Tech Daily Dose

Wireless Alerts To Find Missing Kids

The Ad Council is running public-service annoucements aimed at educating people about Wireless AMBER Alerts, text messages that are sent to mobile subscribers as soon as local law enforcers release AMBER Alerts about missing or abducted children. People can get the alerts by registering at www.wirelessamberalerts.org.

Here are two of the ads about the service:

Posted by Danny at 08:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The 'Gold Rats' In Congress

When it comes to value of congressional Web sites, the Congressional Management Foundation will only go so far in its criticism.

As noted in yesterday morning's edition of Technology Daily, the group gave most lawmakers D's for their online presence. It named the lawmakers with the best sites but stopped short of calling out those who have the worst. "It is not our mission to shame people into change," project manager and co-author Tim Hysom said in an interview.

But that's OK because Ben Pershing, who writes the Capitol Briefing blog for The Washington Post, is happy to take the task upon himself -- and his readers. In writing about the foundation's "Gold Mouse" awards yesterday, Pershing invited readers to publicly name the "Gold Rats" who haven't a clue about how to use the Web.

There are no nominations yet, but Republican new media consultant David All, who used to work for Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., had this to say:

They're equally bad on both sides of the aisle. To be fair, most of the members aren't personally to blame for such bad Web sites, but it's in fact the byproduct of the outdated congressional rules which limit a member's use of the Web. In other words, it's against the "rules" to post YouTube videos.

Posted by Danny at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

'Peer To Policy': Toward A 'Wiki-Government'

Here are some telling excerpts from an academic treatise in Democracy: A Journal Of Ideas that is written in predictably dry prose but that is still intriguing because of the subject matter -- incorporating the "wiki" concept of peer collaboration into government decision-making:

Our institutions of governance are characterized by a longstanding culture of professionalism in which bureaucrats -- not citizens -- are the experts. Until recently, we have viewed this arrangement as legitimate because we have not practically been able to argue otherwise. Now we have a chance to do government differently. We have the know-how to create 'civic software' that will help us form groups and communities who, working together, can be more effective at informing decision-making than individuals working alone.

... To bring about the new revolution in governance, the next president ought to issue an executive order requiring that every government agency begin to pilot new strategies for improved decision-making. For example, he or she could require that each agency ... set forth at least one "Peer-to-Policy" experiment to see how it could make its decision-making practices more collaborative.

(Hat tip to Micah Sifry at Personal Democracy Forum)

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Job Corps Gets Hip To YouTube

One of the federal government's oldest continuing programs, Job Corps, has for the first time turned to video-sharing site YouTube to provide parents and students with information about what the initiative has to offer.

Job Corps, which was part of President Lyndon Johnson's " War on Poverty," began in 1964. It is currently managed by the Labor Department as a no-cost education and vocational training effort that helps 16-24 year olds secure job opportunities across the country.

Remarks made by Job Corps Director Esther Johnson as well as testimonials by program participants Tiffany Williams and Kelvin McJunkin and alumnus David Bol were uploaded to YouTube last week, officials said. The footage is from a Job Corps summit held in October.

In addition, a public service announcement was sent to radio stations around the country, Johnson said in an e-mail. The outreach effort fulfills a promise she made to "do whatever we could to spread the word and market the wonderful opportunities that Job Corps offers its students."

The YouTube videos are here, here, here, here, and here.

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DOJ Launches Real Estate Site

Antitrust officials at the Justice Department launched a new Web site on Wednesday aimed at educating consumers and policymakers about the potential benefits that competition can bring in the arena of real estate brokerage services.

The site includes maps identifying states with real estate laws that can inhibit competitiveness, a calculator to help users tally their potential savings when brokers pursuing new business models compete for their business, and links to additional government resources.

The estimated median commission paid by home sellers in 2006 was $11,672, but new brokerage models have the potential to reduce that by thousands of dollars, officials said. But in a number of states, laws make it illegal for brokers to offer rebates or requiring them to offer services that consumers may not want, the agency said.

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Putting Congress Members' Schedules Online

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says if some members of Congress want to put their daily schedules online "that's excellent" -- but don't expect her to do it.

"I'm certainly not publishing my schedule on the Internet. I have enough security problems as it is," Pelosi said. In response to a follow up question about just listing who she is meeting with without saying where, Pelosi she said she tends to meet with fellow legislators. She added she doesn't think publishing lawmakers' personal schedules is something that will make a difference in open government.

Pelosi spoke during a press conference to celebrate President Bush signing lobbying and ethics reform legislation Friday afternoon.

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Coming Soon: Digital Dinero?

Mark your calendars! A new $5 bill design will be unveiled online next month, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced Tuesday. The tech-savvy project is aimed at "staying ahead of counterfeiters by using the latest advances in technology to enhance the bill's security," officials said.

The Sept. 20 virtual launch will also provide an opportunity "to engage people in the public education process," said Dawn Haley, chief of external relations at the bureau. Moneyfactory.gov's "new money" page has already gotten 200 million hits since its launch in May 2003 and receives about 280,000 unique visitors each month.

The Fed is banking on its "'Wi-5" theme to "get consumers excited about the new bill" and encourage folks to learn more about its security features. An online Q&A for reporters and podcasts will round out the bill's digital debut.

Streaming video of man-on-the-street interviews will be posted on the site, which will showcase consumers identifying the new $5 bill's updated security features, the bureau said. What's next? The $100 bill will get a facelift after the $5 bill is issued in early 2008.

Care to send some free samples my way?

Posted by Andrew at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Feds Who Edit Wikipedia

Excerpted from Government Executive's Tech Insider Blog:

Who is editing most of the entries on Wikipedia, the open online encyclopedia that anyone can edit? For government agencies, NASA wins by a large margin, according to the Web site WikiScanner.

The government agencies that have been cited by WikiScanner for more than 1,000 edits to Wikipedia entries are listed below. The number represents the number of times a computer at that government organization was used to edit an entry on Wikipedia.

1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa.gov) 6,846
2. Department Of Veterans Affairs (va.gov) 4,210
3. Forestry And Fire Protection (ca.gov) 4,148
4. Dept Homeland Security (dhs.gov) 4,081
5. Information Systems U.S. House Of Representatives (house.gov) 3,736
6. National Institutes Of Health (nih.gov) 3,019
7. U.S. Courts (uscourts.gov) 2,869
8. U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture (usda.gov) 2,435
9. City Of New York (nyc.gov) 2,404
10. Salem Public Schools (ct.gov) 2,398

Read the full blog post and lengthier list here.

Posted by Andrew at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dan Rather Causes E-Voting Flap

HDNet's Dan Rather is making waves with his new report that Election Systems &Software, one of the nation's largest e-voting manufacturers, assembles voting machines in the Philippines -- in sweatshop-style factories.

Rather's hour-long report is available online. Rather digs deep and interviews a former ES&S worker from the Philippines who claims the company regularly provided voting jurisdictions in the U.S. with faulty equipment.

Kim Zetter at Wired News' Threat Level blog already has done some interesting follow-up work on the HDNet report. She wrote yesterday that ES&S failed to disclose its Manila facility to the Election Assistance Commission. Vendors are required to report to the EAC the locations of all their manufacturing and assembly facilities.

ES&S responded to Zetter's post this morning, and said it was an "unintentional oversight" that it did not report the Manila facility.
-- Michael Martinez

Posted by Andrew at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rep. Miller Breaks New 'Web 2.0' Ground

Cross-posted at Beltway Blogroll

Rep. George Miller is getting some bipartisan blog love for a new interactive campaign against the Iraq war that is engaging voters via blogs, online social networks, podcasts and Web video.

Both Republican new media strategist David All and self-avowed "lefty" Colin Delany of e.politics mentioned the effort, as did the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet.

Technology Daily is on top of the story, too, thanks to our e-government/Web 2.0 expert, Aliya Sternstein. You can read her story from yesterday PM Edition in the extended entry.

Continue reading "Rep. Miller Breaks New 'Web 2.0' Ground" »

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Does The Government Get A Second Life?

Governments can survive in the online community of so-called Web 2.0 if they adapt written policies and technical infrastructures first -- before experimenting with the online alternate universe, Gartner Research analysts said on Wednesday.

Thriving in the new virtual landscape requires governments to change their mindset about serving the public, said Andrea Di Maio, a vice president at Gartner Research.

At present, the government wants to establish its Web site as the portal of choice for all citizen services and inquiries -- and is struggling to do so. A one-stop shop for services is not the right approach, Di Maio said.
When people move into a new home, they eventually need the government to change their postal address, but, in the midst of the big life change, that is the last item on their checklist.

"The first thought is: I need electricity and gas and water," Di Maio said. Agencies should link their Web services to other popular Web sites, like those belonging to utility companies, to better accommodate citizens. In this manner, private sector Web sites act as an intermediary in delivering government services.

Di Maio described Web 2.0 as both a blessing and a curse at the G-Con Gartner Government Conference on Wednesday.

Continue reading "Does The Government Get A Second Life?" »

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The SEC's 'Vast Electronic Filing Cabinet'

For Chairman Christopher Cox, moving the Securities and Exchange Commission into the information technology world is a top priority. Taking advantage of modern technology to further the commission's goals was a major theme in the chairman's prepared testimony Tuesday before the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee.

Cox said the SEC's current online system, known as EDGAR, is "just a vast electronic filing cabinet" that "doesn't allow you to manage all of that information in ways that investors commonly need."

As a result, financial firms that can afford it get most of their information from middlemen who put the data into more useful forms, he said. The process is expensive, inefficient, creates errors, and "feeds the notion that the rich and the highly sophisticated have a leg up in today's markets," Cox said.

"The SEC expects to rename the EDGAR system in 2007," Cox noted. "In all, the commission is investing $54 million over several years to build the infrastructure to support widespread adoption of interactive data."

The $905.3 million budget request for fiscal 2008 "will allow the SEC to continue its commitment to information technology, which has the potential both to reduce regulatory costs and to give investors vastly more useful information than what they receive today," he added.

Cox said various technology improvements "will make the SEC more productive, and give both investors and taxpayers better value for their money."

He also reiterated his push for interactive data: "In the very near future, investors will be able to easily search through and make sense of the mountains of financial data contained in current company disclosures."

See Technology Daily's PM story for more details on Cox's testimony.

-- Winter Casey

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Open Access To Government-Funded Research

As reported in yesterday afternoon's Technology Daily:

Action on legislation to open access to government-funded research is likely in the 110th Congress, a key observer said Monday.

Heather Joseph, executive director of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, said in an interview that free, online access to research normally only available in expensive journals would allow cash-strapped institutes and scientists to get the most cutting-edge research.

"It's a competitive advantage. It builds innovation," she said, adding that bipartisan competitiveness initiatives could fuel passage of the legislation.

Another factor in favor of action now is that one of the sponsors of the bill, independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, now chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His previous proposal would have directed agencies that spend more than $100 million annually in funding outside research to publicly post electronic manuscripts of peer-reviewed articles within six months of original publication.

Posted by Danny at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)