*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** FirstGov.Gov, hooray: http://firstgov.gov Hopefully this will help set off a flurry of state-by-state public portals. The fact that the top state & local link takes you to a non- governmental page, <http://www.piperinfo.com/state/index.cfm> run by a fellow Minnesotan Dana Noonan (an excellent directory I might add), shows that a major campaign supporting state and local "public portal" development and involvement is needed. Now that the Feds have at gotten their own house in order (i.e. one primary portal instead of a confusing array of multiple starting points) it is time for a national efforts to make government at all levels more accessible online. FirstGov should develop a Netscape Open Directory style indexing effort <http://www.egroups.com/message/do-wire/618> that would allow every government unit in the United States to edit various directory sections in a highly distributed format. The directory information should then be syndicated so for example local government could add a FirstGov column to their own local web site. In 1994 or 1995 the post office made giant mistake when they put themselves atop to the pyramid with their government web directory project, if the Federal government wants to inspire a true American-style "of, for and by the people" effort FirstGov needs to position itself such that state and local government web sites can position themselves as the main government interface to their citizens with FirstGov features fully integrated. To generate state and local involvement, which I feel is essential for an effort like this to succeed, it must serve the citizens from the realization that the public does not distinguish different levels of government from one another - they just want good service. Put another way if we want government (things legally public) to be viewed as a legitimate in the information age, we have to use the Internet in ways that serve the citizens not the institutional hierarchies expectations. More below. Steven Clift Democracies Online Some insider stuff: http://cio.gov/egov/cio_egov_firstgov.htm The announcement: http://cio.gov/egov/projects/firstgov/clinton_announcement.htm PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON WEBCAST REMARKS ON FIRSTGOV.GOV THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON, DC September 21, 2000 Good afternoon. We Americans are living at a truly exciting time in history. Computers and the Internet are revolutionizing the way we work, live, and relate to each other and the world. They also have the potential to fundamentally transform and improve the way government serves the American people, and today I want to talk about a major step we are taking towards that goal. When I became President, there were only 50 websites on the entire World Wide Web. Today, there are 17 million. Under the leadership of Vice President Gore, we've made great progress bringing government into the digital age. Instead of waiting in line, citizens can go on- line--to file their taxes, compare their Medicare options, and find good jobs. They can tap into the latest health research, change their address at the Post Office, and follow along with NASA's missions in outer space. And they can do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But with 27 million web pages of government information now on line, and more added every day, finding the information or service you need can be frustrating. That's why I'm pleased to announce that today we are launching a new, one-stop-website for federal on-line information: firstgov.gov. It allows you, for the first time, to link to the federal information or service you're looking for, without having to know the name of the agency or program that offers it. Go to www.firstgov.gov, and you're just a few mouse clicks away from web sites where you can apply for student loans or reserve a campground in a national park. Now, when I first announced in June that we would be creating firstgov.gov, I promised we would do it in 90 days. That was exactly 90 days ago. I'm proud of the federal employees who made this happen in Internet time. And I'm thankful to Dr. Eric Brewer of Inktomi. He's the entrepreneur who, with the help of federal grants, created one of the private sector's most successful search engine technologies. Out of gratitude and patriotism, he developed and donated the search engine for Firstgov. Now, this website belongs to the American people. We've included a place for you to suggest improvements, and we're going to keep working on this site, and on all of our government websites. Firstgov symbolizes, I think, the kind of government we need in the 21st Century. One that empowers citizens to make the most of their own lives. At the dawn of our republic, Thomas Jefferson said "America's institutions must move forward hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. Well, today, as the progress of the human mind races ahead, it's vital that we make sure our democratic institutions keep pace. And if we do, we can create a more perfect, more responsive democracy for the Information Age. Thanks for logging on. ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
