Government Technology

Some experts believe there’s a leadership vacuum waiting to be filled by confident and ambitious public-sector CIOs.

To many on K Street, the stimulus bill was the clearest guide to the new administration’s closest friends in the business world. What oil was to President George W. Bush, some say, clean energy and technology are to the Obama White House.

"One of the things we’re considering if we get into an emergency situation like that, we can update Twitter and our blog with our handheld BlackBerry, iPhone or whatever we have. It’s a continuity of operations opportunity for us."

Minutes before President Barack Obama took the oath of office Tuesday, his new administration launched a new http://www.Whitehouse.gov Web site that dovetails with Obama’s commitment to new media.

The county has a down-to-earth reason for doing so, according to a Washington Post story: economic development. Business executives can get market research. County officials can do presentations to promote the region. And people can join a confab later this month on how to launch a business in Arlington. All in that other world.

The bidding process for city contracts is posted on YouTube, for example, and his employees use versions of Wikipedia and Twitter in the office. He wants to let drivers pay parking tickets and renew driver’s licenses on Facebook.

"This website helps Montana students to be informed about the high-paying, high-demand jobs available in our state," says Governor Brian Schweitzer. "The new website uses features such as podcasts, which are consistent with how our younger generation gets information today."

More than ever, Web 2.0 technologies offer governments a way to improve citizen services and communication.

Montana scored a five out of 10 possible points on indicators for health emergency preparedness capabilities according to the study released Tuesday by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Looking for government agencies using Twitter or other social media? We want the GovTwit directory to include all facets of government on Twitter: state and local, federal, contractors, reporters, academics and more.