Everything old is new again, and with
innovative technological advances granting the public greater access to
government, businesses and the community, the rules of traditional
social psychology still apply. As users tap into a new era of
transparency and direct dialogue, it is important to consider that more
access does not always lead to empowerment without an equal advancement
in understanding, critical perspective, and most importantly, an
upgraded BS meter to know when seats at the table may still only be
intended for spectators no matter how its presented.

In historical context (as in six years ago), the mainstreaming of embedded journalism
in the Iraq War was heralded as a breakthrough allowing media across
the spectrum direct access to the war front and troops, comparatively
unfiltered, for broadcast to the American people. This new level of
transparency was instituted in response to criticism from the media
themselves, unsatisfied with the access provided to them during the
first Gulf War and the invasion of Afghanistan.

What resulted in many cases, however, was classic Stockholm Syndrome
- objectivity and critical perspective blew away in the desert sands
when those tasked with reporting on the war conflictingly owed their
lives to the protection of the very people they reported on. And while
this effect may not have been completely apparent to the media as it
was occurring, there was one gatekeeper who saw the benefits of this
perceived access in a controlled environment - the government.

As a military Public Affairs officer at the time, I had the honor
and opportunity to play an instructional role in the troops’
preparation for embedded journalism with the goal of warding them from Lima Syndrome. In the final stages of the elite Army Ranger School
I would pretend to be an embedded journalist during the full-on
operational simulations, crawling through ambushes with the troops,
jumping out of helicopters, wallowing in the more than ample Florida
panhandle mud.  Unknown to the students, I would attempt to subtly
influence them - telling them their families would see them in the
newspapers back home, offering candy to men who were deprived of food
and sleep to the limits of their bodies, making bonds that I would
later attempt to exploit the sweet hell out of to gain sensitive
operational information.

By the end of the day, if I wasn’t under guard with half a dozen
dirty looks cast at me from men sick of my stories back home and
Twizzlers, then I failed to demonstrate that mutual cooperation must
not come at the expense of critical judgment.

Now, in this new era of Government 2.0, Social Media and the rest, a
new level of access promises to provide even greater transparency,
participation and information sharing - and as a result, better
service. Just like many citizens cannot be bothered with educating
themselves on how government and politics work outside of the
soundbites they hear on the news, Cian Dawson observes:

What is desired, however, is the perception that more
information and more opportunity to provide input equates to greater
access to the decision-making process. There is a large disconnect,
however, between what is popularized as transparency and dialogue and
what effectively is in reality - and in between these perceived
outcomes is the potential for a new Stockholm Syndrome that can steer
opinion and sacrifice critical judgment for newer, shallower access to
the same observation window outside the real game.

While true Stockholm Syndrome generally involves life and death
situations, I use this as an example to demonstrate the power dynamic
that exists today none the less, whether you are a constituent, elected
official, government employee or blogger. And besides, the perception
of access and power is a life or death struggle for many in DC. We must
take more than a few moments at each turn and separate ourselves from
the hype and the promise of Government 2.0 and Social Media, and
refocus on the end goals and how to achieve them without allowing
ourselves to be subtly influenced in ways we won’t anticipate.

And for those of us in DC probably starts with one less 2.0 cocktail party a week.