Conversationblog

Some stories are too nice not to cover... imagine this;

The Belgian Minister of Defense goes on an official trip to one of my favorite cities; New York.

After work he and his delegation enter a bar and, according to a Dutch eye witness (the barmaid) Minister De Crem gets drunk and behaves "unprofessionally"... The barmaid goes on to say that one of the colleagues of the Minister told her that the delegation "missed" their counterparts who are supposedly in Geneva, making the trip to the US supposedly completely obsolete...

Of course, Nathalie Libbe-Bakker, the barmaid, keeps a blog and writes this all down in a nice little blogpost (in Dutch)... As the blogosphere is known for its global and very speedy nature it doesn't take long until the topic is discussed in the Belgian Parliament.... and Ms. Libbe-Bakker is fired by the bar owner. Minister De Crem explains his use of time & Parliament is convinced he needed to be in New York...

But it is during the debate in the Belgian Parliament that the following, almost incredible words are spoken:

"I would like to use this occasion and "non event" to point out a dangerous phenomenon in our society; we're living in times where everyone is allowed to publish on blogs, when they please and without any form of responsibility.." (Dixit Pieter De Crem, Minister of Defense)

So it is dangerous when people are allowed to voice their opinion...?! It is dangerous when "the people" are allowed to "publish"... ?!

I have 3 reaction to this :

As a taxpayer & citizen:

• I expect every civil servant to be transparent about his/her expenses and use of time during their hours of service.
• Even more, for public figures like Ministers, I do expect they behave with dignity at all times if and when they are in public places.
• Don't touch my freedom of speech... ever.

As a blogger:

• I am not a dangerous phenomenon nor are my blogger colleagues around the globe.
• Most of us do behave responsibly and we value transparency, correct information, and honesty very highly.
• Don't touch my freedom of speech... ever.

As a Public Relations professional to the political establishment:

• Please start looking at social media as one the most important collection of tools to re-establish this "real dialogue" with the people you have al been looking for...
• Two way communications is so much more powerful than your empty slogans and top down broadcasting.
• Monitor what's being said online about you and your party and if you don't like it, use the tools and systems made available by the Constitution, don't say irresponsible things...
• Start to understand that the world is a really small village of interconnected citizens who will give you feedback, loud and clear, even if you haven't asked for any.
• When you're in a "tight spot" - tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth.
• And lastly... Don't touch my freedom of speech... ever.

This story has turned into a blogstorm and will definitely linger on in the Belgian Blogosphere but apart from the "Minister and Barmaid" angle it holds very important food for thought on how we will make sure that freedom of speech AND privacy are respected, all at the same time.

Is privacy and transparency shifting ? Are these concepts itself changing over time ? And in case someone else is fearing for his freedom of speech; what is the law saying and how will it protect us ?

I would love to hear what Mr. De Crem's lawyers will advise and tell him. Please do share with us... or maybe that's dangerous as well...?

Read more about this story on the following blogs (most in Dutch though); Blogologie, Ondernemer in Gent, Pietel, and the French blog of the RTBF and Techcrunch in English.

Update on Friday, November 28, 2008 at 17:50 by Philippe Borremans

I was interviewed (in Dutch) by the Belgian Radio 1 station on the topic - tune in on Saturday (tomorrow) at 12H00 to listen.