Pelosi aide: Congress is online-savvy, I swear

WASHINGTON--Let's face it: Most members of Congress don't have the best reputation when it comes to creating a winning online presence.

Recall, for example, that the primary Web site for House of Representatives Democrats was down for at least a week, reportedly for "revamping," when the gavel changed hands last winter. And, as CNET News.com found before the last congressional election, many political campaign sites don't meet basic litmus tests for good Web design.

Still, Karina Newton, who serves as director of new media for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sought on Wednesday to debunk what she called a "myth" that our elected representatives aren't "engaged" online.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's staff launched a blog called "The Gavel" when she took over the leadership post last year, although the regularly updated venture has mainly been a vehicle for Democratic press releases of note.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the Politics Online Conference here, she displayed a number of illustrative episodes as a video montage: her own boss' online video chat with constituents, Rep. George Miller's foray into Second Life virtual worlddom, and Sen. Chuck Grassley's semi-regular video Webcasts.

Outsiders surfing to congressional Web sites, however, might be inclined to deem those members' efforts the exception, not the rule. Just look at the findings compiled by an organization called the Congressional Management Foundation over the past few years. It has consistently deemed most congressional Web sites "disappointing." (Its findings rely on a complex array of factors, including user-friendliness, look and feel, and quality and timeliness of information provided to consituents.)

Johanna Shelton, a Google policy counsel who previously worked as an adviser to numerous Democrats in the House of Representatives, said you have to give politicians credit for "dipping their toes in." It's not easy responding to hundreds of thousands of constituents who claim expertise in various niches that may well be over the politico's head.

"There's a kernel of hope," she said. "They're experimenting; they're testing things out."

Danny Glover, the former editor of National Journal's now-defunct Technology Daily publication and ever the jaded journalist, offered a more morose outlook: "Older people are going to be voted out of office or die, and they're going to be replaced by younger people. Until that happens, I don't think you're going to see significant change in Congress."

[suyts]

One has to realize the budget

our congressmen have. It doesn't really cover all that is necessary to have a good website. Consider all that goes into one.

[zeroplane]

Provide a standard government -wide portal

I would prefer a standard looking (everyone is treated the same) government-wide portal that provided constituent's centric services that every staffer could use. To provide stuff like:
- Law, subject polls
- Top Issues that are being represented with ability to "vote" for or against
- Online blog/News release via RSS
- Option to offer video blogs
- Standard bio for every government employee (or at least congress and house reps)

Of course to participate with your rep you would have to login and validate your profile.

Instead we get lame, brochure-ware sites that vary from rep to rep.

[suyts]

The expense would be enormous.....

There are better places to put our money.