Another election day, another reminder that the divide between government and everyday people is as wide as ever. People don’t feel heard, they don’t understand what elected officials are thinking, they can’t figure out how “the system” works. So often with government it’s not that it’s bad customer service, most of the time it’s that there’s NO customer service.

Despite the background roar of frustration (nothing new), there are successes to celebrate out there. The social web is creating a whole new path for turning constituent relations around for government agencies. Whether it’s the great state of Texas or the New York City Comptroller’s Office, smart agencies are exploding the notion of us vs. them. Instead they’re creating public spaces for constituents to help each other and work with them to understand what’s working and what’s not. What were faceless bureaucrats become neighbors and friends in the context of community interaction. And what starts off as a place for peer-to-peer help and feedback, can quickly turn into the kind of civic/social involvement that people say they want.

Given this, it’s no wonder that we’re now seeing a steady drumbeat of attention placed on customer service from government agencies large and small. Suddenly, everyone wants to embrace the ideas of transparency and direct involvement, so important in the last Presidential election and in Haiti’s disaster relief effort.

But it’s a lot harder than it looks! It’s like wrestling a crocodile trying to change the mindset of an organization that is used to controlling all communications, and there are practical concerns like accessibility standards and integration into existing programs.

That’s why I’m excited to attend the Gov 2.0 Summit in Washington D.C. on September 7-8. The overall schedule is astounding, and I’m honored to be speaking on a panel with Craig Newmark (Craigslist) and Peter Levin (Department of Veterans Affairs) called Improving Customer Service. There’s certainly a lot to talk about, so I hope I’ll see you there!