Feedback through e-power
By Jasmine Yin, TODAY | Posted: 30 July 2007 1140 hrs

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In what is seen as another major thrust to engage the online community, five government agencies will soon build their own cyberworld — complete with social interaction tools like blogs, vodcast and forums.

The end game? To get the Internet-savvy population's input on nation-building.

According to tender documents by the Infocommunications Development Authority (IDA) on the Government's online procurement portal, GeBIZ, each agency will form a site for a "unique and interesting online community" based on specific areas of interest or purpose, such as sports or the environment.

"The objective of the project is to evaluate the effectiveness of the social collaboration service in citizen engagement through online community building," said the IDA, which did not name the five agencies.

Not unlike popular online community sites like Friendster, the proposed sites will allow the registered public to share their photos, audios, videos and chat with each other.

The sites will be run by either government agencies or their intermediaries, such as associations.

If successful, this initiative may be extended to more government agencies, the tender said.

Calling it a "good step that needs to be employed with caution", political observer Viswa Sadasivan felt that such online communities would inject greater interactivity — and also sense of ownership — in how feedback is gathered.

"If managed well, I think this can pave the way for greater citizen participation, not just for the public to comment on policy proposals, but to actually help initiate and shape policies through in-depth and continuous engagement," he told Today.

Blogger and sports enthusiast Elissa Goh, 22, said such e-platforms would be good for networking among like-minded individuals, but added she would feel more open on her own blog if she has anything negative to voice about the Government.

Hence, there needs to be a "genuine open-mindedness" on the Government's part for this to take off, Mr Sadasivan said. It could backfire if the authorities end up trying to "manage" dissenting feedback by "explaining and rationalising, instead of listening and fine-tuning their own assumptions".

Also, the conventional rules of engagement with the Government — such as the right of reply, accountability and making sure that all the right facts are stated — "may not apply" in the virtual world of blogs, vodcasts and chat rooms, he said.

"For instance, blog space is about stating how you feel without filters. The moment you empower them to participate as a community, they will give their views in their language, which may not have all the facts all the time. My question is: How ready is the Government for (such engagement)?"

While the five agencies are not yet known, Mr Sadasivan suggested that a good starting ground could be sectors that are less "risky" and where the citizenry-government rules of engagement are "less rigid", such as sports, the environment and tourism. - TODAY/sh