Make Government websites like Facebook
Or perhaps like an operating system with a consistent user interface, open access to data, applications and less comms-spinned content.
(Please note — I posted this on my own blog back in Feb 2010. So nothing new, I’m just migrating posts over here to Medium.)
I’ve just read Luke Fretwell’s post titled Why Gov 2.0 means the U.S. Government must centralize its Web operations and couldn’t agree with him more: it’s easier and cheaper to manage a single, well executed website than multiple ones ranging from the very crappy to the very good.
Cost is a major factor in this line of thought. Just think about how much it must be costing Governments to maintain multiple web teams doing the same thing 1,000 different ways and using God only knows how many systems. Luke is spot on when he describes the end result as as ‘disjointed’, ‘inconsistent’ and ‘outdated’.
The Facebook model and why it’s good for Government
No doubt Facebook’s user experience has contributed to its success. It’s unobtrusive, clear and usable. Adverts are (more or less) out of the way and Facebook branding has a subtle presence.
Facebook has been designed to allow users to get things done, much like an operating system. Facebook is as much an application as it is a social network connecting friends.
So why is this a good model for a centralized Government website? Here are some of my thoughts:
It could be a single destination where all things Government (agencies, projects, news, data, profiles, etc…) are presented in a clear and consistent way
Citizen’s could voice their opinion as individuals or in groups. Voices could be heard, counted, aggregated and reported on.
The opposition would use the same platform, whether a traditional party or groups forming around shared thoughts. Users would have toosl to quickly juxtapose and compare ideas by different groups.
It would allow instant feedback on issues and, at some point in a more connected future, voting and referendums.
It would offer useful applications (eg. to pay your fines online) and resources for anyone to develop and share their own. For example, an application could be developed to filter out spin from Government communication.
Government data could be shared raw or processed and presented via an application. Private companies could feed their own data into the system too.
It would be much cheaper to manage. No need to sack web professionals either — they could be re-trained to help people find information, moderate discussions, identify trends and report back on people’s sentiments
Closed areas would act as intranets offering the level of collaboration and knowledge sharing many Government agencies dream of today
Poke your elected representative functionality
Anything else?
No doubt there are cons to this line of thought. Security may be one of those as a single system may be harder to keep safe than many.
