Municipalist

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.]

This Congressman uses streaming video, live town hall meetings on the Web, and Twitter

All public sector bloggers take note. Republican Rep. John Culberson is cornering his colleagues in Congress and interviewing them using the video streaming service Qik. Techpresident has the details as well as video of Culbertson's first interview. Culberson hosted a town hall meeting on the Web on June 10. Culberson also uses Twitter from the House floor, and he has a fan at Sunlight Foundation, as well as a detractor here.

Update: Ustream connects with presidential candidates

More important stuff from Post I.T. on Ustream:

Last week, Ustream.TV, which hosts a variety of user-generated video and live broadcasts, announced it has partnered with the Republican National Convention to broadcast the entire event in real time. Republican officials will be part of live web chats and other online interviews at the convention, which will take place Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul.

Other candidates have already used Ustream's platform to reach voters. Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, and John McCain have broadcast live speeches and held question-and-answer sessions on Ustream's video site, founder John Ham told me two weeks ago when I dropped by Ustream's Palo Alto offices.

Three new options make live streaming video simple

Can you think of plenty of public sector applications for streaming live video across the Web? Especially when it is this easy? Ustream.tv has been busy doing great work connecting military families. Post I.T. blog has the lowdown on another way to use Ustream:

It's also been used as a way for companies to calm down angry customers. An example of that happened Wednesday night, [co-founder] John [Ham] told me. When Digg, the site that rates articles based on their popularity, made changes to the way content is ranked, angry Diggers took to Ustream to express their disappointment. Once [Digg] founders Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson heard about the rebellion, they tuned into the live broadcast and started a conversation with their users. Kevin and Jay explained the reasons behind the Web site changes, averting a strike by some of its most devoted users.

And one more Ustream show on the way: David McCullough live teaching some history on Feb. 13. Also: Here is Post I.T. on Seesmic, another video network, called the "Twitter" of social media. And here is PC World Canada on OoVoo, an inexpensive video conferencing tool that for now is free.

Arlington, Virginia cops want to use You Tube

Should local police departments seriously make use of You Tube? Of course! From today's Washington Post (free registration required):

It turned a 21-year-old Tennessee man and his plea for the meanies of the world to "Leave Britney Alone" into a worldwide sensation. The ode from "Obama Girl" to the Democratic presidential candidate earned her tens of millions of fans.

So why shouldn't it help the Arlington County Police Department catch criminals? The department has turned to the online phenomenon YouTube in its quest to get the bad guys. Surveillance video from crime scenes is being posted on the popular video-sharing Web site in hope of generating leads and identifying suspects.

Other cops quoted in the piece are opposed. Of course:

"We've never tried it and probably never will," said Officer Henry Tippett, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department. "There's all kinds of crazy videos on there . . . people getting in fights, whatever."

Yeah. "Whatever." So why would anyone want to actually empower the people to assist the cops in fighting crime, by making use of this simple, free tool, that already is in use in every single community in America by plenty of nosy people who already regularly train their cameras on their communities? By the way, Prince George's County, Maryland is utter Outlaw Nation. Bring along high-powered weaponry should you care to venture in. Just a recommendation.

The police department in Johnson City, Tennessee make their own videos of suspects with outstanding warrants which they then post on You Tube.