How Much Communication is Too Much?

Blogs. Facebook. Twitter. Websites. Linked  In. My Space. Text Messaging. E-mail Updates. Phone Calls.  All these new-age methods of communicating leads me to ask the question – “How Much Communication is too Much Communication?”

On some days, I would say I average about 30 e-mails between my personal and professional e-mail accounts.  Not all of them are – well – substantive but each relay an important message from somewhere about something.  After e-mail, there are several people I follow on twitter, local blogs I read, news sites I visit to stay up on current events, and friends I enjoy connecting with on Facebook.  I need a few more hours in every day to manage my communication.

As public administrators, we are responsible for keeping up with a fast paced environment being knowledgeable about current events and informed about the community.  With all these messages being communicated, I’m interested to know how others manage.

Mobilizing Public Partners to Serve the Public

As public servants, how do we mobilize our public partners to serve the public?  It isn’t a riddle – it is a problem that I run into frequently with my agency based work.

Here is my issue:  I work on a CDC funded program with my state Department of Health.  The program has a steering committee that functions as a governing body and also has several special interest work groups.  There are about 30 members on the steering committee who each belong to multiple workgroups.  Each of the steering committee members have made a commitment to the program and the subject area.

Overall, meeting attendance is low and momentum is lacking.  A focused steering committee could be mutually beneficial to the Department of Health and the organizations involved.  It seems as if the members of the steering committee don’t have the time – or aren’t making the time to move the program forward and impact the state.

My question is the following – in a fast paced setting – how do you mobilize public partners to serve the public good?  Any ideas/comments would be appreciated.