Public=Online

I'm at an event at Google D.C. HQ right now, hosted by the Sunlight Foundation, along with lots of government geeks and IT nerds.

The event is the launch of a new government transparency initiative. The guiding ideas: 1) If it's not online, it's not really public. 2) If public officials are not online, they're not really accessible.

It's called Public=Online.

Not much to add to the title besides: duh.

Comments

[J sub D]

It's the 21st century. Has been for 9 years and 2.7 months. Most FOIA requests should already be easily available with a Google search.

That they aren't is because the government does not want the public to know how it does business.

[Marc]

That man has no tie! He must have some fresh new ideas.

[R C Dean]

Doesn't look like he owns a razor, either.

[JW]

Venture capitalist stampede!

[Brandybuck]

An ideological pathbreaker!

[sage]

He looks like he's standing before a death panel to plead for his life.

[@]

"I'm at an event...along with lots of government geeks and IT nerds."

Good luck with that. Much may be accomplished. Courage!

[JW]

If public officials are not online, they're not really accessible.

I think that's the whole idea.

[R C Dean]

You'd think a bunch of geeks and nerds would understand that one man's bug is another man's (or, in this case, subhuman parasite's) feature.

[Big B]

I wouldn't count on the conspiracy angles, guys. The market figured this out about 5 years ago. That government hasn't yet, is just now, or won't for another 5 years says more about its competency than its conspiracy.

Though there might be a conspiracy angle, too.

[J sub D]

Not a conspiracy per se, just a general governmental attitude among both elected officials and career employees that they don't want the public to know what the hell is going on. Add incompetence to the recalcitrance and you get the same results you would from a conspiracy.

[Geotpf]

Obama's administration has opened up many portions of the Federal government that the Bush administration tried it's darnest to hide. I hope folks here can acknowledge this much.

[Coeus]

What portions of the Fed-gov, exactly? This is the first I've heard of it. Did something happen last night that I missed, or are you just talking out of your ass?

[Sean W. Malone]

I have NO idea what you're talking about here, Geotpf... Obama has, as far as I have seen/heard, done everything Bush has done and in fact has even taken some of the Bush administration's own arguments in defending their lack of transparency.

[Episiarch]

If you think politicians have any interest in you actually knowing what the hell goes on in the sausage factory, you're insane. Hell, just seeing C-SPAN is like a slap in the face. What if we could easily pore through everything the parasites are doing? FIELD DAY.

[Warren]

Online is not enough. You've got to be web 2.0 compliant.

[JW]

Screw that. They better have an office in SecondLife.

[Johnny Longtorso]

They should proactively add Web 2.0 compliance to their core competencies.

[Judith]

That man needs a shave. But as you say that normally means he has not had time to shave as he must be coming up with new ideas.