www.socialsecurity.gov

GREG PACE: THANK YOU, EDWIN. I WON'T BE BEFORE YOU
LONG BECAUSE I AM BETWEEN YOU AND LUNCH.
AND BY THE WAY, EDWIN SAID THOSE OF YOU
THAT VOTED NUMBER ONE, YOU WERE VERY -- YOU
ENJOYED THIS SESSION TODAY. HE SAID MEET HIM OUT BACK
AND HE'LL PAY YOUR PRIZE. FIRST OF ALL,
LET'S THANK ALL OF OUR SPEAKERS TODAY.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE, PLEASE. (APPLAUSE)
I HOPE YOU REALLY ENJOYED TODAY. I KNOW I HAVE.
JUST SITTING WATCHING YOU INTERACT AND LOOKING AT THE
DISPLAYS IN THE BACK WHICH WILL BE THERE FOR ANOTHER
HOUR AFTER WE ARE DONE HERE. BUT A FEW POINTS I WANT TO
MAKE BEFORE I LET YOU GO. NUMBER ONE, I HOPE THAT
SOMETHING YOU HAVE SEEN OR HEARD TODAY WILL INSPIRE YOU
TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO HELP US AS AN AGENCY AND DELIVER
OUR MISSION IN AN OPEN, TRANSPARENT, COLLABORATIVE,
AND PARTICIPATORY MANNER. BECAUSE AFTER ALL,
THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE. WE SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
EACH ONE OF US. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO IN THIS
BUILDING OR THE BUILDINGS AROUND THE COUNTRY OR FOR
THAT MATTER AROUND THE WORLD, WE ARE HERE BECAUSE WE SERVE.
WE ARE NOT HERE BECAUSE WE ARE EMPLOYEES.
NUMBER TWO, SOME OF US HAVE BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK A FEW TIMES.
YOU KNOW THAT SERVER WE TOOK ABOUT THE SILENT GENERATION
AND THE BOOMERS, ET CETERA. WELL, I DON'T KNOW ANYBODY THAT
VOTED FOR THE SILENT GENERATION. BUT FOR SOME BOOMERS,
IT IS A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO TRY AND ADOPT THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
WE FIND IT A LITTLE BIT UNSETTLING TO GET
INTO THE SOCIAL MEDIA. YOU KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING
WITH BOOMERS AS WELL AS WITH THE SILENT GENERATION?
THE GRAND KIDS AND THE GREAT GRAND KIDS ARE SAYING,
HEY, LOOK AT THIS, POP. THEY ARE TURNING US ON TO
THOSE KINDS OF TECHNOLOGIES. SO IT IS HAPPENING.
AND I'M GLAD IT IS HAPPENING BECAUSE THAT IS ANOTHER WAY OF
ENSURING THAT WE STARTED OUT WITH THE PRESENTATION TODAY,
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WAS BUY A LITTLE TOT.
THAT LITTLE TOT TOMORROW WILL BE HERE WE ARE.
SO WE HAVE TO JOIN WITH THEM TO BE OPEN, TRANSPARENT,
COLLABORATIVE, AND PARTICIPATORY, BECAUSE THEY ARE
GOING TO GROW UP THAT WAY. AND YOU KNOW WHAT
IS GOING TO HAPPEN? AS THEY GET OLDER,
THEY ARE GOING TO BE TAKING CARE OF US.
AND WE DEFINITELY WANT THEM TO DO A GOOD JOB.
WHICHEVER GROUP YOU FIT IN, AS YOU HEAD BACK TO YOUR
OFFICES, I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO EXAMINE THE PRINCIPLES
OF OPEN GOVERNMENT WITH AN EXPANDED MIND.
THAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF TODAY. TO BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS AND TO
INTRODUCE THE SUBJECT TO SOME, TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO
GET MORE FULLY INVOLVED, AND TO REALIZE IT IS NOT
ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY. IT IS ABOUT THE
PEOPLE WHO USE IT. IF YOU ARE TALKING TO ANOTHER
COMPUTER, WHAT HAVE YOU GAINED? BUT IF YOU ARE TALKING
TO AN INDIVIDUAL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT DEVICE,
WHETHER IT BE A SMART PHONE, OR AN IPAD OR EVEN A TELEPHONE,
PEOPLE WILL ENJOY THAT. BECAUSE YOU ARE
CONNECTING WITH THEM. YOU ARE LOOKING TO THEM
EYE TO EYE ACROSS A TEXT. LITTLE DIFFERENT SOMETIMES WHEN
PEOPLE SEND YOU A TEXT MESSAGE AND YOU GET -- AS A
MATTER OF FACT, TRUE STORY. REAL QUICK.
DO YOU FIND YOURSELF WHEN YOU TEXT THAT WHEN YOU TAKE NOTES IN
A MEETING YOU ARE ACTUALLY USING THE SAME KIND OF TECHNOLOGY?
YOU ARE SITTING THERE WRITING "2" INSTEAD OF
SPELLING OUT THE WORD? THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS.
IT BECOMES PERVASIVE. SO AS WE GET OLDER,
AS TIME PASSES, AS THE WORLD BECOMES MORE
AND MORE ADAPT AT USING THESE KINDS OF TECHNIQUES,
WE ARE GOING TO FIND OURSELVES CHANGING AND
BECOME EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE. BECAUSE WHEN OUR SERVICE PEOPLE,
WHO PROVIDE THE SERVICE TO THE CONSTITUENTS CAN RECOGNIZE,
THAT PERSON CAN DEAL WITH ME, WALKING IN, OVER THE PHONE,
OVER THE INTERNET, OVER A SMART PHONE,
SOME OTHER DEVICE, AND THEY WALK AWAY SAYING,
I AM SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICE I RECEIVED IN SOCIAL SECURITY,
THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT. ONCE AGAIN, THE DEMONSTRATION
BOOTHS WILL BE OPEN FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR SO.
I WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ATTENDING OUR PROGRAM.
ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR DAY. AND REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE,
BE OPEN. THANK YOU.
(APPLAUSE)