GCC Government Social Media Summit 2015 comes to a close by shedding light on global best practises for social media use in government
Today marks the close of two successful days at the 4th GCC Government Social Media Summit 2015 which was held at the Hotel Sofitel Dubai Downtown. The summit saw a number of industry leaders attend and debate the theme of ‘leveraging social networks to drive government innovation and create smart cities’. On the final day of the summit, further panel debates and keynotes took place where the key highlights were on shared global best practises and gamification.
In the first of two panel sessions, panellists H.E. Dr Ali Sebaa Al Marri, Executive President at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Philip Al Masari, Regional Manager Government & Public Sector for Hootsuite UK and Vit Horky, Co-founder and CEO at Brand Embassy discussed the global best practises for using social media to be innovative in government communications. The panel highlighted how organisations around the globe are making social media work, engaging citizens and the Internet of Things.
“It’s important that governments and citizens communicate to develop trust. However, governments need to understand both the problems and the benefits that come along with social media,” explained Al Marri. “To monitor this effectively, there is a need for governments to develop software to analyse mass information and evaluate the effectiveness of its services.”
Al Masari added: “The benefit of social media engagement for commercial profits is huge. When working in ministries, the first question is always about risk, and how senior management are fearful of opening “Pandora’s box”. To mitigate these risks, governments need to ensure that they open the right platforms and post relevant content, which can be achieved by education.”
Don Jacobson, IT Business Partner, City of Las Vegas conducted the keynote address for the day. He addressed the audience on the topic of how governments are using gaming to get citizens engaged. He explained how the City of Las Vegas has applied gaming principles in its governance and why gamification is the way forward for government organisations.
Jacobson said: “The City of Las Vegas is a digital-first city that employs a mix of civic engagement platforms and tools ranging from mobile apps to all popular social media channels to its own television station. By next year, there will be four billion people who are active on social media. Applying game-design principles to content delivered online via social media channels means that it is possible for government to improve its relationship with citizens by making civic engagement both fun and fulfilling. Incorporating game mechanics into the traditional government-citizen activities such as reporting issues or registering a business helps make government more interesting and responsive to the community it serves. Gamification will be a three billion dollar industry by next year”
In the final panel session of the day, Heather Leson, Programme Manager, Social Innovation – QCRI, Qatar Foundation and Victor Neck, Managing Director, Meltwater Dubai went on to discuss innovation in social media analytical techniques and performance-measuring tools. The pair discussed the best tools for content management and social analytics and how to evaluate the effectiveness of social media strategies.
The summit featured seven industry-specific workshops and around 150 delegates which discussed leading strategies and practical approaches against the backdrop of its increased importance in government communications. The use of social media by governments has steadily grown over the recent years in the GCC region with some of the highest social media platform penetration rates in the world. The result of which has meant that the MENA governments are in a unique position to leverage the citizen social engagement in their communications and service delivery strategies.
The 4th GCC Government Social Media Summit is sponsored by Microsoft, Meltwater, Hootsuite, SOCIALEYEZ, Carma, FARS, Zenith Gulf, Four Communications, MBRSG, twofour54, Exantium, and Ideanco.