Yearly Archives: 2011

House 2.0: Building out the House.gov platform with Drupal and social media

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As I reported for the O’Reilly Radar yesterday, when the House chose Drupal as the preferred web content management system for House.gov, it made the “People’s House” one of the largest government institutions to move to the open source web content management platform.

The House.gov platform is moving to Drupal but House.gov itself is not on Drupal quite yet. That will probably happen in the next several months, according to Dan Weiser, communications director of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer in the United States House of Representatives.

In the meantime, the incoming Congressmen and Congresswomen do appear to have adopted Drupal as the platform for their official websites. For instance, Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa‘s site, below, uses one of several templates on the Drupal platform. Notably, each of the new sites includes default modules for the leaders in the respective verticals in the social media world: Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Some questions remain about the cost and choices that representatives have as they choose their online Web presences. As NextGov reported today, while House websites can move to the open source platform – they don’t have to do so.

Given the context of citizens turning to the Internet for government information, data and services in increasing numbers, however, a well-designed Congressional website with clear connections to the various digital outposts has moved from a “nice to have” to a “must have” in the eyes of the digitally connected. (For citizens on the other side of the digital divide, the House switchboards are still available via phone call at (202) 224-3121 or TTY: (202) 225-1904).

If that’s a given, then the question is then why Drupal is now the preferred web hosting environment for the House. On that count, “Drupal was chosen because it is open source and widely accepted, therefore allows Members to leverage a large community of programmers which gives them more choices and innovation,” wrote Weiser in an email. “It should also be noted that Members still will have the option to use other platforms.”

Weiser told NextGov that, because, Drupal developers are in every member’s district, “that hopefully means expanded choice and more innovation for our members.”

The current content management system limits the choice of site programmer as well as innovation, said Dan Weiser, communications director for the chief administrative officer, in an e-mail. Drupal, which uses a common framework and code that can be customized, will allow members to leverage a large community of programmers, providing more opportunities for innovation, he added.

The House expects to save some money with the transition to Drupal, since the chief administrative officer will manage the infrastructure and members pay vendors only for development time, Weiser said.

The inclusion of social media is also no longer a novelty in the beginning of 2011. “We expected there would be interest by the incoming freshmen to have social media on their sites; it just seemed natural to offer the option,” wrote Weiser.

[Disclosure: One of the vendors involved in the House’s Drupal effort is Acquia. O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures is an investor in Acquia.]

Clay Johnson on key trends for Gov 2.0 and open government in 2011

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As dozens of freshmen Representatives move into their second week of work as legislators here in the District of Columbia, they’re going to come up against a key truth that White House officials have long since discovered since the heady … Continue reading →

House 2.0: Livestreams of special session on Tucson Shooting on Facebook, CSPAN.org

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Today, C-SPAN’s Facebook page will host streaming video coverage of Wednesday’s special U.S. House session on the Tucson shootings. The livestream will start at 10 AM ET, when the House will consider a resolution on the shootings. The session is also … Continue reading →

The 411 on Digital Capitol Week on 1.1.11: 11.4.11 through 11.11.2011

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Digital Capital Week is coming back to the United States Capital on November 4th, 2011. In a livestream today, the organizers of the inaugural 2010 event announced the data and opened the gates for DC Week registration and ideas for … Continue reading →

Tim O’Reilly talks to Code for America about the power of platforms

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Today, Tim O’Reilly spoke about the power of platforms to the inaugural class of Code for America fellows.

What’s happening today is an “open data” movement, said O’Reilly. “That’s what’s going to build the next platform.” As he’s said before, he thinks we’re now in an interesting platform stage where “the Internet is the operating system.” As early adopters of the new Google Chrome netbooks, a material metaphor for that notion is now online.

You can listen to the audio of Tim O’Reilly (my publisher) or download the MP3. Video may be available. later. Editor’s Note: O’Reilly Media is a supporter of Code for America and its founder, Tim O’Reilly, sits on its board.

The notion of “government as a platform,” which Tim has been speaking about for years now, is founded in his understanding of how technology companies have historically grown and flourished. Many of the anecdotes and historical underpinning of Gov 2.0 are in the webcast, “What is Gov 2.0?” in the side bar of this blog.

Here are a couple of key points from today:

Lesson 1: Platforms spread when they are ubiquitous and barriers to entry are low
Lesson 2: Create an architecture of participation, like Unix.
Lesson 3: Small pieces, loosely joined, which drove the growth of the World Wide Web.
Lesson 4: Don’t (just) build websites, build Web services.

There’s a lot more in there that builds upon Tim’s platform paradigm for government. Give it a listen and, if you find some other insights that particularly strike you or apply to how you think about how government can leverage the power of platforms, please share it in the comments.

If the notion that data and simplicity can build the government platform sound familiar, it should: Tim talked with the first United States chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, about how these ideas apply to government last year:

Building on that, if you have a moment, head on over to the White House “ExpertNet” wiki and share your thoughts on how the federal government should be designing democracy, specifically with respect to creating an open governnemt platform for citizen consultation.

CPSC to launch public complaint database at SaferProducts.gov

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As reported today by the Washington Post, the Consumer Product Safety Commission will launch a public database of complaints this March at SaferProducts.gov.

The new public database of consumer complaints is mandated by Section 212 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The CPSIA requires the Commission to establish and maintain a publicly accessible product safety information database that is available to the public. In the 21st Century, that means online, searchable and accessible at SaferProducts.gov.

As Lyndsey Layton points out at the Washington Post, the implementation of the database is not without controversy or political context. Manufacturing and industry groups are concerned about fictitious complaints or inaccurate claims made by competitors. Opponents of the launch of SaferProducts.gov are working against it, arguing that the public database could add additional burdens for businesses in a difficult economic environment.

The CPSC already collects reports of defective products from a wide range of sources, including consumers, health-care providers, death certificates and media accounts.But most of that information is shielded from public view. Until now, the only way for consumers to access safety complaints is to file a public-records request with the CPSC. The agency is then required by law to consult with the manufacturer before releasing information about their products, and the company can protest or sue to stop disclosure. If the agency thinks a dangerous product should be pulled from the market, it must negotiate a recall with the manufacturer, a process that can take months or years.

Under the new system, consumer complaints will be posted for any reader to find at SaferProducts.gov within 15 days after they are filed. When a consumer files a complaint under the new system, the CPSC will have 5 days to notify a manufacturer, which then has 10 days to respond to the complaint by challenging it, submitting a response or arguing that it violates a trade secret. A response would be published online with the complaint at SaferProductsgov, while the CPSC would have to decide to withhold or publish a complaint if a company asserts a false complaint.

This Tuesday, at 10:30 AM EST, the CPSC will host a webcast showing the new SaferProducts.gov report form at SaferProducts.gov/live. Visit CPSC.gov or follow the @OnSafety account at Twitter for updates on the official launch of the site.

In the meantime, consumers can continue to make use of the mobile recalls app that the federal government launched last year at USA.gov. These product recall datasets have been some of the most queried data on Data.gov over the past year, no doubt helped in part by the connected applications.

The CPSC also has a widget that blogs (like this one) can embed with recall information:

Product Safety Recall Info

White House deputy CTO for open government Beth Noveck returns to teaching

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Beth Simone Noveck, director of the White House Open Government Initiative, and U.S. deputy chief technology officer, will return to academia as a professor of law at New York Law School on January 15th 2010.

Noveck is the author of “Wiki Government,” where she wrote about using social networking technology to connect people to policymakers.

People in the open government community began to thank her for her service today. “We’re lucky to have brilliant & dedicated leaders (& working moms!) like Beth Noveck serving our country. Thx, Beth & good luck!” tweeted Twitter’s Katie Stanton, a former colleague at the White House.

“Thanking Beth Noveck for 2 years of @OpenGov public service,” tweeted open government godfatherCarl Malamud. “Good luck on next gig, great job.”

More details will emerge on who will take on Noveck’s role at the White House in the coming weeks. For more on Noveck’s open government legacy, look back at her work on leveraging on the civic surplus, next steps for open government, the relaunch of the Federal Register and designing democracy with “ExpertNet,” a proposed a citizen consultation platform.

Also see coverage of Noveck’s resignation in NextGov, InformationWeek and FederalNewRadio.

UPDATEOn January 11, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded Noveck a grant “to apply her expertise to developing a multi-year interdisciplinary research agenda to gauge the impact of digital networks on institutions,” including how society can use technology to strengthen democratic culture.

“The Foundation’s interest in public sector innovation as a potential longer term area for focused investment is testament to Beth’s success—through her research, writing, and public service—at putting the topic of 21st century democracy on the national agenda,” said Dean and President Richard A. Matasar. “We are delighted to have her back.”

According to the MacArthur Foundation, Noveck is now working with colleagues both inside and outside of government on the design for “IOPedia,” a platform for mashing up and visualizing public corporate accountability data and tracking the evolution of organizations.

“I am proud to have helped fulfill the president’s historic commitment to promoting an open and innovative government—one that uses openness and collaboration as core elements of governance and policy making,” Noveck said in a statemnt. “I look forward to working with students and the wider open government community to continue my research and advocacy to promote the adoption of public sector innovations.”

President Obama: Such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society

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Earlier today, Congresswoman Giffords was shot in Tucson, Arizona, along with over a dozen other people, at least two of whom have died. On this tragic day, many citizens and media alike are trying to filter fact from fiction. Both the president and the speaker of the House have issued statements condemning the violence.

President Barack Obama takes part in a conference call in the Situation Room of the White House concerning the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson, Az., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011. Pictured, left to right, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, incoming Chief of Staff Bill Daley, Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, Director of Communications Dan Pfeiffer, and Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro. Also taking part in the call were Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and FBI Director Robert Mueller (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama takes part in a conference call in the Situation Room of the White House concerning the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson, Az., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011. Pictured, left to right, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, incoming Chief of Staff Bill Daley, Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, Director of Communications Dan Pfeiffer, and Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro. Also taking part in the call were Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and FBI Director Robert Mueller (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

From WhiteHouse.gov:

“This morning, in an unspeakable tragedy, a number of Americans were shot in Tucson, Arizona, at a constituent meeting with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. And while we are continuing to receive information, we know that some have passed away, and that Representative Giffords is gravely wounded.

We do not yet have all the answers. What we do know is that such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society. I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping Representative Giffords, the victims of this tragedy, and their families in our prayers.”-President Barack Obama

President Obama made a short statement to the nation from the White House in a live video address regarding the shooting in Tucson.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/all/modules/swftools/shared/flash_media_player/player5x2.swf

The president confirmed the death of at least five people in the shooting in this tragedy, among them federal judge John Roll, and a nine year old girl. [Emphases that follow are mine-Ed.]

THE PRESIDENT: As many of you are aware, earlier today a number of people were shot in Tucson, Arizona, including several who were meeting at a supermarket with their congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. We are still assembling all the facts, but we know that Representative Giffords was one of the victims. She is currently at a hospital in the area, and she is battling for her life.

We also know that at least five people lost their lives in this tragedy. Among them were a federal judge, John Roll, who has served America’s legal system for almost 40 years; and a young girl who was barely nine years old.

I’ve spoken to Arizona governor Jan Brewer and offered the full resources of the federal government. A suspect is currently in custody, but we don’t yet know what provoked this unspeakable act. A comprehensive investigation is currently underway, and at my direction, Director Bob Mueller is en route to Arizona to help coordinate these efforts. I’ve also spoken to the Democratic and Republican leaders in the House.

Gabby Giffords was a friend of mine. She is not only an extraordinary public servant, but she is also somebody who is warm and caring. She is well liked by her colleagues and well liked by her constituents. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is a Navy captain and one of America’s valiant astronauts.

It’s not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does — listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors. That is the essence of what our democracy is all about. That is why this is more than a tragedy for those involved. It is a tragedy for Arizona and a tragedy for our entire country.

What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers. Those who have been injured, we are rooting for them. And I know Gabby is as tough as they come, and I am hopeful that she’s going to pull through.

Obviously our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain. We are going to get to the bottom of this, and we’re going to get through this. But in the meantime, I think all of us need to make sure that we’re offering our thoughts and prayers to those concerned.

Thank you.

Today, the Speaker of the House, the President of the United States, and his opponent from the last election spoke from a united position. From Speaker.gov:

I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured, and their families. This is a sad day for our country.” – Speaker of the House John Boehner

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) made the following statement

“I am horrified by the violent attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords and many other innocent people by a wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion.  I pray for Gabby and the other victims, and for the repose of the souls of the dead and comfort for their families.  I beg our loving Creator to spare the lives of those who are still alive, heal them in body and spirit, and return them to their loved ones.

“Whoever did this; whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race, and they deserve and will receive the contempt of all decent people and the strongest punishment of the law.” – Senator John McCain

Senator McCain also made the following statement regarding the passing of Chief Judge John Roll:

“I am deeply saddened to hear that Chief Judge John Roll was killed today during the senseless act of violence against Congresswoman Giffords and other Arizonans. Words are inadequate to express such a profound loss to his family, friends, state and country, but it is appropriate to note that a man of great qualities and character was struck down today, and the wickedness of this atrocity, which included the murder of a small child, has broken the hearts of many and will be mourned for years to come. I am proud to have recommended Judge Roll to President Bush for the federal bench in 1991 and have been extremely proud of his work on the bench since then. I am most proud to have called him a friend. Judge Roll dedicated his life to public service and was admired by many for his integrity, kindness and love for the law, for the state of Arizona and our country. He began his career as a bailiff in the Pima County Superior Court and was at his death the Chief Judge for the District of Arizona since 2006. He distinguished himself in every office he held. He will be missed very much. Cindy and I are praying for his soul and for his beloved wife and children and the families of all the victims in this terrible moment of sorrow. Our state has lost a good man, a true and able advocate for justice for all and a great Arizonan. May God grant him perpetual peace.”

The White House blog also linked to statements from Vice President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

Giffords online

Shortly before the shooting, Congresswoman Giffords tweeted that “My 1st Congress on Your Corner starts now. Please stop by to let me know what is on your mind or tweet me later.” The tweet will serve as a poignant reminder of the day. There will be a vigil at the Capitol and in Tucson for Giffords and other victims.

The first quote on Congresswoman Giffords’ Facebook page holds additional resonance today:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, …let us strive on to finish the work we are in, …to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” — President Abraham Lincoln

NPR’s Andy Carvin covered the emerging story using Storify:

http://storify.com/acarvin/rep-gifford.js