“There are about 24,000 U.S. Government Web sites now online.”
“Only a minority of government agencies have developed strong Web policies and management controls. Some have hundreds of “legacy” Web sites with outdated or irrelevant content.”
“We have too much content to categorize, search, and manage effectively, and there is no comprehensive system for removing or archiving old or underused content.”
“Agencies should be required and funded to regular content reviews, to ensure their online content is accurate. relevant, mission-related, and written in plain language. They should have a process for archiving content that is no longer in frequent use and no longer required on the Web site.”
According to my twitter search RSS feed, the term “Government 2.0” is increasing in frequency and popularity. More bloggers and more blog posts continue to emerge on what and how government should improve its online Web presence, leveraging social media. Thus, I was enthused to read last week’s report from the experts themselves: government, to accomplish just this.
Last week, the Federal Web Managers Council, comprised of Cabinet agency Web Directors released its study titled, “Putting Citizens First: Transforming Online Government.” Its purpose is to “recommend specific strategies for revolutionizing how the U.S. Government delivers online services to the American people.
One of the most exciting pieces of the report (in my opinion) is what I understand as the government’s endorsement for more social media:
“The Government should use social media, not just to create transparency, but also to help people accomplish core tasks…To do this, the government must ensure that federal employees who need access to social media tools have them, and that these new ways of delivering content are available to all, including people with disabilities.”
Within this document, the Federal Web Managers Council also reveal their shared vision for the government’s presence online. This vision is for the public to:
- Easily find relevant, accurate, and up-to-date information
- Understand information the first time they read it
- Complete common tasks efficiently
- Get the same answer whether they use the Web, phone, email, live chat, read a brochure, or visit in-person.
- Provide feedback and ideas and hear what the government will do with them
- Access critical information if they have a disability or aren’t proficient in English.
The list of recommendations is not limited to but includes:
- Establish Web Communications as a core government business function
- Help the public complete common government tasks efficiently
- Clean up clutter so people can find what they need online
- Engage the public in a dialogue to improve our customer service
- Ensure under-served populations can access critical information online.
For more information or to read the report in its entirety, the full report is available here.
Your Turn: What do think of the recommendations, how would you prioritize and what else might you include?
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and/or connect with me on Twitter – @socialbttrfly.
For those that have been following the “Let Our Congress Tweet Campaign,” the news is in. Congress can now Tweet (as well as YouTube, Flickr and other 3rd-party sites) when communicating with constituents.
This campaign was the 1st official policy issue brought forth through Twitter. Individuals supporting the campaign were asked to tweet:
“Congress, change the rules. Talk to us on our social networks. http://letourcongresstweet.org/ Let Our Congress Tweet! #LOCT08.”
The campaign with links to media coverage can be found here. In response, the Sunlight Foundation has created @CAPITOLTWEETS has been created for those who want to receive tweets sent out by members of Congress. This allows interested individuals can get a @CAPITOLTWEETS widget to include on their blog or Web site if desired that updates every 10 minutes with tweets from Congress members.
The rulings official wording is and can be found on Speaker Pelosi’s blog:
In addition to their official (house.gov) Web site, a Member may maintain another Web site(s), channel(s) or otherwise post material on third-party Web sites. (more…)
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Related, in June, I compiled a list of ALL government Twitter accounts available. This post has been very popular, and many more have since been a) suggested and b) created. Thus, here is the update, beginning with none other than….Congress members who Twitter. Colleague @ariherzog also maintains the Government page on the Twitter fan wiki for future updates. Enjoy!
U.S. Senate
- Votes from the Senate floor
- @NRSC – National Republican Senatorial Committee
- Joe Biden (D-Del.)
- Sen. John McCain (R-Az.)
- Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)
- Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)
- Chris Dodd (D-Conn.)
- Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
- Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
- Barack Obama (D-Ill.)
U.S. House of Representatives
- Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)
- Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.)
- Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
- John Boehner (R-Ohio)
- John Boozman (R-Ark.)
- Michael Burgess (R-Texas)
- Dan Burton (R-Ind.)
- Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
- John Culberson (R-Texas)
- Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)
- Randy Forbes (R-Va.)
- Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.)
- Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.)
- Tom Latham (R-Iowa)
- Bob Latta (R-Ohio)
- Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.)
- Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.)
- Candice Miller (R-Mich.)
- George Miller (D-Calif.)
- Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
- Tom Price (R-Ga.)
- Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.)
- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (D-Fla.)
- Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)
- Christopher Shays (R-Conn.)
- John Shimkus (R-Ill.)
- Mark Udall (D-Colo.)
- Tom Udall (D-N.M.)
- Joe Wilson (R-S.C.)
- Rob Wittman (R-Va.)
- John Yarmuth (D-Ky.)
- Ron Paul (R-Texas) (FAKE PROFILE)
Executive Branch (including Cabinet, departments, and agencies)
- The White House: Communications Office
- The White House: Office of National Drug Control Policy
- Department of Agriculture: Food Safety Information Center
- Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Sanctuary
- Department of Defense: DipNote Blog, @dipnote
- Department of Defense: Maxine Teller, Public Affairs
- Department of Defense: Mark Drapeau, Research Fellow, National Defense University
- Department of Defense: US Joint Forces Command
- Department of Defense: Department of Army: US Army
- Department of Defense: Department of Navy: Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division: HJ Armstrong, public affairs
- Department of Energy: Argonne National Laboratory
- Department of Health & Human Services: AIDS.gov (AIDS Conference)
- Department of Health & Human Services: AIDS.gov (Main)
- Department of Health & Human Services: National Institutes of Health: NIH Communications Office
- Department of Health & Human Services: National Institutes of Health: Jim Angus
- Department of Health & Human Services: Office on Women’s Health
- Department of Homeland Security: Emergency Preparedness
- Department of Homeland Security: Leadership Journal
- Department of Homeland Security: Transportation Security Administration blog team
- Department of Homeland Security: US Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Department of Interior: National Park Service: Brooks Camp at Katmai National Park
- Department of Interior: National Park Service: National Center for Preservation Technology & Training
- Department of State: Country-specific Information, travel department
- Department of State: Dipnote, official blog feed
- Department of State: US Embassy, London
- Environmental Protection Agency: EPA
- Environmental Protection Agency: EPA News Releases
- Environmental Protection Agency: Greenversations blog
- General Services Administration: Federal Citizen Information Center
- GSA: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: GovGab
- GSA: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: GobiernoUSA.gov
- GSA: Office of Citizen Services and Communications: USA.gov
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Astrobiology Institute
- NASA: CoLab, advising and consulting on NASA collaboration
- NASA: Desert RATS
- NASA: Earth Observatory, echoed at Natural Hazard
- NASA: GLAST
- NASA: Hubble Space Telescope
- NASA: Jason-1 project
- NASA: Kepler
- NASA: Lunar Atmosphere & Dust Environment Explorer
- NASA: Lunar Crater Observation & Sensing Satellite
- NASA: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- NASA: NanoSail-D mission, first solar sail created for nanosatellites
- NASA: NASA EDGE
- NASA: PharmaSat
- NASA: PreSat
- NASA: Public Affairs
- NASA: Solar Dynamics Observatory
- NASA: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
- NASA: Emma Antunes, web manager
- NASA: Ames Research Center: Public Affairs Office
- NASA: Ames Research Center: Kimberly Ennico, payload scientist
- NASA: Goddard Space Flight Center: Linda Cureton, chief information officer
- NASA: Goddard Space Flight Center: Ravi Sharma, engineer
- NASA: Innovative Partnerships Program: Doug Comstock, director
- NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Cassini, flying around Saturn
- NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Earth Vital Signs
- NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Mars Exploration Rover
- NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: News, unofficial feed, not endorsed by JPL
- NASA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Phoenix Mars Lander
- NASA: Langley Research Center: Bil Kleb, computational aerothermodynamist
- NASA: Marshall Space Flight Center: Daniel Kanigan, public affairs
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: Chris Rasmussen, social software knowledge manager/trainer
- Office of Personnel Management: OPM
- Securities and Exchange Commission: SEC Investor Education
- Social Security Administration: Lee Alviar, public affairs specialist in Dallas
- U.S. Geological Survey: USGS
- U.S. Geological Survey: Earthquake & Tsunami Warning
- U.S. Geological Survey: Dave Govoni, paleontologist
- U.S. Intelligence Community: Andrea Baker
- U.S. Intelligence Community: Heather Cox
- U.S. Intelligence Community: John Hale
- U.S. Peace Corps
- U.S. Small Business Administration: Business.Gov
Additional
- Bob Barr (L), former U.S. Representative from Georgia, presidential candidate in 2008
- John Edwards (D), former U.S. Senator from North Carolina, presidential candidate in 2004 and 2008
- @secgen – The U.N. Secretary General
- @peacecorps – The Peace Corps
- L.A. California Fire Department
- Mike Huckabee – Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate
U.S. State Government Leaders
- @schwarzenegger – California Gov. Arnold Schwarsenegger
- @GovernorGibbons – Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (No longer actice and beware the fake account @FakeGibbons)
- @govgranholm – Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm
- @johncherry – Michigan Lieutenant Gov. John Cherry
- @PeterKinder – Missouri Lieutenant Gov. Peter Kinder
- Mark Boughton, Mayor of Danbury, Connecticut
- R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota
U.S. State Government
- @coloradogov – Colorado Government
- @kygov – Kentucky Government
- @vermontgov – Vermont Government
- @UtahGov – Utah Government
- @SCGOV – South Carolina Government
- @www_maine_gov – Maine Government
- @rigov – Rhode Island Government
- @wsdot – Washington State Department of Transportation
- @NevDCNR – Nevada Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
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