USA could teach our politicians something. We need that change too. We need it badly here in Italy. We spent more than 15 milions Euros since 2007 to get www.italia.it and guess what? It’s gone. Offline. Like our money. Ain’t this country great?!
And by the way they’re still working on it. Not to get the agenda online but to attract more tourists and to reinforce the “Italy” brand. How useful for the citizens! Ain’t this country great?!
Time for something serious: go read the WhiteHouse Blog.
To me it’s a good start: you can’t lead USA without being “connected”… I mean with the people, using everyday technology.
The Internet medium gives way more opportunities to interact with people than ordinary TV, Radio or Newspapers. You get comments, reviews, suggestions. Anytime, from anywhere. Government is participation, participation is government.
You can read more here: Change Has Come to the WhiteHouse.gov.
Communication — Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. Check out the briefing room, keep tabs on the blog (RSS feed) and take a moment to sign up for e-mail updates from the President and his administration so you can be sure to know about major announcements and decisions.
Transparency — President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise. The President’s executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that’s just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government. You can also learn about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President’s policy priorities.
Participation — President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.
Also go and see The Agenda. It’s really nice.
People should be able to interact with the agenda as well: to discuss specific topics. I know it’s kind of utopic, but, as I said before, the new WhiteHouse.gov is a really nice start.
By thw way: how long did it take to build that website? I am a developer and I can tell you that to build a website like that you don’t need years nor a dozen milions of euros. Go tell it to our government (should you ever get a chance to communicate with them…)
