Open Government

Research Note: Is Your Government Open or Closed? October 2011 19 The Growing “Buzz” surrounding Open Government Delivering on the “Brand Promise” is the key to success Reputation Management The current success of the government 2.0 movement can be gauged by exploring the conversations spreading throughout the blogosphere and social media such as Twitter and Facebook. In tracking the volume of conversations on the social web from the first announcement by U.S. President Obama back in December of 2009 to the most recent Open Government Partnership (OGP) event this September in New York, one can see a steady increase in the average postings on the Net quadrupling from 250 per day to the current level of approximately 1,000 per day. Figure 9 - Volume of Buzz on Open Government (Nov'09-Oct'11) The most heavily discussed topics in recent months show several themes emerging. The first is the spread of open government globally, rather than one country‟s initiatives taking the spotlight. The most prevalent international discussions have centered on how open data will have an effect on Kenya‟s “app economy” and India‟s continued alliance with the U.S. to help advance government transparency. Moreover, President Benigno of the Philippines stated he won the presidency last year because Filipinos wanted an open government. New initiatives from the World Bank such as their support for open data, open knowledge, and open solutions and how these relate to development challenges and aid effectiveness were also widespread. However, it has been the Open Government Partnership announced in July that was discussed with the most fervor. 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 #Postings Open Government Activity Buzz Trendline