redefining the relationships of citizens with their governments. CIOs can help foster this change by focusing attention on their role as technology "scouts." They can look to the social networking concepts now used in the private sector, learn from these successes and apply these ideas and tools to government.

Still, not all ideas hatched in the private sector are easily applied to government. Recognizing policy, process and political barriers and overcoming hurdles sounds more like a steeple chase than a new IT project, but it's all part of the modern CIO's job description when transferring technology ideas from the private to the public arena. And the ability to clear obstacles is one of the unique skills CIOs should possess -- and hopefully will draw upon.

The first hurdle is making sure that "technology scout" and "strategic IT leader" still fall somewhere under the CIO job description. Unfortunately as Todd Sander, deputy director at the Center for Digital Government, noted in his November column ("Don't be Timid in November"), the leadership and visioning piece of the CIO role wasn't properly recognized in some jurisdictions, which resulted in the "devaluing" of the CIO within the organization. Taking advantage of and implementing needed government wide technology shifts can be severely compromised, Sanders cautioned, without "a seat at the cabinet table."

Another potential hurdle in applying the social networking concept to government is the proverbial "elephant in the living room." Do IT leaders really want a lot of active involvement from the public in policy decision-making? A corollary to this hurdle is: What are the risks and how are those risks mitigated and managed? Also, in the back of many executives' minds also are: Will this new citizen participation lead to better decisions? Will this cost me more or less resources to manage? Will public good will and satisfaction with my organization increase or will it lead to greater risks to my organization? Ultimately this question comes up: Will it get me sued, or sued more often?
The CIOs and their staff who can work through many of these policy questions with agency program staff, increase the probability of improving citizen services and public good will. Understanding and addressing other agencies' concerns and ideas require very different role parameters for CIOs and their staff compared to organizations that only focus on operations.

Still, let's assume for the moment that the CIO has earned executive support for bringing fresh ideas to the table and addressing policy concerns. Can a case be made for implementing technologies within government that will foster greater civic engagement? When deploying a new technology or a new use for an existing technology, CIOs must demonstrate that the proposed change creates new government efficiencies or brings higher value to citizens.

Yet, what is the probability that social networking sites are a sweet spot for generating new value? Commercial social networking sites obviously offer great value to participants since they keep coming back; this is precisely what has made them a commercial success. Government social networking spaces must also offer high value to citizens to keep them hungry for more.

Humans, by nature, enjoy interaction and are also at the peak of production when functioning in groups. Computer networks -- particularly the ultimate network, the Internet -- are an ideal and proven technology that fosters the rapid creation of like-minded online teams. This phenomenon is anchored in principles illustrated by Metcalfe's Law and the lesser known Reed's Law, which together show that online social networks can generate immense value.

Metcalfe's Law, simply put, says the value of a network is proportional to the number of connected users; the more users, the greater the value. Reed's Law builds on Metcalfe's.