techPresident - Daily Digest: 6/22/07 - Comments

Internet 2.0 for Government?

Peter Erickson — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 06:22:49 -0400

I have a MyDD diary up that mostly poses a lot of questions. I'd be really curious about everyone's thoughts here:
The internet has been seen as a tool for further transparency, as a new means of disseminating information, but what about all the other things it could do for government? Just as political campaigns are now discovering that a website is no longer about merely posting position papers and photos --- but about fostering contacts between supporters, engaging them in the campaign, soliciting ideas, and creating new possibilities for interaction with their candidate, it's time that we expand our thinking about the role that the web can play in honest and open government.
Obama just might be starting to applying these same lessons not only to his political campaign but to his style of governance. In the diary, I try to work out a list of Obama's proposals for opening up regulatory hearings, making his cabinet officials more accessible to the public, etc. It seems like a start anyway.

Great finds!

Micah L. Sifry — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:22:11 -0400

psericks: Thanks for spotting both of those stories!
Micah

Iowans spend less time on the internet?

Peter Erickson — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:53:24 -0400

Jeff Zeleny NYTimes interviews Obama campaign manager David Plouffe:
"But since the race is scheduled to open with the Iowa caucuses, tentatively set for Jan. 14, the Obama campaign is focusing considerable attention on the state. Mr. Plouffe said the campaign is tracking the Internet usage of Democrats and has found that a smaller share of the voters in Iowa are actively engaged on the Web than in New Hampshire, so the campaign is factoring that into its organizing efforts."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/us/politics/22web-zeleny.html?8dpc

Obama's Ethics Reform: Live web-chats with Cabinet Members?

Peter Erickson — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:31:36 -0400

Tucked into Obama's ethics reform package announced today -- that he pledges to sign as an executive order on his first day in office -- are a couple of interesting internet-related sunshine provisions:

"(1) SUNLIGHT BEFORE SIGNING: As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days. And Obama will sign legislation in the light of day without attaching signing statements that undermine the legislative intent.
(2) 21ST CENTURY FIRESIDE CHATS: Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband town hall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies.
(4) CONDUCT REGULATORY AGENCY BUSINESS IN PUBLIC: Obama will require his appointees who lead the Executive Branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can see in person or watch on the Internet as the agencies debate and deliberate the issues that affect American society. Videos of meetings will be archived on the web, and the transcript will be available to the public. Obama will also require his nominees to commit to employ all the technological tools available to allow average citizens not just to observe, but to participate and be heard on the issues that affect their daily lives."

Here's a MyDD journal on the topic:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/6/22/94735/7613
And a link to Obama's website with the full details:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/corruption/
(Click on the buttons on the middle-right.)

Daily Digest: 6/22/07

Joshua Levy — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:35:58 -0400

The Web on the Candidates

Todd Zeigler at the Bivings Report articulates a strategy I've been trying to find the words for: he calls Ron Paul's dependence on third-party sites for campaign video, campaign news, scheduling, photo sharing, and social networking "distributed online campaigning." "His website is basically a mashup of all this stuff, with only a few core functions being performed by the website itself," Zeigler writes. "Obviously, as a long shot candidate with a limited budget, the use of these free tools is done out of necessity. But the strategy here is also very sound: by not giving supporters much to do on his own site he maximizes the amount of noise they make in other venues. It is the perfect approach for an insurgent candidate like Paul."