Ines Mergel

Archive for November 16th, 2008

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Saying goodbye to the presidential Blackberry?

In Barack Obama, Information Management, Obama, Public Management, Social Software, Web 2.0, networking on November 16, 2008 at 9:59 pm

There was an article in the NYT today that made me think about privacy and transparency in government: it seems as if President-elect Obama has to give up his email and Blackberry habits asap.  The NYT reports:

“The president’s e-mail can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws, so if a president doesn’t want his e-mail public, he shouldn’t e-mail, experts said. And there may be security issues about carrying around trackable cell phones.”

At the same time, he puts up his technology agenda and asks for a more transparent and connected government. Now, he wouldn’t even understand or know how the technology could help him to be connected and what the potential benefits are for society, for example in terms of community building, social support functionalities. Shouldn’t there be a new law to adjust the existing rules?

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Obama’s agenda is back up… technology still one of the top issues

In Obama, President, President-Elect, Presidential Elections, Public Management, Social Networks, Social Software, Web 2.0, public sector, technology on November 16, 2008 at 8:19 pm

I just found out through Twitter that Obama’s agenda is back on change.gov. Technology is still among his top issues (phew…). Some of the important issues are:

  • Protect the Openness of the Internet
  • Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership
  • Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment
  • Safeguard our Right to Privacy

And when it comes to government:

“Create a transparent and connected democracy”

  • Open Up Government to its Citizens: Use cutting-edge technologies to create a new level of transparency, accountability, and participation for America’s citizens.
  • Bring Government into the 21st Century: Use technology to reform government and improve the exchange of information between the federal government and citizens while ensuring the security of our networks. Appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure the safety of our networks and lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.