Web 2.0 Transparency Attempts to Infiltrate the US Congress
by Bill Ives
Here is a post script to my post on transparency and privacy. The Open House Project has delivered recommendations for a series of technological reforms that would increase transparency and public access to the U.S. House of Representatives. The group is a bipartisan collection of people related to web 2.0. It includes Technorati’s Clay Shirky, Bush/Cheney 2004 eCampaign Director Mike Turk, Govtrack creator Joshua Tauberer, and leading blogger Markos Moulitsas-Zuniga of the Daily Kos. Their recommendations are below as listed in Public CIO:
The Open House Project’s reforms include:
Legislation Database — publish legislative data in structured formats
Preserving Congressional Information — protect congressional information through archiving and distribution
Congressional Committees — recognize committees as a public resource by making committee information available online
Congressional Research Service — share non-partisan research beyond Congress
Member Web-Use Restrictions — permit members to take full advantage of Internet resources
Citizen Journalism Access — grant House access to non-traditional journalists
The Office of the Clerk of the House — serve as a source for digital disclosure information
The Congressional Record — maintain the veracity of a historical document
Congressional Video — create open video access to House proceedings
Coordinating Web Standards — commit to technology reform as an administrative priority.
The list is further food for thought as to what makes sense within the enterprise including things like access to non-traditional journalists and proper digital disclosure information.
