Municipalist

Dialogging with the Terminator

Because I am old, I remember late '70s California governor Jerry Brown taking a few questions from Johnny Carson one night, including: What do you think about nude beaches?

The governor said something like: I don't think that is worth answering, Johnny.

So, behold the new age.

Among the questions submitted for the upcoming Digg Dialogg with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

• California is one of the most economically rich regions in the entire world. Why do we have massive debt and an unbalanced budget?

• Do you support same-sex marriage and do you think the GOP should become more gay-friendly?

• If you had the ability to make law three things that would "fix" California, no questions asked, what would they be and why haven't they happened yet?

• You look like a Democrat, sound like a Democrat and act like a Democrat. What makes you a Republican?

• How much can you currently bench press?

• Are you a Mac or a PC?

And, true to form:

• What is your stance on the legalization, cultivation and regulation of marijuana in the state of California?

Archive of Digg Dialoggs here.

By the way, Jerry Brown used to date Linda Ronstadt. Just throwing that in.

Update: And here it is.

State of Virginia's updated stimulus Web site adds interactive elements

Since the launch of Stimulus.Virginia.Gov on Feb. 10, citizens, local governments and other groups have submitted more than 3,300 project ideas for potential funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, reports Government Technology. Visitors to the site can now view all of the submitted project ideas in a number of interactive graphical formats under the new Reports tab and Maps, Charts and Graphs link.

And here are the first of 19 pages of suggested projects from my county in Northern Virginia outside D.C., including one near my house that you, the generous taxpayers of the United States, could widen for the low, low cost of $91,500,000. So, should this project get tossed into the list of those approved, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude.

Because it's a darn busy road. So thanks again.

The site is fun to use and peruse. Whether Gov. Tim Kaine -- who is also head of the Democratic National Committee, by the way -- will actually make serious use of any of these suggestions is unknown. But this is one intriguing example of government using the Web to engage voters. Hard to argue with that.

More details here on the state of Virginia site.

On his way out the door, mayor and former governor joins the blogosphere

As his term ends as mayor of Richmond, Va., Douglas Wilder -- also a former Virginia governor -- has begun a blog: http://www.wildervisions.com/ .

One question: Why did you wait until you left office?

We would have loved to have had a connection with you while you served.

State of Utah's Web video site has big goals

As more states investigate use of YouTube as a multimedia portal (see California and Virginia), the state of Utah is working at building its own video platform. Dave Fletcher, the State of Utah's Chief Technology Officer, says he is not only excited about Utah GovCast as it is, but about its potential. "More is happening," he says simply. Is it ever.

"The site now provides a video search for several hundred videos as well as access to almost 30 different multimedia channels in Utah government," Fletcher told Municipalist.

"Previously video content on Utah.gov had been uncoordinated and difficult to find," Fletcher said. "We wanted to create a home for multimedia content that would eliminate this problem.

"We hope eventually to get everyone using a more standard format which will allow us to move to an even more visually appealing functional site in the future. We are also developing a better coordinated Utah.gov YouTube site that will be available in the near future.

"At the same time, we hoped to gain some momentum with agencies by making it easy for them as well to see what others are doing and benefit from their ideas." Fletcher recommended these videos: Wasatch Fault Flyby,  Utah Is the Answer, and Utah Golf. Fletcher pointed out that Utah also has various YouTube channels which are somewhat consolidated here.

Fletcher answered our questions by email this week:

History
Utah GovCast went live in May 2007. It was designed to be a central portal for multimedia and to help citizens quickly find multimedia content. I have reviewed other states' multimedia services and have not found any with as diverse and as rich amount of content as Utah GovCast.

Utah.gov was named as the #1 state portal in the annual Best of the Web competition sponsored by the Center for Digital Government in 2007. I believe that Utah GovCast was a significant component distinguishing Utah.gov from other state portals.

Who is using this content, and how?
Multimedia content can be used for many different purposes as evidenced by the diversity of content on Utah GovCast. Citizens are able to review the governor's positions on issues in the regular webcast. Hunters and fisherman like to access Utah Wildlife Radio online. The Department of Workforce Services and other agencies provide online training for Utah businesses on topics like workers compensation and labor laws. And art afficionados access art-related video, while health professionals can get information on policies from the Utah Health Department.

Public reaction
What feedback we have received has pretty much all been positive.

[Also at Utah GovCast: A list of blogs produced by Utah state government agencies.]

[And here is a recent AP piece on how Utah's state politicians are using Twitter.]

When the levee breaks: Iowa local government agencies miss opportunity

Much of Iowa, including 400 blocks of Cedar Rapids (right) is underwater. But its leaders are not adequately using the Web to help. Example: The city manager of West Des Moines actually publishes his own blog. Last post: June 4. Last post before that one: May 16.

This is about a disconnect. A lost opportunity. Another example: A press conference with the City of Des Moines Public Works director shows up in streaming video on the Web site of the Des Moines Register, but the department's own Web site shows zero evidence of any crisis. More wasted online real estate, in such a time of need.

Buh-bye!

As we predicted a few days ago, if you dawdled and neglected to visit eliotspitzer.com, your time has now passed, my friend.

Eliot Spitzer: Get a Blog!

Our Get a blog! category has found its true calling. It turns out Eliot Spitzer does not have a blog. As far as Municipalist can determine. Too bad, eh? Prediction: It is certain, it would seem, that some day soon one of these elected or otherwise very public people caught in some scandal will actually take to the Web to make his/her case to constituents. Through blogging. Having had some experience online at that point will be important. We recall how miraculous it seemed to many, anyway, when Howard Dean and Joe Trippi figured out how to actually raise money and build excitement (if not draw votes) using the Web beginning about five years ago.

The Spitzer situation proves less than apt here, as the guy seems dead in the water. But consider as an example, though a less-than-savory one, just to illustrate the point: What if Johnny Cochran, O.J. Simpson's criminal lawyer, had access to the Web, in 1994 and '95 during that trial? Do you think it would have crossed his mind to build a huge O.J.-was-framed community online? Think of that for a moment. Remember the cheering outside the courtroom when the verdict was read? And remember Cochran's mezmerizing playing of the media, particularly such influential outlets (at the time) as The New Yorker magazine, etc.?

THE "influential outlet" these days is the Web at large. So the first time an elected official himself makes serious use of the Web to defend and fight back, the doors will be open, and that will be it. The Web is already used to condemn and prosecute and ridicule. [This site in particular, which the New York Times calls "a popular Wall Street gossip site" has spent much of the day gleefully slamming Spitzer.] It just follows, to Municipalist anyway, that the Web can and will be a place to defend, explain, and counterpunch. Yet another reason for all of you out there in the public sector to Get a blog! And learn to use it. You may need it some day. [Here is Business Week on 'Eliot's Enemies.']

UPDATE: We note this at Spitzer's governor campaign site, at the bottom of the front page: "Paid for by Spitzer 2010."

Inside, we find this: "Every day on the Internet, people are making their voices heard about the important issues we all face. When we speak out for what's right, when we stand up against what's wrong, and when we share our ideas with one another, we create an environment that makes real change possible.

"Governor Eliot Spitzer is excited to be a part of that online community-sharing with New Yorkers his plans for our state, and listening to their ideas for how we can return New York to the beacon of hope and opportunity it once was."

But there is no idea-sharing going on, because there is no blog to be found. And we would recommend visiting Eliot Spitzer's 2010 campaign Web site fairly soon.

Really, really soon.

Elected bloggers: How to overcome the fear?

This is from the first post to Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's blog, begun in May 2005 with quite a bit of media attention:

I don’t know if this will work. The relative informality and immediacy that makes blogs interesting are at odds with the circumspection and care that a responsible office requires and without which you get your feet tangled up real quick. I’m going to try it for a while, but if it is dull or if the political cost is too great I may need to close up shop at some point in the future. It is really worth giving it a try though.

Well, Gov, you said a mouthfull. The sentence in bold is key. Municipalist also likes " ... or if the political cost is too great ..." Apparently, it is.

As of today, 30 months after it began, total posts to the Phil Blog: seven. The last post of any substance: October 2005. The two posts in 2007 are "remarks" from Bredesen appearances. There is no direct link to the blog anywhere on the governor's Web site, at least none that I could find. What happened?

What he wrote in that first post offers one big clue: Bredesen right away points to the tension between informality/immediacy and circumspection/care. Someone with that much insight and understanding -- of at least one key aspect of what the medium is all about -- you would think would end up being a very good blogger. Maybe it is less than realistic to expect that a governor, of all people, could do this, with any regularity or rhythm or substance beyond the superficial. But this guy nailed one big issue: The fear was present from day one.