Web 2.0 & eGovernment

Web 2.0 technologies have been a common topic of discussion in our class this quarter. This term refers to interactive internet applications such as blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, etc. For more on the subject, read the Wikipedia article on Web 2.0.

The exciting possibilities Web 2.0 applications offer easily extend into the concepts of eGovernment and eDemocracy, with huge opportunities for increased citizen participation in policy making.

The Economist published an interesting (yet pessimistic) article this February on this topic. It raises a noteworthy point regarding technological advancement and eGovernment: even though opportunities for citizen participation in government are growing exponentially with Web 2.0 features, the potential may go largely unrealized due to lack of public interest in government, as well as fear on the part of politicians and government officials that technology is making government too transparent and accessible. They cite examples such as agency issue forums that garner public input, but end up never using it and sticking to "expert" opinion. Another example the article gives is that practically all elected officials now have public email addresses, which give the impression of accessibility and a desire for input, when in reality technology may have hindered citizens' access to their elected officials by allowing for computer-generated responses based on automatic word searches for keywords.

This Headshift blog post expresses a similar sentiment about the unfulfilled potential of eGovernment and eDemocracy. The author raises an interesting point that regardless of how accessible a governmental entity may seem, most people still recognize old power structures of these entities, which ultimately ignores public input. A fundamental change in the currently imbalanced power structure of government is required before the public will feel it worthwhile to engage in policymaking decisions.

I think this is a very important point that extends beyond the topic of egovernance to the underlying problems of apathy and disengagement within the American populace regarding government and politics. No matter how many technologies a governmental entity provides under the guise of "public outreach" or "public input," Americans living in the 21st century will remain cynical and out of touch with their governments until input is truly considered and the public has a clearly defined role in decision-making processes.