Web 2.0 (and 3.0) and Government

Joseph Clark, Florida State University
2008 Florida Government Technology Conference

What does Web 2.0 Mean?

• static (1.0) to dynamic (1.5) to user-built (2.0)
• ability to “mash up” content from many sources
• syndication of feeds allows regular updating
• focus on people and communities rather than information
• a good video summary is The Machine is Us

Why it Matters to Government

• Enhances participation
• Meeting citizen expectations (technology, engagement, millenials)
• Generate communities of interest (experts, networks)
• Better decision-making
• Cost reductions?
• New possibilities

Some Examples

• YouTube
• Delicious
• SlideShare
• Web Logs or Blogs
• Social Network Tools
• Twitter
• Disaster Portal
• Everyblock Chicago
• State of Utah
• Library 2.0 and Government Documents
• Open Congress
• GovTrack

Update – Examples and links suggested by attendees of the 2008 conference

• LinkedIn social connections
• FireF.ly allows you to interact with people who are visiting the same sites as you (cf. ExitReality below)
• Florida ExpertNet “This is a site where experts are collected by
  project type. Experts will soon be able to create their own content.” (which will make it a web 2.0 tool)
• Lowernine.org is a community-based resource for the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans

More Map Mashups

• Google Earth, NOAA, and Hurricane Ike
• Wikimapia

Some Florida examples (Center for Digital Govt award winners)—are these Web 2.0?

• Martin County
• Seminole County
• City of Tallahassee

Background Reading

• Gartner Blog on Innovating Government
• C-Net: Tech Savvy governments to embrace Web 2.0
• CIO Insight: How Web 2.0 Can Reinvent Government
• Read/Write Web Blog on E-Government Meets Web 2.0: Goodbye Portals, Hello Web Services
• Government Technology on Governments adopting Web 2.0
• Federal Computer Week on Twittering

Web 3.0/3.D – Multiuser Virtual Environments

Gartner group predicts 3-D web will dominate the web experience in just a few years. Already we are seeing browser plugins such as Cooliris and ExitReality that transform web pages into 3-D experiences. ExitReality even includes avatars for a social experience much like that found in more traditional virtual worlds and multiplayer games.

Blogs and other articles discussing government presences in Second Life

• A Second Life for Government
• Virtual Worlds News on government
• Feds lead Second Life
• U.S. Government Presence Grows in Second Life

Agencies and Organizations

• Real Life Government in SL Wiki
• Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds
• National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies
• Centers for Disease Control in Virtual Worlds
• Government and Virtual Patients

State Governments in Virtual Worlds

• Nebraska Library Commission
• Ohio State Plays out emergency response in SL
• Missouri Education recruits IT in SL
• State Library of Kansas – requires SL viewer

And don’t forget to watch the trends called “augmented reality” and “mixed reality”:

• MIT article on SL/RL mashups (both may require free registration) – on RezEd or at MIT
• Augmented reality at Georgia Tech

Originally developed by Joseph Clark of the FSU Center for Teaching and Learning for the 2008 Florida Government Technology Conference. PPT slides are here.

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