Technology Helps Deliver Transparency, Improve Customer Service
By Eric Anders • Jan 25th, 2009 • Category: Customer EngagementIf you’ve never visited, you wouldn’t know about or appreciate the remarkable transformation that’s taken place at the White House.gov. This new use of the latest technology in government “will be a central part of President Obama’s pledge to make his the most transparent and accountable administration in American history”.
Unfortunately, like the economy, it’s probably going to be an uphill battle. Just three days after moving in, The Washington Post reported that Staff Finds White House in Technological Dark Ages, “encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts”.
While these restrictions might mean the new administration is prohibited from using unregulated outside e-mail or instant messaging logins, or finds the door closed on the dearth of online social networking tools like Facebook and YouTube or LinkedIn and Twitter that were critical to the Obama campaign’s overwhelming success, they have managed to open the very first White House.gov blog.
So what? According to Quantcast, about two million folks drop by to visit the President’s virtual home each month. Tucked in the bottom right hand corner of the new blog site is very conspicuous invitation from the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPL-IGA) to the American public to help “build relationships with constituents and seeks to embody the essence of the President’s movement for change through the meaningful engagement of citizens and their elected officials by the federal government”. Is this the first sign of a new way of administering the business of government? 
Can you imagine trying to manage 2 million conversations with the President? Expect the number to jump and continue to grow rapidly once the word gets out that there’s a new way to do business in Washington.
The new breed of tech savvy Obamaites are using many of the social networking and customer engagement tools that are becoming a much larger part of the skill set of successful small businesses and large corporate cultures. If you’re in management or marketing, you should be taking notes.
Recently Fortune magazine released their annual review of 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2009. NetApp, a data and storage management company, topped the list. One of the founders and company EVP, Dave Hitz, maintains a blog at the company site as a way to engage his employees, customers, and anyone interested in following his personal accounts of the company’s direction. His most recent entry was about his reservations being named ‘Numero Uno’.
You have to drop down to number 23 on the Fortune list to find the first newcomer, Zappos. If you didn’t already know it, Zappos sells shoes…online. And they’re very, very good at what they do. A billion dollars good!
Not only does Zappos’ managements interact with their virtual visitors at the company blog site, but their CEO and COO have their own blog and Twitter accounts that allow them to be accessible to their customers, employees and their families, or any other interested, loyal followers anytime, anywhere. Like Dave Hirz at NetApp, Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh believes that Your Culture is Your Brand. Great article! Bookmark it if you don’t have time to read it.
One of the perennial favorites of the Best Companies list is Marriott International. Holding down position 78, the hotel and hospitality giant is one of only 13 “All-Star” companies that have appeared on the list each year since it launched in 1998. It’s also one of four companies with 100,000 or more employees.
At 71 years old, Bill Marriott is believed to be the first – and the oldest – international CEO to start his own personal corporate portal at Bill’s Blog. Shortly after starting his postings he observed that "it’s a great way to connect with customers… to put a face on the corporation… personalize it." He probably knows what he’s talking about. Bill gets over 12,000 visitors each month.
Perhaps White House.gov would look different if Obama had lost the election. Maybe the GOP leadership should have taken notice when Mr. Marriott, a staunch Republican, polled his readers by asking Should John McCain Become a Blogger? Taking measure of his own advice, Bill followed Barack’s example and set up Marriott International with its own Twitter account. Seems like it’s just good for business.
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