Jose Antonio Vargas from the Washington Post elicits some smart opinions on the state of the White House Web site. Great stuff from Andrew Rasiej, from the indispensable Personal Democracy Forum, Jim Harper of Cato Institute, Jon Henke of Next Right, and David Almacy. Such as: There is little "transparency," even after all the campaign promises; and locating basic documents can be a chore.
We have pointed out previously that upon closer inspection, WhiteHouse.gov disappoints on many counts.
But we also note Vargas quotes from David Weinberger, "a fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society," who "was impressed by WhiteHouse.gov's blog, which is the centerpiece of the site."
In recent weeks, the blog has posted photos, videos and invited senior officials to blog, and he appreciates its more casual tone.
Dr. Jill Biden, a long-time educator who teaches at Northern Virginia Community College, blogged about welcoming the recipients of the 2009 Teachers of the Year award. "I hope someone reading this post might even be inspired to become a 2010, 2015, or 2020 Teacher of the Year," Biden wrote in the blog. "You won't regret it and our country needs you."
"The blogs are getting better. 'Better' means less PR-ish and more human," said Weinberger, who gave the site a B+. "They did a nice job live-blogging Earth Day, and they're letting people inside the White House occasionally post about what it's like to be there."
The blogs are getting better? Gee. And here I thought these people are already the "tech savviest administration in history."
When you get to review your own work, it's amazing how prescient you can be and how brilliance your observations become.
Posted by: bruce stravinsky | May 12, 2009 at 10:57 AM