In a landmark article earlier this month, Mark Drapeau popularizes the rise of the Goverati: a group of government employees, civilian contractors, and assorted professionals who understand how government operates and are working collaboratively to affect change.
Andrea Baker suggests a proletarian revolution is afoot, complete with socially-minded citizens who join politically-charged Facebook groups, send emails to their elected officials, and participate in sit-in grassroots movements.
There is a reason why every candidate in last fall’s U.S. presidential election used internet technologies for campaigning, fundraising, and building online communities. They didn’t do it because they could; they did it because they were asked. The bourgeoisie responded to the revolution; and the Goverati both watched and interacted.
I accept my part as a revolutionary member of the Goverati, converging my experience and background in state and local government, and suggest the clownfish be our mascot.
The what, you ask? The gender-changing central character in Finding Nemo?
Meet the clownfish…
After spending its youth as a drifter among the plankton, the clown anemonefish transparently swim amid the ocean currents before finding a reef patch, details Richard C. Francis on page 38 of his 2004 book, “Why Men Won’t Ask for Directions.”
Upon finding a symbiotic anemone, Francis writes, the clownfish metamorphose. But it’s not easy.
Many more clownfish descend upon a given reef patch each year than it can possibly sustain, creating intense competition for suitable hosts. Adult clownfish spend much of their time and energy defending their anemones against any potential usurpers.
In the United States Government, many policy decisions are based upon political party designations: are you a Donkey or an Elephant? Similar symbols exist around the world.
Considering most animal species comprise both genders at any time, I argue the Goverati ought to be symbolized by an animal that is politically- and gender-neutral. Asexual. Clownfish.
Would you like to meet some of my fellow clownfish, swimming the ocean currents with me? To one degree or another, these are folks whose blog feeds I subscribe to, enjoy emailing with, and/or interact with on Twitter.
All of them don’t write about government initiatives all the time, but when they do, their intellect and smarts shine through. These are people I respect, and in some cases, are folks I’m glad to call friends.
- Aaron Brazell: TechnoSailor (@technosailor)
- Adriel Hampton: adrielhampton.wordpress.com (@adrielhampton)
- Andrea Baker: andrearbaker.com (@immunity)
- Andrew Krzmarzick: Generation Shift (@krazykriz)
- Craig Thomler: eGov AU (@craigthomler)
- Gavin Heaton: Servant of Chaos (@servantofchaos)
- Gwynne Kostin: On dot-gov (@gwynnek)
- Leslie Bradshaw: lesliebradshaw.com (@leslieann44)
- Meznor: Social Bureaucrat (@meznor)
- Stephen Collins: AcidLabs (@trib)
- Steve Field: The D-Ring (@fieldsteven)
- Steve Radick: steveradick.com (@sradick)
In their own class, I add Casey Coleman, the chief information officer of the U.S. General Services Administration, who blogs at Around the Corner and tweets as @caseycoleman; and Dave Fletcher, chief technology officer for the state of Utah who blogs at davidfletcher.blogspot.com and tweets as @dfletcher.
(FYI: Dave was also the first interviewee of my best practices in social media column who talked about Utah’s ascension as the best digital state in the country and his views on e-government.)
Three other blogs I subscribe to that fit the mold of Goverati-worthy include the GSA group blog, Gov Gab, that also tweets under @govgab; the tech-savvy techPresident site; and the policy-oriented Wikinomics blog.
There are many other folks in the Goverati world who I tweet with, ranging from Mark Drapeau to Justin Kerr-Stevens to Sarah Bourne.
If you brand yourself with the Goverati and I didn’t include your blog above, please add a comment below, linking your name to it so I can add yours to my list. I won’t subscribe to all blogs, but it would be great to know you’re out there so we can work together when the call arises.
And… what do you think of the clownfish idea?
Photo credits: Nemo’s great uncle and millzero.com
Related posts:
- How a Mayor Resists the Core of Government 2.0
- Delivering the Loop of Government
- Starting My Week with Government and Enterprise
Comments:
Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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{ 12 comments }
Twitter Comment
RT @ariherzog: I devote this tweet to my Goverati friends and colleagues. I dub thee clownfish. [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter Comment
RT @ariherzog I devote this tweet to my Goverati friends and colleagues. I dub thee clownfish. [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Well, better “clownfish” than “clown”!
The one thing that doesn’t quite fit in the clownfish analogy is the territorial behavior. Rather than defending their anemone, most folks working towards Gov 2.0 are inviting others in. This is especially important for internal initiatives, where stovepipes are the enemy of collaborative work!
Hmm, yeah, I thought about that conflict. However, what if the government machine is not the anemone but the reef?
The clownfish defends the anemone through symbiosis–not unlike the relationship between a person and a role; remove a person and the role can be filled by another, like clownfish dying and being replaced.
Or am I stretching?
Defending the reef is important, as I’ve learned from @kpkfusion and @dbevarly. I reject all “ati” labels, which I associate with elitism, but I’ll take clownfish. Thanks for the props, Ari.
Adriel Hampton´s last blog post..TwitterCons and Other Sad Stuff
Twitter Comment
Hey, who you calling “clownfish!” Nice props and thoughts from @ariherzog – [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
I’m working on some social media outreach for the Federal Citizen Information Center. I write for GovGab, which you listed, but tweet under @pueblo81009.
I like your idea of the clownfish, but tend to agree with Sarah a little bit that we try to welcome people into the 2.0 world.
Thanks for including me in this distinguished list of clownfish
There are certainly some interesting moves afoot at present … and I love that you characterize this as being citizen-led. Makes for fascinating times!
BTW my Twitter user ID is servantofchaos.
Gavin Heaton´s last blog post..It’s Not a Filter, It’s a Choice
Of course you’re @servantofchaos. Why didn’t I write that before? Well, I changed it now! Since you have the other reserved, why not switch it up and be yourself?
Thanks again for the support. I enjoy seeing who you follow and who follows you and what you suggest is a good read because it helps my network and my goals in evangelizing the enterprise to my Government customers.
I am hoping that I will see and meet some new clownfish at GovSec next week. I have a blog about GovSec and US Law (the expo attached to FOSE 2009) in Washington D.C. coming on my blog this evening. If you like to find out more about the event, you can check out that post or go to the website for more details
Andrea Baker´s last blog post..Enterprise 2.0 for Government Event Feeler
Twitter Comment
@ariherzog You just completely contradicted your blog [link to post] I’ll know next time where to go if I want to talk in circles
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Yes government is not the anemone . But the reef itself.
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