The illusion of engagement

After the initial excitement over my brief exchange with Downing Street I wrote a piece for the for the Mail & Guardian's Thought Leader blog on the larger question at hand - the illusion of engagement.

...Downing Street is not only using Twitter, it is also reaching out through Flickr and YouTube. It is a good strategy that creates the illusion of a genuine attempt to engage with citizens and may help Downing Street bypass a hostile domestic press.

While many are hailing this as a great move forward in open government, I'm not so sure. It's easy to get blinded by all the fancy Web 2.0 goodness that surrounds this initiative. Yes, it's great that Downing Street is doing this, but let's be honest: Are a few video responses on YouTube really going to mean anything or gauge public opinion when nearly a million people pouring on to the streets of London didn't?

As evangelists of new media, we often get caught up or blinded by its use. One of the things I always remind my team of is : "never drink your own kool-aid".