Transparency is good, but making it a success requires more than just one way communication
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided that having a blog is a good idea. To that end it has started publishing one at: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/
The agency said in a prepared press release that the blog will "enhance [the agency's] communication with the public and support Open Government.
According to the statement, the blog will feature posts from staff members writing about various topics of interest to the public. Moderated comments will be accepted for posting on the blog.
Readers not familar with the NRC should know that it has oversight of the nation's 104 commercial nuclear power plants, as well as research and other reactors. The world of nuclear energy regulation is very prescriptive and compliance is mandatory with stiff consequences for failure to meet requirements. A resident engineer is assigned to each reactor. They are rotated frequently to insure objectivity.
Social media for the government is different
The NRC faces some unique challenges to be successful with this new social media venture. Count me, for now, as skeptical this will work or work well.
First, the blog isn't a substitute for the agency's formal communications channels outbound or inbound. If you want your views related to a regulatory matter part of the record for it, use the established channels. For this reason, the agency is basically saying it has no obligation to make its employees aware of your blog comment or require them to use it as part of their official work.
Second, the blog, as a government information system, is still an "official record" of the agency's communications with the public. This means anything you post on the NRC blog as a comment is retained permanently and could find its way into uses for regulatory matters unrelated to your concern or intentions in posting the comment,
Third, just because the agency has placed the blog outside official channels doesn't mean the agency's employees aren't reading it. Be careful about any overtly enthusiastic responses. They could come back to haunt you.
For instance, if you represent Betty Jo's nuclear powered screen door company in Whitefish, MT, and you think the NRC has unfairly evaluated your technology, saying so on the blog may not earn a "happy to see you" smile the next time you're in Rockville.
Does the light bulb want to change?
"The blog is intended to build upon our extensive efforts to explain and clarify the actions, roles and responsibilities of the NRC, raise awareness about our agency and its mission, and - most importantly - give us an opportunity to hear from the public."
What's missing from this cheerful statement is what the NRC will do with blog comments. As noted above, the blog is not an official channel for communication. What feedback will agency managers get from the blog and how will they use it?
Grass roots and anti-nuclear groups will likely see the blog as an opportunity for log rolling. In addition to sending waves of contentions for new nuclear reactors through formal channels, they'll tell their members to post comments on the blog. The poor IT staffer at the NRC in charge of comment moderation will need a big, sturdy "delete" button on the keyboard.
Also, media types who want more communication, not less, could find themselves involved with interesting conversations with agency lawyers over comments posted to the blog by the public. If the glacial pace of government decision making elsewhere is any signal, don't expect your comments to show up quickly. A real risk over this "communication thing" is that by the time an even modestly quirky comment gets approved, the audience for it may be long gone.
Sound of one hand clapping?
The NRC public affairs staff is well aware of the world of social media. A key issue is how well people besides the public affairs staff listen to what is said on the blog. That assumes the public or the commission itself take it seriously as an open forum.
If the blog turns out to be just another platform for Chairman Jaczko's anti-Yucca justifications, then it's a waste of cyberspace.
So a question is whether there will be guest blog posts from the other commissioners or even former commissioners?
Also, will commissioners, who have very busy schedules, respond to blog comments or will they assign this role to staff?
The blog represents an opportunity for transparency within the limits of the agency's legal framework. It will take leadership and ownership from the commissioners themselves to make it work. If the blog remains a creature of the PR department, it will descend into the realm of irrelevant chatter.
Unsolicited advice from one blogger to another
Here's my advice to the NRC's blogging staff.
Pay attention to conversations about your "brand" by stakeholders and critics
Produce content and populate social media channels besides the blog, e.g., Youtube.
Note: The NRC is being shredded on YouTube with satire about Jaczko's Yucca tactics.
Have clear goals and objectives, a focus on target audiences, and measure results. Be prepared to adjust the way the blog is managed and the kind of content produced for it,
Authenticity and transparency count. Answer comments and inquiries quickly.
Solicit and use feedback.
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The blog can be reached directly at http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov or by clicking on the blog icon on the NRC website, www.nrc.gov. It can also be accessed on mobile devices such as smart phones by entering the website address in the mobile devices' Web browser.