Daily Digest | All Aboard! Jumping on the Data.gov Train

the editors | May 22, 2009 - 11:42am | Email This!

Wait, What About White House *1.0*? You may have heard that the Obama White House took some major steps towards openness and transparency yesterday with the launch of the Open Government Initiative and Data.gov. You also may have heard that President Barack Obama gave a major national security address yesterday at the National Archives in DC. But good luck trying to find a copy of that speech at WhiteHouse.gov. Turns out, the WhiteHouse.gov speeches section hasn't been updated in almost 3 months.
Data.gov in Two and Half Minutes No time for Nancy and Micah's analysis of yesterday's developments? Check out this video where CIO Vivek Kundra concisely explains his vision for the project. Watch it here.
Orszag, Democratizing Data, and Creating Intramural Rivalry OMB's Peter Orszag blogs on why Data.gov matters, saying that "Democratizing government data will help change how government operates." Can it really create a feedback loop of accountability within government?
An Early Look at the Redesigned GOP The Republican National Committee has a new splash page up at GOP.com that applies a considerably more modern, polished, and frankly, hip look to the site. The RNC, of course, has been eager to reboot its digital operations and close what is seen as a gap between its online activities and that of its Democratic counterparts. The site also includes a prominent call for software developers to "Get Involved."
Boehner Participates in the White House's Open Government Forum Among the very first Americans to take advantage of the White House's new call for participation under the Open Government Initiative goes by the handle republicanleaderjohnboehner. And yes, that's the House Republican Leader John Boehner. His suggestion of a 72-hour review period on major spending bills coming before Congress is, with a few hundred votes, already the highest-rated idea on the IdeaScale site.