Can the Internet Make a More Open Government?

By Saul Hansell
The Obama presidential campaign made groundbreaking use of social networking sites and other tools to organize its supporters. President Obama has promised to use similar technology to bring citizens into government. As in so many other areas, turning promise to policy may well be more difficult than it sounded on the campaign trail
Now suppose a White House blogger — or someone else answering comments on whitehouse.gov — can’t get a hold of the North Korea expert and simply goes with his or her best judgment about what to say. During the campaign, that could backfire if the other candidate gets a good talking point. But in government, the consequences can be much more serious: What if North Korea didn’t like the White House comment and decided to launch a missile attack on a neighboring country?

One of the topics we discussed in class this week included examining what issues will be prominent for discussing the new paradigm of public management. Technology is one area of new public management that truly has an immediate global impact. Technology provides opportunities for streamlining processes, increasing efficacy, accountability and reducing costs. These concerns are primary components that prompt us to assess and learn more about public management.

We have seen the effectiveness of the use of technology for promoting public campaigns, for providing instantaneous information, for managing day to day activities in private businesses and public administration agencies. The advantages are enormous, but so are the potential dangers as noted above.

While there are global implications, there is clearly an advantage for those who have built in this capacity. Not too surprisingly, there are serious barriers including what has been termed the digital divide in many developing countries and in poor communities’ right here in the US. The new wave of technology has yet to be seen. The upcoming year is sure to include far more discussion on the use of technology in every area of public management healthcare management reform is just one such example. Diana P