A web feed (news feed, RSS feed, syndicated feed) allows users to subscribe to frequently updated content. All blogs, all news sites and most personal websites have feeds readers can subscribe to.  It takes the need to frequently check the site away.  You get notified when there’s new content.

Why does milton.ca not have feeds for every subsection (it does for the main page.  Even if you are in a sub-section, you only get RSS for the main page)?  I want to see the list of all registered candidates for the 2010 municipal election. I do not want to have to check the document every day. Instead, I want to be able to subscribe to the feed, so I get notified in my RSS reader (I use Internet Explorer for it) whenever they change that page. 

[Shameless plug: you can subscribe to my RSS feeds by either clicking the feed icon in your browser or by clicking this link, if you use an external application.]

Based on Halton’s experience, it will cost around $30,000 in yearly operating expenses to “web stream” Council meetings (thanks Tim for pointing it out).  That means we’ll be able to watch council meetings, live, from the comfort of our homes. 

To put it in perspective, $30,000 represents 0.04% of Milton’s operating budget (basically a rounding error). 

Worth it?  Totally!  Milton needs to get more involved in Social Networking anyway. This is a great way to start.

Every so often I have to send a fax.  Rarely do these places accept a scanned copy as an e-mail attachment (it’s the 21st century, can’t they just print it out?) 

As annoyed as I get at businesses refusing to let go of an antiquated technology most people don’t have access to (fax machines) and adopting technology virtually everyone in Urban Canada uses (e-mail), municipalities are worse.  Much worse. 

Here are some things municipalities must do to modernize their affairs:

Click here to expand the rest of this article

Pew Internet & American Life Project published a study on the Internet & Civic Engagement. Here’s their overview:

Political and civic involvement have long been dominated by those with high levels of income and education, leading some advocates to hope that internet-based engagement might alter this pattern. However, a new report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that the internet is not changing the fundamental socio-economic character of civic engagement in America. When it comes to online activities such as contributing money, contacting a government official or signing an online petition, the wealthy and well-educated continue to lead the way.

Still, there are hints that the new forms of civic engagement anchored in blogs and social networking sites could alter long-standing patterns. Some 19% of internet users have posted material online about political or social issues or used a social networking site for some form of civic or political engagement. And this group of activists is disproportionately young.

Here’s the thing: people who engaged in the ol’ fashioned way are disproportionately older (in fact, as a group seniors vote a lot more than any other age group). However, people plugged in to Web 2.0 are disproportionately younger.  Can this be an opportunity to bring a balance in civic engagement?

Milton and Halton (and other Canadian municipalities) really should investigate how to use social networking sites and other Web 2.0 tools to better engage with their residents.

This is a follow-up to the Social Networking and Milton post. I should clarify some differences between the old way of doing things and the new way of doing things.

Back in the day (1990s) companies (and municipalities) set up websites to broadcast information to their customers (and residents).  Essentially people got same information they would have gotten in pre-web days, except now the information was online instead of in print.  It worked, but there were issues with it.  Mostly, it worked for the generation that was used to getting information via advertisement on TV, radio and print.  The system broke when a more online-savvy population came of age.  And then came Web 2.0 and social networking. 

Most municipalities still have old-school websites.  They maintain monologues instead of encouraging dialogues.  The new web is about sharing information instead of presenting information. It is about being vibrant, agile and user-driven, rather than being organized and presenter driven. 

Milton today has more Gen Y-ers than baby boomers, and its average age continues to go down fast as more and more young families move into the town.  These people spend > 16 hours / week online with 96% of them active on at least one social networking site.  Clearly public input sessions on a Monday night at 7:30pm sharp at a physical location is not the ideal forum to attract these residents.  Heck many of these residents are not even used to live broadcast TV.  These Tivo and DVR users are used to getting information  according to their own schedule.  Expecting them to change their behaviour is futile. 

Milton needs to get pro-active about figuring out how to engage its residents in problem-solving.  It can start small and go from there.  It can start with a simple thing like an official town blog where Council members and the Mayor take turns blogging, with a comment section where residents can respond and have a public conversation with each other. 

Seriously, when the staff recommends 9% tax increase, would it not be nice to know what different Councillors are thinking and doing about it?  Not just rhetoric, but actual detailed thoughts and deep conversations online?  Would it not be nice to go to the blog during elections and see what Councillors said throughout the year (not just during the election time)? 

Lets give credit where its due: Milton.ca website is not half bad.  It actually makes it fairly easy to find information. However, it only works for people who seek information.  Same goes for giving input. If I am the type of person who would physically show up at the Town Hall and leave a written feedback in a public input session, then milton.ca makes my life easier by allowing me to view documents online instead.  But if attendance at public sessions is any indication, clearly people like me are in extreme minority.

Information published on the website flows in one direction.  It’s a “pull” mechanism.  If I need info, I can “pull” it down from the website.  But how does Milton “push” information down to me, so I always stay updated?   The answer: social networking.

Think about it, why can the Town of Milton not have a twitter account where it publishes tweets with announcements?  Why can it not be on facebook?  These tools can be used to connect to Miltonians who do not have the time or energy to physically show up at public input sessions?  Why are almost all Milton blogs published by residents like myself?  Could the ‘Council’ have a blog where the Mayor and different Councillors take turns writing a weekly post?  I set up such a blog for my organisation in my ‘younger’ days.  I don’t see why same will not work for the Council as well.  Heck if they are interested they can just ping me and I will set one up for them). 

When Halton did its Places To Grow public input sessions, I was expecting a lot more people to show up. Then I started thinking, how many people knew about it?  Probably only people who were interested enough to constantly check if such sessions were held.  Would it not be better if everyone who goes online (and had registered for an update) got a tweet or a facebook status update about the input session with all documents online?  People could see the presentation at their leisure and give feedback either privately (via e-mail) or publically where others could comment on it.  Sort of a public brain-storming session! 

There is still value in good old fashion public meetings where some people present information to the larger public. However, the value is not nearly enough. Times have changed.  People are much busier and have much more demand on their times.  A stronger online presence will complement these meetings well. This is especially true in a dynamic and diverse town like Milton.  I share my street with software developers, engineers, cops, teachers, preachers, home-makers, designers and so on.  Honestly, the town is missing out by not doing everything it can to engage such a diverse crowd in planning.