"Blogger Bob" Explains the Evolution of the TSA's Blog
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, February 25 2009
Here's a fun find: "Blogger Bob" Burns, who is in charge of the Transportation Security Administration's blog team, giving a short presentation to incoming Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the value of the TSA blog, "Evolution of Security.".
A few facts from Burns about the blog: They got 800 comments on the first night of its launch, a sign that the public, and passengers in particular, needed a place "to vent." The site has gotten about 17,000 comments in all, and about 642,000 unique visitors. Many comments have also led to innovations in TSA screening practices, like the creation of a "black diamond" lane for experienced passengers.
Here's Blogger Bob , which has a different profile in X-ray machines than other laptops. That video has gotten nearly 100,000 views.
Some lessons for government 2.0 that you can tease out from the TSA blog experience: first, there's value in creating open, public two-way channels for communications between government agencies and their publics, even if the result is "venting" of complaints or confusion about the agency's policies; second, that such collaborative channels can lead to improvements in agency services to the public; and third, that being open and collaborative isn't rocket science. As "Blogger Bob" shows on these videos, it can be quite natural.