Websites audit
The real application of technology and online access of information for government and consumer is being practiced. This is evidenced by the casual walkthrough of the five websites provided for audit. I think the general scope of observations should be similar across, but to each individual who engages in each particular site the experience and access to information may be different.
What stands out at first observation is that the goals for the websites tend to relate to government issues, ease of access to the public, and providing information.
Whitehouse.gov is a large site and seems to provide a massive amount of links to a myriad of topics. The most important in relation to our class would be the Briefing Room link. There is where an individual can collect and read information on issues, albeit from the perspective and stand that the U.S Government is proposing. The website is a nice place to begin research and gain a perspective to American issues, it also does a good job of being informative on the general structure and function of the U.S Government. Technology is not innovative, as it just incorporates links, and blogs, and pages with general information, some active videos, but nothing too complicated. I would guess this is due to trying to provide an easy navigation for a lot of common users.
apps.gov was the most unique site. This website is promoting and selling a technology called cloud computing (U.S. General Services Administration APPS.GOV, n.d.). The effort of this agency is to create a more efficient IT infrastructure for government agencies through the applications they provide (U.S. General Services Administration APPS.GOV, n.d.). This effort is part of the process we have learned in class collectively and individually in our process to create our wiki pages, collaborative papers, and connectivity via online. At each stage and assignement we should ask ourselves how we can improve our efficiency to produce better results and more dynamic interactions, and better collaboartion?
The most impressive of the audits was of data.gov and recovery.gov. These websites are very much a resource of information. The amount of categorized information provided on both is tremendous. The websites are not complicated in nature with very easy navigation tools and data retrieval options. The information is very up to date and covers a wide range of topics and issues.
data.gov is very accessible and very well organized. The key feature that provides an efficient use is the organization of the data into three ways to access information. These categories are raw, tools, and geodata catalog (Data.gov, 2009). In these three categories a user can have access to data in various forms, from instant access, or linking to more reliable sites and, or data sets.
recovery.gov is a a website that provides an effort to show how and where financial resources are being used throughout the United States. This website is the direct creation of the Recovery Act, as stated in recovery.org, "The Act specifies appropriations for a wide range of federal programs, and increases or extends certain benefits under Medicaid, unemployment compensation, and nutrition assistance programs," (Recovery.gov Track the Money, 2009). The unique features in the website that help engage in this issue is a detailed and intercative map that provides current data and details on how money is being spent, the details canbe found down to a zip code. There are also videos, and very dteailed explanations about concepts and issues.
Serve.org was a website very similarly designed to the Whitehouse website. A lot of links and general information. It is oriented for the public, in an effort to increase active volunteerism. Connectivity seems the key feature, the site offers various ways for individuals and groups to participate and offer opportunities to volunteer, it connects through the social networks facebook, twitter, etc. The issue is more dynamic than any of the technology it uses.
The topic more interesting here is the use of online resources, by the government, to connect to its public and citizens. The ability to communicate to more people, even within it own governmental infrastructure, would seem a tool in of itself to use to create a more dynamic government that coordinates its resources to produce the results it wants. These websites offer a way for the public and citizens to engage with its government more quickly and on current issues. The landscape of information that these websites provide allows users to efficiently research for their intended purposes, and vice-versa.
Data.gov (November, 2009). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from http://www.data.gov/faq
Recovery.gov Track the Money (November, 2009). Frequently Asked Questions for Citizens: What is the Recovery Act. Retrieved from http://www.recovery.gov/FAQ/Pages/ForCitizens.aspx#whatisrecoveryact
U.S. General Services Administration APPS.GOV (n.d). A Service Provided by GSA. Retrieved from https://apps.gov/cloud/advantage/main/home.do?BV_UseBVCookie
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Book Review
Book Review: Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World.
In this age of technological advancements and connectivity through the internet it is important to develop an understanding of the mechanism you are engaging within. It seems that most of us take the internet for granted and we log on without regard to the layers behind it all. We click away and research, surf, shop, socialize, and get entertained with out much of a clue to what it has taken to make available the platform with which we do all of these activities. Much less the tools that control and maintain these connections in the manner in which we use them. At least I haven’t up to this point, but after reading, Who Controls the internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World, written by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, published by Oxford University Press in 2006, a new perspective of the internet has appeared and made more sense of the virtual dynamics that we participate in.
The purpose of this book seems be to capture the evolution of the internet and who has authority in it. Within that framework the authors propose three main stages of how the internet operates and who has authority over its functions, specifically on a global scale. These three sections of the book highlight various events that have occurred that have led to significant changes in different mechanisms that involve internet use and control. We start to understand the main thesis in the introduction with the events between Yahoo and the French government. A legal fight ensued over the French government’s request for Yahoo to remove web pages selling Nazi related items. The author’s use this example to introduce the reader to some of their preceding points, “ The Yahoo story encapsulates the Internet’s transformation from a technology that resists territorial law to one that facilitates its enforcement,” (Goldsmith & Wu, 2006, pp. 10). The three main sections of the book break down the main point of the Yahoo case with more relevant examples, and explore the different technologies developed from these events that impact the governance of the internet in its modern forms.
Section one of the book covers much of the origins and key people whose ideas founded the different scopes of internet use and control. This section really deals with who actually has authority over the internet. The cases here deal with key figures such as Jon Postel and John Perry Barlow and their actions in dealing with the U.S Government over controlling the internet . What is important to note in this section is the contributions of Julian Dibbell in which he wrote a book, A Rape in Cyberspace, that raises the idea of the internet as a “place,” (pp. 16) and , “Dibbell’s parable was also the beginning of a constructive vision of governance liberated from physical and national identity…,” (pp. 16). We really get a clear perspective of how the internet originated and the struggles to control it.
Section two of the book covers the role of the U.S Government after it had taken authority over the internet. Here the authors really begin to unearth real world examples from the 1990’s that paved the way policy has been developed to govern the internet. This section explores the internet on an international scale, how geography, governments, and law affect the way services and goods are delivered respectively across physical borders (pp. 179). In short the author’s argue to an extent the impact that globalization and government coercion has upon the control of the internet (pp. 179). A key point is the authors’ reference to Lawrence Lessig and his ideas on "code is law," (pp. 72), within a unique perspective, "When governement practices control through code, it is practicing a commonplace form of intermediary control,” (p. 72). The chapter on China is particularly interesting, it explores internet security and censorship, amidst the topic of internet governance.
The authors’, in section three, really highlight the positive and negative constructs governments and web authorities are facing. The authors‘ really aim to, “…show how the future of the internet will be shaped by domestic politics and international relations, as interest groups and countries fight for control and influence over the once borderless medium,” (pp. 130). The most important point is on how the internet now has borders and their roles are derived from enforcement of national laws, language and culture, and technological developments (pp. 149-150). Finally the authors explore the lessons learned from global rules and how and when they can or cannot be applied within the internet.
The book does make a great case for explaining how the internet is governed and how we have reached this point. The book was an easy read and concise, any chapter could have been a book itself. The book is truly remarkable in the amount of examples it uses to highlight the main points. Any given chapter really highlights a moment in internet history that supports the point being addressed. The book makes you think about your place in history when these events were taking place. Subsequently it makes you provoke your current understanding of the way you use the internet and how it affects the norms you have about its dynamic framework.The book is relative to our course in many ways that mirror on a smaller scale the concepts involved with authority and control of our web space. As we have collaborated through our wiki environment we have had to accept the the guidelines proposed from our professor, but at the same time have had some affect to the norms established in the class through the development of our contributed work. I would recommend this book, even just as a casual read, it can be accessed online through the Arizona State University library.
The book has minor weak points, it does read a bit dry in some points, in particular with the discussion of file sharing, although it does add more importance to behavior and law regarding the internet. Where the book is solid is in provoking though about the future direction of internet and globalization trends. There is something in thinking of these concepts while personally using the internet that make you wonder what truly is going on in this network of people, files, and information. Some questions that I personally had that could be further explored are, to what extent do web companies sacrifice personal choice and belief when they deal outside of their borders? Is money the ultimate motivating factor in these decisions, or where do cases exist where moral or preferred belief supersedes profit in global internet control and transaction?
What really sets a striking point is the idea that powerful nation’s are in race to extend their dominance over the internet and to manipulate the authority and scope of its technology, the authors’ write “It is not just that nations have the power to shape the Internet’s architecture. It is that the United States, China, and Europe are using their coercive powers to establish different visions of what the internet might be,” (pp. 184)
Reference
Goldsmith, J. & Wu, T. (2006). Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/lib/asulib/docDetail.action?docID=101 60558
In this age of technological advancements and connectivity through the internet it is important to develop an understanding of the mechanism you are engaging within. It seems that most of us take the internet for granted and we log on without regard to the layers behind it all. We click away and research, surf, shop, socialize, and get entertained with out much of a clue to what it has taken to make available the platform with which we do all of these activities. Much less the tools that control and maintain these connections in the manner in which we use them. At least I haven’t up to this point, but after reading, Who Controls the internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World, written by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, published by Oxford University Press in 2006, a new perspective of the internet has appeared and made more sense of the virtual dynamics that we participate in.
The purpose of this book seems be to capture the evolution of the internet and who has authority in it. Within that framework the authors propose three main stages of how the internet operates and who has authority over its functions, specifically on a global scale. These three sections of the book highlight various events that have occurred that have led to significant changes in different mechanisms that involve internet use and control. We start to understand the main thesis in the introduction with the events between Yahoo and the French government. A legal fight ensued over the French government’s request for Yahoo to remove web pages selling Nazi related items. The author’s use this example to introduce the reader to some of their preceding points, “ The Yahoo story encapsulates the Internet’s transformation from a technology that resists territorial law to one that facilitates its enforcement,” (Goldsmith & Wu, 2006, pp. 10). The three main sections of the book break down the main point of the Yahoo case with more relevant examples, and explore the different technologies developed from these events that impact the governance of the internet in its modern forms.
Section one of the book covers much of the origins and key people whose ideas founded the different scopes of internet use and control. This section really deals with who actually has authority over the internet. The cases here deal with key figures such as Jon Postel and John Perry Barlow and their actions in dealing with the U.S Government over controlling the internet . What is important to note in this section is the contributions of Julian Dibbell in which he wrote a book, A Rape in Cyberspace, that raises the idea of the internet as a “place,” (pp. 16) and , “Dibbell’s parable was also the beginning of a constructive vision of governance liberated from physical and national identity…,” (pp. 16). We really get a clear perspective of how the internet originated and the struggles to control it.
Section two of the book covers the role of the U.S Government after it had taken authority over the internet. Here the authors really begin to unearth real world examples from the 1990’s that paved the way policy has been developed to govern the internet. This section explores the internet on an international scale, how geography, governments, and law affect the way services and goods are delivered respectively across physical borders (pp. 179). In short the author’s argue to an extent the impact that globalization and government coercion has upon the control of the internet (pp. 179). A key point is the authors’ reference to Lawrence Lessig and his ideas on "code is law," (pp. 72), within a unique perspective, "When governement practices control through code, it is practicing a commonplace form of intermediary control,” (p. 72). The chapter on China is particularly interesting, it explores internet security and censorship, amidst the topic of internet governance.
The authors’, in section three, really highlight the positive and negative constructs governments and web authorities are facing. The authors‘ really aim to, “…show how the future of the internet will be shaped by domestic politics and international relations, as interest groups and countries fight for control and influence over the once borderless medium,” (pp. 130). The most important point is on how the internet now has borders and their roles are derived from enforcement of national laws, language and culture, and technological developments (pp. 149-150). Finally the authors explore the lessons learned from global rules and how and when they can or cannot be applied within the internet.
The book does make a great case for explaining how the internet is governed and how we have reached this point. The book was an easy read and concise, any chapter could have been a book itself. The book is truly remarkable in the amount of examples it uses to highlight the main points. Any given chapter really highlights a moment in internet history that supports the point being addressed. The book makes you think about your place in history when these events were taking place. Subsequently it makes you provoke your current understanding of the way you use the internet and how it affects the norms you have about its dynamic framework.The book is relative to our course in many ways that mirror on a smaller scale the concepts involved with authority and control of our web space. As we have collaborated through our wiki environment we have had to accept the the guidelines proposed from our professor, but at the same time have had some affect to the norms established in the class through the development of our contributed work. I would recommend this book, even just as a casual read, it can be accessed online through the Arizona State University library.
The book has minor weak points, it does read a bit dry in some points, in particular with the discussion of file sharing, although it does add more importance to behavior and law regarding the internet. Where the book is solid is in provoking though about the future direction of internet and globalization trends. There is something in thinking of these concepts while personally using the internet that make you wonder what truly is going on in this network of people, files, and information. Some questions that I personally had that could be further explored are, to what extent do web companies sacrifice personal choice and belief when they deal outside of their borders? Is money the ultimate motivating factor in these decisions, or where do cases exist where moral or preferred belief supersedes profit in global internet control and transaction?
What really sets a striking point is the idea that powerful nation’s are in race to extend their dominance over the internet and to manipulate the authority and scope of its technology, the authors’ write “It is not just that nations have the power to shape the Internet’s architecture. It is that the United States, China, and Europe are using their coercive powers to establish different visions of what the internet might be,” (pp. 184)
Reference
Goldsmith, J. & Wu, T. (2006). Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/lib/asulib/docDetail.action?docID=101 60558
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