Federal Webmasters Onboard for Online Government

or, "Another step toward nerd rule"...?

Looks like the folks who run Federal Web sites got the idea of more effective and honest government years ago, but didn't get heard 'til recently. The deal is that as a community, we're ready to seriously move ahead towards networked, grassroots democracy. That means increasing involvement from the citizenry and public servants, probably in many public/private partnerships.

Micah Sifry of TechPresident.com just published a letter from them at Putting Citizens First: Transforming Online Govt White Paper. The bottom line:

President-elect Obama should be able to promise the American people that when they need government information and services online, they will be able 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.

Tom Watson points out:

The new Administration should "need to build on the groundswell of citizen participation in the presidential campaign and make people's everyday interactions with their government easier and more transparent," says the paper.

...

Running this gargantuan online network means empowering a vast cadre of managers to do their work - it means giving them the power to make decisions about email and social media, for example.

Follow Craig Newmark on Twitter: www.twitter.com/craignewmark

Comments

[anonimost]

I hope things can be more efficient and transparent. However, we must all remember the red tape and bueracracy are intentional because that is how the government gets to employ many many unnecessary people but has "created jobs."

The IRS would be easier if we had a flat tax, yes. But look how many people in the IRS would lose their jobs. A lot of people in California were moved from welfare to "workfare" and went to work for the state i.e. Medi-Cal where they bumbled along doing nothing but at least had "jobs" while the State cut payments to doctors and hospitals to pay for these "jobs/"

When the government just creates jobs let's remember that is a deliberate, contrived act. I don't know if or where government jobs are needed but I am sure that if we are going to have a more efficient government a whole overhaul of redundant jobs, jobs for paper pushers and a** scratcher jobs have to be done away with.