Hot on the heels of Gordon Brown answering peoples questions on YouTube comes news that the Number 10 web site is being re-designed around WordPress and will have video podcasts as well as RSS feeds and Twitter integrated. All part of the continued drive to communbicate direct with people. The fact that it will mean Number 10 does not have to rely on traditional media (considered hostile) to get his message across is a bonus I guess.

Lessons for business? A lot!

• Employee cascade communications - survey after survey highlights that employee communications from senior management is not working. If senior management had a communication platform like this would that still be the case?
• Marketing - with ever greater pressures on tight budgets cost effective 'narrowcasting' looks even more enticing
• Community - the interactive nature of the tools themselves builds relationships
• Surveys - used creatively interactive tools give you a real time idea of peoples attitudes to your products or services
• Beta platform/customer feedback -a step on from surveys. Why not follow the lead of others (Dell, Lego etc) and get active active engagement with customers of new products and services before launching them formally.

Number 10 will be creating a microsite to cover the PM's tour of the USA. They will be blogging and uploading images plus Twittering. A great way to keep the public and media informed (Note: Research has shown that journalists use blogs etc to get leads for stories)

What could be the business applications for an integrated social media campaign:

• Product 'roadshow' travelling from location to location across Europe with regular updates via blogs, Twitter and podcasts
• Trade shows - daily social news reports including video and audio interviews with customers on the stand
• Senior management employee updates especially where workforce is geographically or time zone based (think NHS - 24 hours/365 - would managers ever be able to see all employees 'face-to-face') 
• Board meeting news reports (now just what does senior management get up to?  Note: I remember a video from circa 1987 of all the US senior Lotus managers in a board meetinmg trying to figure out how to adjust the brand new boardroom chairs. Some of the best brains struggling to read and follow the instructions. I wonder where that ever went? As we were under a critical spotlight at the time - who remembers Vaporware? - it may have made us seem more human at the time or opened us to more mirth in the media.)

I am sure there are lots more practical examples that would apply to your own organisations. 

Although they orginally said that 'we will not respond to direct questions on Twitter' Number 10 seems to have done so. Over at Richard Sambrook's (Head of BBC News) blog he has details of an interesting response from Number 10 to a journalists question.

Number 10 used the recent Progressive Government Summit 2008 to use live blogging. 

Really neat way PM is using social media and Web 2.0 to engage with the public.

I subscribe to Number 10's Tweets. That alerted me to the microsite calling for input to this weekends summit. On there is a YouTube video with Mr Brown asking for input.

The summit is also promoted on the Number 10 website 

I know the goal is 'joined up Government' but this looks like 'joined up social media'.