GovWeb

"Government data is a valuable resource that we have already paid for. We are not talking about personal data but data that tells us, for example, about the amount and type of traffic on our roads, where the accidents are, how much is spent on areas where these accidents occur. This is data that has already been collected and paid for by the taxpayer, and the internet allows it to be distributed much more cheaply than before. Governments can unlock its value by simply letting people use it. This is beginning to happen in a number of countries, notably in the US under the Obama Administration, and in June Gordon Brown asked us to advise the Government on how to make rapid progress here." - Stephen Dale from Bookmarklet

"Book Get the PDF version of the complete book here. The book State of the eUnion: Government 2.0 and Onwards was released at 00:00 CET on 18th November 2009. Edited by John Gøtze and Christian Bering Pedersen, and foreworded by Don Tapscott, the book is a cornucopia of ideas and experiences from thought-leaders on three continents. The book will be available in print via Amazon etc. soon. The content is licensed under a Creative Commons license. We will launch the book in other formats than PDF soon." - Stephen Dale from Bookmarklet

"Do you find you need to attend breakfast presentations, department meetings, industry events, charity dinners and out-of-town conferences just to stay current? Are you forever tethered to your phone, Blackberry and computer? Wouldn't it be great if you could do all your networking online -- from the couch at home? Dream on. Until that day, these government IT social-networking sites will keep you in the loop. Find more of our favorites in the annual Federal List issue." - Stephen Dale from Bookmarklet

"Washington, D.C. - September 9, 2009 - Ten industry leaders - Yahoo!, PayPal, Google, Equifax, AOL, VeriSign, Acxiom, Citi, Privo and Wave Systems - announced today they will support the first pilot programs designed for the American public to engage in open government - government that is transparent, participatory, and collaborative. This open identity initiative is a key step in President Obama’s memorandum to make it easy for individuals to register and participate in government websites - without having to create new usernames and passwords. Additionally, members of the public will be able to fully control how much or how little personal information they share with the government at all times. These companies will act as digital identity providers using OpenID and Information Card technologies. The pilot programs are being conducted by the Center for Information Technology (CIT), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and related... more... - Stephen Dale from Bookmarklet

"Today, many people equate Web 2.0 with social media; three or four years ago, they equated it with AJAX applications and APIs. Many are now starting to think it’s all about cloud computing. In fact, it’s all of these and more. The way I have always defined Web 2.0, it’s been about what it means for the internet, rather than the personal computer, to be the dominant computing platform. What are the rules of business and competitive advantage when the network is the platform?" - Stephen Dale from Bookmarklet

"Government and Web 2.0 “grew up in different neighborhoods—they don’t play by the same rules,” said Andrew Sherry, Senior Vice President for Online Communications at the Center for American Progress at a CAP event on Monday. Barack Obama’s campaign embraced the participatory nature of Web 2.0, but using social media in the federal government is a different proposition, with different rules." - Stephen Dale from Bookmarklet

The challenges for social media adoption in local authorities as a route to youth engagement - Mark Cheverton

Local government twitter club - thanks Dave - Mark Cheverton

Perhaps how to make use of semantic web technologies on government web sites? - Martin Stone

Welcome, Martin. This is a bit of an experiment, but it might just prove worthwhile! - Dave Briggs