Technology

Bob Bauer is one of the folks helping fix some major problems in American government by helping articulate and address a major problem. His work is of major importance, reminding us that lobbying often is in the public interest or is just about someone getting a fair shake for their clients.

This is a really big deal. Read more...

WhiteHouse.gov is a great start, and is part of something much bigger that we're only beginning to understand.

It's part of a number of social media efforts that also include recovery.gov, nationalservice.gov, the new HealthReform.gov and the entirety of the accountability and transparency movement. Read more...

The old cliché that there is no such thing as a free lunch is being tested in a variety of ways in modern society.

The newspaper business is finding that out the hard way.

Newspapers survive by charging people to buy their new newspapers and by charging advertisers to run their ads so that the people who buy newspapers will see (if not read) their advertisements. Read more...

Y'know, sometimes big things happen when really good people get together — maybe even inflection points in American history. We don't normally notice until years later, but social media changes that.

I spoke early at this conference, discussing the good work being done by the Federal Web Managers Council, the Sunlight Foundation and many others. They're doing real work which I feel will result in big improvements regarding the way we govern ourselves. Read more...

Like most other unhealthy, neurotic Washington-based news junkies, the last thing I do before turning in at night is to check my BlackBerry just one last time for any evening news developments. I then dutifully place the little contraption that rules all on the nightstand about two inches from my face.

And yes, if I happen to awaken during the night, more likely than not I will take a quick glance just to make sure I haven’t missed anything important. Like I said, it is an unhealthy, neurotic, unbalanced way to live, but I suspect I am not alone in my electro-nocturnal habits.

Last night was no exception. Read more...

The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) has now made its data archives freely downloadable at its site, OpenSecrets.org. There you'll find 200 million campaign finance, lobbying and other money-in-politics records, going back 20 years in some cases.

As usual, Ellen Miller from Sunlight Foundation delivers the gist: Read more...

I'm just a dilettante; here's some much better advice from Candi at Candi on Content. She's part of the solution:

Web governance has perplexed government web managers for years. Because web management has been — basically — a grassroots effort in the government (many government websites were born bottom-up … not top-down), web managers have struggled to get the attention of higher-ups to get the right pieces in place.

Read more...

I've worked with Alec and can say he'll really help the U.S. work more effectively with the world. This is for real.

Check out Diplomatic Efforts Get Tech Support. Read more...

TechPresident.com is the major hub for networked grassroots democracy and Internet-based government reform. The good news is that government people who are genuine public servants have gotten the OK to address the public directly. (We need that in corporations also.)

Check out her introductory piece on techPresident: Read more...

Just getting the word out about one use of the Web for better service. The TSA blog from the Transportation Security Administration has been groundbreaking in providing two-way communications that have resulted in real improvements. It's used to gauge public opinion, act on public feedback and change or update policy and operations based on that feedback. Complaints about screening procedures have resulted in actual changes in days, as opposed to months. Read more...