First there was the Web, then Web 2.0, and now you’ve probably at least heard of Gov 2.0. So – what’s Gov 2.0, and most importantly, how can it fundamentally improve the way government works?
To understand Gov 2.0, let’s start with a quick overview of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 isn’t a replacement of the Internet we’ve been using for years; in fact it’s the same Web. Web 2.0 refers to a Web in which users are more directly engaged in creating content for other people. So instead of millions of more-or-less static websites created by businesses, media companies, and content producers, the notion of Web 2.0 then is a constantly updated, always new Web with user-generated content, created by users with the help of content sharing tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Flickr, and wikis. All of these are simply tools that enable the existence of a dynamic Web 2.0, an environment in which users of the web are also the content creators. Instead of just watching an episode of Law & Order online (very web 1.0), people create videos of their neighbors doing bicycle stunts and share the video with the world (very Web 2.0). In truth there is no Web 2.0 which replaced a Web 1.0, there’s simply a notion that today’s Internet is a more dynamic collection of user-generated content with people rating that content and sharing the best of what out there with others, and that is what people refer to as Web 2.0.
Gov 2.0 similarly reflects a change in how governments (municipal, state, and federal) use the Internet and how citizens interact with governments online. It’s fair to say that until very recently (around early 2009) most government webs sites in the U.S. provided information to constituents. Some sites were well designed, others were harder to navigate or didn’t provide a wealth of information. In almost all instances however, the sites were designed for a Web 1.0 world – information was posted and citizens looked for the information they needed. In the past several years the world of government websites has begun to change dramatically in two ways – first with proliferation of government data and second with the enabling of citizen engagement with governments.
The District of Columbia was among the first entities to open up a wide variety of city data. Through a public competition with cash prizes for the most useful applications, the District enticed developers to create applications for citizens that used the data. Among the hundreds of solutions developed were an application for mobile phones that showed the safest routes to walk at night (based on crime data), an application that showed the location of vacant land parcels (useful for developers), and an application that let citizens discuss spending in the District (with data on actual spending on projects). Concurrent with the opening of data and the creation of new applications, Web 2.0 elements began to be integrated into solutions. Citizens could now take pictures of potholes and use GPS-enabled phones to pinpoint the location of things which needed the government’s attention, and let other citizens comment on issues – bringing Web 2.0 to the government – and creating Gov 2.0. So Gov 2.0 really does have the power to once again make government of the people, by the people, and for the people. In a future posting I’ll discuss how all of this not only empowers citizens, but also helps governments to better and more efficiently deliver services.
