The Future of Interactive Media in Government: Redefining Relationships among Politicians,

Agencies and Constituents

By Andrew S. Rushton

Interactive Media master’s degree Student,

Elon University

October 28, 2009

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Abstract Current trends suggest a transitional period is being experienced within the United State’s government relating to communication processes. The intersection of traditional communication methods with new communication tools is specifically explored pertaining to politicians and political offices, government agencies and constituents. This report explores the current application of interactive media towards government and builds upon this information to consider future projections. Various challenges are examined along with potential solutions that are likely to contribute towards increased adaptability of interactive media for governmental operations.

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I. Introduction Rarely can politics be viewed as a singular construct, where the influence wielded by a population of citizens goes unaccounted. This is particularly true regarding a democratic society, such as the one that exists today within the United States. Citizens have a right to communicate their grievances, their approvals and general opinions to those they elect to represent them in political office. However, with the advent of burgeoning communication mediums that encourage multidirectional communications, difficulties are being noted with regard to how constituents can express themselves to their elected officials. These difficulties are not unique to elected officials though. Government agencies are also experiencing difficulties determining how to best maintain communication channels that serve their needs without hindering the rights of citizens to access desired information. Two primary constructs will therefore best serve to facilitate the focus of this paper: transparency and participation. Increasing attention is being paid to the relationship between these two principles and how their interplay can affect a myriad of other functions in public discourse. In order to address these topics within an increasingly digital age, significant attention must be paid to interactive media. The intent of this paper is to focus on the current, and most importantly, future impact that interactive media holds in redefining the relationships among politicians, agencies and constituents with in the United States. The argument will be presented that interactive media presents the potential to increase government transparency and multidirectional communications between private citizens and government entities, if necessary steps are enacted to ensure advancement can occur. Specifically, this work begins by examining the historical framework that has laid the foundation for the current political environment on a national level. From there, the focus will shift towards the challenges faced by politicians and agencies in advancing communications with the public through greater incorporation of interactive media tools. Finally, this paper will examine the potential impacts that can be had on political communications through the use of interactive media by citizens in individual and group contexts. II. History Interactive media is a relatively young outgrowth in the evolution from older, traditional, static media formats to those that are newer and more versatile. This is an important understanding as it applies to politics in various ways. Traditional media or the ‘old times’ (Negrine, 1996) were often characterized by television, radio and newspapers, which typically represented the democratic process by serving as facilitators of public disclosure. In this sense, the public was generally more passive relating to politics. Information was mostly unidirectional, in turn limiting how people could respond to information when made available. This was especially relevant prior to online communications becoming commonplace. With the predominance of newer communications, the ‘new times’ emerged signifying greater public involvement and activism (Negrine, 1996). The public began to express a more poignant voice for control and influence through the new technologies that began providing greater options for the

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public to access information and delineate perspectives. If history is any indicator, statistics reflect a growing trend. Between 1994 and 2005 communications to Congress increased four fold. Most importantly, all of these were based on Internet communications as opposed to traditional communication methods such as postal letter writing (Fitch, Goldschmidt, Fulton, & Griffin, 2005). One of the first applications of interactive media within the general political environment was to that of campaigning. Candidates and organizing committees realized the potential that new communication methods held and began experimenting with ways to harness these resources for political advancement. One such example was the utilization of netroots movements. This is a process by which voters across the country would employ online tools to unite others who share common passions and perspectives, as represented by a political candidate or party. Most importantly, the use of these online resources enabled the orchestration of actual, physical events at designated locations (Feld, & Wilcox, 2008). The pairing of online capabilities with political campaigns presented a new means for active involvement of citizens in politics, whereas previously they may have played a passive or non-existent role. Political organizers have continued to refine how campaign material is made available to supporters to such degrees that a campaign manager can send highly specific, and potentially different, information to targeted supporters in different locations (Howard, 2006). Even with these tactics at the ready, attempts were still made to further capitalize off of supporters’ motivations. Political candidates began incorporating subcategories of interactive elements into their campaign websites in order to further solidify support from active campaign participants. These steps may signal further progression of campaign websites becoming more than merely simple information posting platforms but rather hubs of diverse campaign activity. Prime examples of reliance upon interactive tools were seen in the run-up to United States presidential election of 2004. In these instances, candidate’s websites displayed varying types of interactive tools such as encouraging visitors to blog on the respective sites and providing links allowing users to make monetary campaign contributions (Feld, & Wilcox, 2008). When considering the relation of interactive media to politics, it is helpful to classify the relationships into two groups. E-government is the more wide ranging and broadly applicable of these two groups. One can suggest it is due to this broader application that a precise and widely agreed upon definition of e-government is absent (Carrizales, 2008). One particular definition focuses on e-government as providing greater transparency in order to better utilize resources for the public, which the government is meant to serve. In turn, this results in more effective governmental performance (Pascual, 2003). E-democracy focuses more specifically on the concept and practice of public participation in government. This classification is not as broadly defined in that it relies upon the idea that citizens are a necessary component of actionable participation. This stands in contrast to e-government, which incorporates many other operations where the public is not necessarily involved (Carrizales, 2008). Within the framework of this paper the examination of interactive media as it relates to politics will be guided by two primary concepts. The first is transparency, which can be defined as focusing attention and resources upon the activities and decision-making processes of an organization (Welch & Fulla, 2002). To an extent, the concept of

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transparency is comparable to a window in that it enhances the ability to look within a construct that may have otherwise been concealed. Limited efforts to improve the malleability of this application with government are underway. Noted online technology pioneer Tim O’Reilly acknowledged during the build up to the 2008 presidential election that efforts were being used “to build better tools for two-way communication, for government transparency, and for harnessing innovations from outside the public sector to improve the work of the public sector” (Drapeau, & Wells, 2009). Working in conjunction with this transparency is the concept of participation. This second concept differs from transparency, as participation is dependent on actions to one degree or another. These actions, as they relate to government, rely upon the public playing a role in the process. Considering the composition of these two concepts and the relatively new application of both in tandem to politics, there are numerous findings suggesting much work has yet to be done in order for politicians and government offices to benefit. Furthermore, changes are necessary in order to ensure that the needs and desires of constituents are best served. Studies have shown that more than two-thirds of voting Americans utilize the Internet and prefer online tools to communicate with Congress. However, some Congressional offices are still relying upon standard postal mail to reply to electronic constituent communications (Goldschmidt & Ochreiter, 2008). Clearly, there exists a disparity on several levels between the communication mediums being relied upon and the reasoning behind their respective uses. Government entities need to recognize that changes must be made in order to better and more effectively communicate with the public. As the graph compiled by Fitch, Goldschmidt, Fulton, & Griffin indicates, email in 2005 was one electronic communication trend that is likely to continue on an upward swing. Several key aspects ripe for exploration in this paper will include potential means of acknowledging the public’s input on a wide variety of issues, how to respond to electronic inbound communications and how to handle these tasks with efficiency (Goldschmidt & Ochreiter, 2008). Interactive media has potential to influence all of these aspects and more. The body sections of this paper will explore how interactive media is currently being used, along with potential future

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applications to address these issues in modern American politics. III. Politicians Campaigns Once elected to office, politicians are commonly expected to fulfill an array of responsibilities serving the interests of groups typically referred to as constituents. As the twenty-first century progresses, the reliance on and predominance of electronic communications continues to increase (Adobe, 2009). Among the forefront of electronic communications that are employed by politicians are interactive media capabilities. If contemporary examples are any indication, this reliance on interactive media can begin well before a person or group are even elected to public office. Campaigns have emerged as a prime environment for the use of interactive media tools. In many ways, presidential campaigns have evolved to heavily rely upon these resources. They are the largest and most consistent spenders on interactive media tools (Howard, 2006). Several key examples of this reliance were spurred from the run up to the 2004 United States presidential election. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean was one of the first to concentrate primary resources on Internet based tools in attempts to connect directly with supporters and energize them into action. Much of the campaigns focus on fundraising was through small donations that supporters contributed via the campaign’s website (Campbell, 2009). Bridging the gap between online and off-line relationships with supporters during the campaign season of 2003 and 2004 was the use of Meetups. The campaign for Wesley Clark, a Democratic Party candidate competing against Dean, began rallying supporters to unite at various events organized in key battleground states. The Meetups were formed online with the intent for supporters to meet at different physical locations to share ideas and resources that might prove beneficial to electing Clark. These events were important for uniting supporters in real time and encouraging face-to-face contact among supporters who otherwise might never meet in person. According to Yosem Companys, who has researched the Clark campaign as part of a doctoral thesis, these attempts to eliminate some of the anonymity of the online world were helpful in campaign environments because they assisted in “building commitment” and “trust” that “could be taken back to online relationships” (Feld, & Wilcox, 2008). The Dean campaign further utilized blogs as a resource to solidify fundraising and pool collective public interest. The participatory nature of blogs meant that the campaign was able to introduce discussion topics and monitor what supporters were most energetic in discussing. Within this vein, the Dean campaign realized and harnessed the collective interest of the public to play a greater role in political party participation (Campbell, 2009). This move may have served as a springboard to increasing awareness for subsequent political campaigns regarding the power that blogs can generate among supporters. Howard Dean reflected upon this potential in an article published in Forbes magazine, as he considered “The Internet [to be] the most significant tool for building democracy since the invention of the printing press” (Feld, & Wilcox, 2008). Blogs also contributed in another close election during 2006. The Connecticut Senate primary presented the Democratic Party with internal factions divided over support of incumbent

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Senator Joe Lieberman. Mainly due to the Senator’s support of the United States’ War in Iraq, groups of constituents mobilized to use blogs as tools to unseat the Senator in the next election. It is important to note in this case that blogs were one factor of many that played out in Connecticut during this period. However, it is clear that in a close election, blogs did contribute to influencing a chain of events that eventually led to Senator Lieberman being deselected as the official Democratic Party candidate (Campbell, 2009). Having considered the relations between campaigns and interactive media, this paper will move on to examine the relations of interactive media to Congress. Congress A Congressional Management Foundation survey of staff members working on Capital Hill found that 79% strongly believe the Internet and email have made citizens more aware of public policy and increased their participation in the legislative process (Fitch, Goldschmidt, Fulton, & Griffin, 2005). These findings lend support to the notion that greater interactivity as it relates to government communications can reap rewards for citizens at large. In an interview conducted October 5, 2009 Tim Hysom, Director of Communication and Technology Services at the Congressional Management Foundation, elaborated that a growing number of Congressional offices are employing positions such as Director of New Media. Up to three years ago, “there was no such title on Capital Hill. There was no staffer who were exclusively or mostly focused on Members and how they are using new media tools.” Considering these changes as a barometer of sorts for the transitional mindset among politicians, Hysom believes that it is “an indication that Congress is really starting to see the value in these kinds of new technologies.” The potential benefits of this awareness are two-sided. A 2005 Pew Research Center survey found that at least one fourth of Americans were obtaining their primary news from the Internet, while relying less upon traditional media such as television and newspapers for the same purposes (Ward, Owen, Davis & Taras, 2008). It is plausible to draw the conclusion that since the study was conducted, this percentage will have increased due to the greater availability of mobile Internet access and updating potential inherent to non-static media. Although hesitancy to adopt interactive media for political communications continues to exist within some Congressional offices, there are efforts underway to harness the capabilities these newer communication methods could provide. One such example is the recent unveiling of the first crowd-sourced federal government website. In this regard, crowd sourcing is defined as the solicitation of design concepts from members of the public around the world. The website is the primary online portal for United States Representative Mike Honda (D), who represents the 15th District of California. It should be noted that his district encompasses much of the Silicon Valley ("Rep. Michael Honda," 2009), considered by many to be the epicenter of technological innovations within the United States. Elaborating on the motivation behind this endeavor, Ahmed Bhadelia, Legislative Correspondent and Online Communication Coordinator for Representative Honda’s office, said “One of the main reasons why the Congressman has pushed for a lot of these new technologies…is because he has to be, he is looked upon to kind of hold the torch because he is in a technology-leading region” (personal communication, October 19, 2009).

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The decision by Representative Honda to embark on an untraditional approach to present himself and his legislative activity to an online audience can be seen as an example of a changing mentality on Capital Hill. Specifying his reasoning for having the website redesign process open to the public, Representative Honda remarked: “The purpose of this website redesign is to move America closer to ‘Government 2.0’, where the public’s ability to access and provide advice to Members of Congress is enhanced by new technology and new online participation. Congress must take advantage of Web 2.0 technologies and transform the relationship between citizens and government. Instead of viewing the public as a customer, I believe that we should empower citizens to become our partners in shaping the future of our nation” ("Rep. Michael Honda," 2009). In order to realize these advantages, Mr. Bhadelia stated that Representative Honda is a firm believer of the idea that by ceding various degrees of control to others you are meant to serve, the return on investment is greatly enhanced. This principle served as major motivation underlying the entire project. Furthermore, Bhadelia pointed out that “this isn’t a website we will be using on a daily basis it’s a website they (constituents) will be using on a daily basis” (personal communication, October 19, 2009). In turn, the website is a tool that needed to be designed first and foremost with the consumer, constituents of the 15th District, in mind. Historically, the process by which House Members would design their websites was rather prescribed. Over the last five years, it has been recognized in the House that streamlining the process by which Members presented themselves online was necessary. As a result, a principle service began being provided to its Members in the form of website templates. “We didn’t want a template,” Bhadelia reflected. “We didn’t want something that was easily replicated.” By turning over much of the design process to the public, over 100 designs were submitted for consideration. The review process was divided into several rounds, the first being conducted by Representative Honda and staff. The power this method holds was apparent as contributions originated from individuals in numerous countries and throughout the United States. As the review process continued, a rating system was established online where constituents of the 15th District exclusively could vote which designs they felt were best (personal communication, October 19, 2009). Some of the most obvious and dynamic features that differentiate Representative Honda’s crowd-sourced website from the standard template sites predominantly used by House Members are numerous “firsts”, in turn helping to set new benchmarks for online functionality. Some of these features include social media bookmarking, to help users easily access content while reducing the need to navigate throughout website menus, allowing trackbacks and establishing a permanent Twitter feed ("Rep. Michael Honda," 2009). With all of these features, users can add value to their experience interacting through the website since the capabilities allow for each user to customize how content is delivered to them and exactly what content is delivered based upon their personal preferences. These capabilities further support Representative Honda’s motivation to improve civic engagement in political matters.

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An increasing array of communication methods are being made more widely available and their potential application towards political communication is likely to increase. A study published in the Electronic Journal of e-Government outlined numerous media tools that are important to note for their potential application towards interactivity in politics. Among the more prominent examples are blogs as demonstrated on Representative Honda’s website. Webcasts are another tool where audio and video streams are produced in transmission of content, often in real time, reflective of live events. Polling features may become commonplace as a means of garnering insight from website visitors on particular issues. Discussion boards hold potential to become an even more commonly used resource for people to provide their own input on topics within an online community setting. Automatic messaging alerts, such as email or RSS feeds, allow users to cater exactly what information they receive based upon their personal interests (Zissis, Lekkas & Papadopoulou, 2009). Each of these tools relies upon varying degrees of user input in order to function. However, they all maintain the potential to increase information transmission between politicians and their constituents depending on how they are applied. The efforts undertaken by Representative Honda and his staff to employ some of these communication tools have not gone unnoticed on Capital Hill. Motivated by some of the conceptual ideas surrounding his website, the House Ways and Means Committee recently concluded its own crowd-sourcing effort in order to better design a website that provides greater value to the public (personal communication, October, 19, 2009). The importance of this event should not be ignored as it represents a clear signal that attention and resources are being steered towards nascent methodologies of improving communications beyond the applications of one elected official. Weighing in on this move, Bhadelia commented, “Imitation is basically another form of flattery.” This may be so, as it remains to be seen whether more government entities will come to rely upon the crowd-sourced model of website design applied by Representative Honda. In any case, greater transparency is a likely by-product resulting from these efforts. “Everything that he does, every legislation that he votes on, every action that he takes is blogged about, Tweeted about…” Bhadelia said. “That is democracy at its best. That’s what this website tries to imitate” (personal communication, October 19, 2009). Challenges Although the prior example provides evidence that some Congressional organizations are beginning to redefine how the public interacts with government, there remains resistance by some in the complete embrace of new technology. Speculation behind these motivations is varied. One reason cited by Ahmed Bhadelia (October 19, 2009) is the workload within many Congressional offices. Congressional Management Foundation findings reflect a common sentiment among Congressional staffers that there simply are too few people to perform necessary duties, especially regarding constituent communications (Fitch, Goldschmidt, Fulton, & Griffin, 2005). Elaborating on this problem, Tim Hysom, stated the “1970s was the last time there was really any sizeable increase in the number of staffers in Congressional offices employed to help them manage their communications.” He continued to point out this was “long before email, fax machines, well before Twitter and all the other things offices are really tasked with

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keeping on top of” (personal communication, October 5, 2009) in the contemporary political environment. Other potential difficulties include the active fear among some politicians that their electronic communications can be altered for malicious purposes. Stephanie Vance, a Washington, D.C. based advocate and author of the book Government by the People: How to Communicate with Congress, stated her belief that some politicians are afraid their email messages will be rewritten by citizens, so as to not reflect their true position on an issue, before spreading their words out of context to mass audiences (personal communication, September 25, 2009). Funding also can present challenges in the transition towards interactive media adaptation within individual politician’s offices. Various factors contribute to this, such as political seniority and the size of the legislative district being represented, as these factors influence annual operating budgets. In addition, Bhadelia recalled the challenges faced from various government regulatory committees when redesigning Representative Honda’s website. On several occasions, efforts to gain approval for launching components of the website were delayed due to the absence of a streamlined approval process within the necessary approval committees (personal communication, October 19, 2009). All of these examples demonstrate to varying degrees that obstacles continue to exist in the application of interactive communication resources for politicians. Even though awareness among politicians of the existence of interactive communication tools seems to be increasing, changes will likely need to be made to convince more politicians to use these tools while providing them a greater peace of mind. IV. Agencies Challenges Although some common challenges are shared between politicians and agencies regarding communication processes, future integration of new communication models are likely to involve much more effort and resources within the constructs of federal agencies. Bev Noveck, deputy director for open government in the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy put this into perspective noting it is crucial “for agencies to design interactive Web sites that ask the right questions, target the right audiences and tie citizen feedback into the policymaking processes” (Towns, 2009). However, with this being said, the question remains how do government agencies go about meeting these goals? One resource meant to provide direction for these tasks is the Transparency and Open Government Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies issued by President Obama. This document underscores the intention of the current administration to increase transparency, participation and collaboration among government agencies and the general public. The directive calls upon agencies to use new technologies to convey operational information online, in addition to utilizing public feedback. It encourages public engagement as a means to improve government efficiency while strengthening existing relationships and fostering new ones with the private sector (Obama, 2009). This document suggests a wide-ranging change in the approach that the

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federal government will take in transitioning more services through active, electronic mediums. It seems this type of guidance is necessary, as a 2007 federal website managers survey found that approximately 65% of respondent agencies have not evaluated how well the public is able to complete critical tasks on their respective websites (“Critical Tasks Survey,” 2007). These findings suggest there is much room for improvement in catering agency resources to match public needs. The issuance of this document by President Obama does indicate the willingness of the current administration to try and use the latest technologies in moving forward to help government better address the needs of the public. However, many challenges still remain for agencies to progress in this initiative. A report issued by the Federal Web Managers Council in 2008 discussed a series of common shortcomings that currently muddle many government websites. An estimated 24,000 United States government websites currently reside online and only small minorities of government agencies have specific content management procedures in place to effectively manage the material they post on the Internet. Furthermore, it is not too surprising that citizens become increasingly frustrated while attempting to navigate the maze of poorly organized web pages to obtain basic information or to complete otherwise simple tasks (Godwin et al., 2008a). For agencies that do post information online for public access, many times these efforts result in material being organized solely with the agencies own benefit in mind. Orienting material to be more accessible to the public is often lacking. In these instances, web spaces are organized within the constructs of an agency orientation instead of an audience orientation (Adobe, 2009). This construct starkly contradicts the intent of President Obama’s Memorandum. Additional challenges exist for government in the online environment with regard to security (“Critical Tasks Survey,” 2007). As more information is made accessible to the general public, additional resources will need to be allocated to ensure that this information is appropriate and not hurtful to government operations. Three-quarters of surveyed federal managers cited security to be one of the most significant concerns constraining greater information availability (“Transparency,” 2008). These concerns are particularly relevant to the intelligence community, along with military interests. Maxine Teller, a new media strategist at the United States Defense Department, stated, “The free flow of information is diametrically opposed to some of the security things people are obligated to protect.” Additional challenges over control of government content presented online have been spurred by agency attempts to integrate their material onto third party websites. Certain websites like Facebook have terms of service agreements that must be adhered to in order for users to participate in their online space (Newell, 2009). This presents problems for some government agencies as they operate under their own, highly specific terms of service. These may clash with commercial service terms that dictate the allowance of advertising or establish unique legal guidelines for material posted to their sites. One of the keys to overcoming these challenges will be the wide acknowledgment that these types of challenges exist, especially pertaining to government agencies. Once this has been done, then it may be possible to devise more specific approaches in the attempt to devise solutions applicable to various agencies.

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Solutions Following his presidential campaign promise and subsequent election, President Obama created a new federal leadership position, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), solely tasked with coordinating the federal government’s attempts to meet the transparency guidelines highlighted in the Open Government Memorandum. The CTO will also be responsible for duties that go beyond the traditional attempts at transparency in government. Among these duties, the CTO will be required to identify the best technology services and how to most effectively apply them across federal agencies. It is not surprising that security will also play a major role in the implementation of any new communication tools among government agencies, another task that the CTO will take a lead roll on (Sargent, 2009). The appointment of this position should serve as a prime means of organizing and unifying government efforts to meet the goals of greater government transparency. Although it is too early to assess whether the creation of this position will reap rewards in accomplishing the designated goals, it does show there is great opportunity to enact beneficial changes moving forward. Regardless of the exact form government agencies use in attempts to overcome challenges, it is important that success is identifiable. For this reason, benchmarks are the most likely means of establishing clear signs that efforts undertaken by government agencies are successful (Pascual, 2003). If time and money are used to try and overcome challenges, an absence of clear-cut, quantifiable results could hamper future efforts relating to funding allocations or staffing requests. It is along these lines that government entities must grow to accept the fact of modern communications: the Internet is here and shows no signs of disappearing. Furthermore, this reality suggests that to the extent government ignores this fact it will place itself in peril as citizens become increasingly disconnected. Dr. Laura Roselle, political science professor and author at Elon University, noted that in order for democracies to work most efficiently for a given population the governing process has “to make sure data is released and can be checked for veracity, checked for accuracy; those things are important to maintaining the credibility of the government, the elected officials, the [legislative] process” (personal communication, September 30, 2009). This underscores the potential solutions that can in part be enacted through interactive media. One means to acknowledge the importance of new communication tools is through funding allocations. With more material moving online, proportional resources can be used to assist in this transition. There is little reason to treat funding for online resources any differently than traditional “bricks and mortal” office space (Godwin et al., 2008a). Ahmed Bhadelia of Representative Honda’s office cited one example of this from the 2008 Presidential election. “If you look at the Obama Campaign, they talk about the importance of separating online media from everything else” in order to provide an equal degree of importance when related to other media. He continued by pointing out “That is what the Obama campaign did and I think that is what a lot of the offices are doing as well” (personal communication, October 19, 2009). A case in point can be seen in the “Apps [Applications] for Democracy” contest conducted by the Office of the Chief Technology Officer of Washington, D.C. in 2008. By making publicly available large databases of information relating to the city’s operations, contest entrants were invited to produce applications for numerous media platforms that would serve to assist

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government offices towards more efficiently completing routine tasks. It is estimated that at the conclusion of the 30-day contest, the contributions resulted in a 4000 percent increase on the government’s return on investment (Drapeau & Wells, 2009). If this does not provide clear proof of what can be accomplished through government transparency resulting in greater efficiency of governmental operations, it is doubtful anything will. Government organizations would likely benefit by making basic, routine tasks requiring citizen completion accomplishable online whenever possible. In many instances, harnessing existing online tools to assist in task completion could accomplish this. Video sharing sites such as YouTube could be a prime resource for viewing instructional videos on how to complete basic government forms (Godwin et al., 2008a), as opposed to making attempts to locate the same information scattered across numerous agency web pages. One such example is Data.gov (Open government innovation, 2009), which serves as a centralized resource for general government information accessible by citizens around the clock. This portal reduces time spent by people trying to determine which specific agency an information request is most pertinent to by centralizing needed materials. One solution to reduce the amount of material agencies post electronically is to have relevant populations collectively decide which information is necessary to present. This is already being done within the Department of Homeland Security, specifically in the Transportation Security Administration. The Idea Factory was launched in 2007 allowing employees to submit and vote upon ideas and suggestions that other employees thought would be beneficial agency wide. The submissions receiving the highest votes are automatically submitted to agency leaders to determine if or how they can be acted upon. Since this interactive resource began operation, more than 4,500 ideas have been submitted with various ones being implemented (Drapeau, & Wells, 2009). Extending the reliance upon interactive media between government agencies and the private sector, the Peer-to-Patent program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office demonstrates what may be possible from collaboration online (Open government innovation, 2009). The program relies heavily upon people working together to streamline a traditional process. Bev Noveck, deputy director for open government in the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy explained, “The program uses the Web to engage citizen-experts to help review patent applications” (Towns, 2009). By relying upon people who already have relevant experience in the private sector, pooling their collective knowledge that they volunteer to contribute, the agency is able to reduce processing time for patent requests. V. Constituents Unlike the plethora of regulations that can dictate how government agencies utilize interactive media tools, individual citizens typically have greater flexibility in their adaptation of new technologies. One such example of how this flexibility can be applied is Govloop.com. Created by an employee of the Department of Homeland Security, during his time away from work, he was motivated to create the social networking website upon the realization his employer lacked any familiar tools for people to share ideas in an informal manner. As a result, the collaborative nature of the website has

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attracted thousands of employees and non-government officials to interact in ways that previously were not possible (Drapeau & Wells, 2009). Notably, this serves as a clear example of the power that one person can have on government operations. Even though the Department of Homeland Security has not officially sanctioned Govloop.com, the website has served a relevant need by establishing a social network where none previously existed. It is very feasible that similar applications of interactive technology will continue to impact different levels of government based upon the actions of individual citizens. Findings from a 2008 Congressional Management Foundation report show that citizens within the United States prefer email communications to regular postal mail when it comes to communicating with Congress (Goldschmidt & Ochreiter, 2008). Although these findings reflect the growing popularity of email among constituents, it is important to consider the content as well. In an interview with advocacy expert and author Stephanie Vance, she commented that the personal nature of the message is much more important than the medium by which it is delivered (September 25, 2009). Interestingly, Dr. Laura Roselle elaborated that there should be a distinction between simply submitting a letter to a politician and composing a letter that reflects a constituent is a knowledgeable contributor on an issue. Considering what if any role expertise has on this process, Dr. Roselle opined “everyone can have an opinion and they can share them in all these different media outlets,” but if the contributor is really not knowledgeable about an issue, “what are they bringing to the table?” (personal communication, September 30, 2009). In any case, Ms. Vance emphasized that if citizens are trying to get the attention of legislators they should “really focus on what the message is, that it’s personal, it’s thoughtful, it’s relevant to the legislator.” Even if citizens do craft a highly relevant message, Vance indicated there is no “magic bullet” in terms of a communication medium eliciting a guaranteed response from politicians. In this sense, constituents would be wise to form their communications with legislators emphasizing quality over quantity. This is largely why Congressional offices view form letters, often sent to legislators as part of mass mailing campaigns, with disdain (Fitch, Goldschmidt, Fulton, & Griffin, 2005). Based upon references earlier in this paper that Congressional offices are not as well prepared as they could be to handle incoming communications, mass mailings only exacerbate an already detrimental situation. In turn, the results can end up hurting the constituents themselves as time, energy and other resources on Capital Hill are consumed to such a degree that there is an inability for politicians to respond to genuine, personalized constituent communications. Even though there are vocal groups of constituents who actively communicate with their respective legislative offices, there are many more who do not participate. A rather stark indication of this fact comes from a 2008 report by the Congressional Management Foundation, from which the graph on the following page originates. The statistics reflect that 55% of Internet users in the United States who did not contact a member of Congress cited the reasoning behind their decision was that they felt their elected officials did not care what they had to say (Goldschmidt & Ochreiter). In order for constituents to play an active role in politics, it only makes sense that engagement will result from the desire to contribute. Additionally, perceived value in individual contributions will likely be a critical necessity for more users to reach out to their elected officials through electronic mediums.

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The protection of privacy and the establishment of trust influence whether or not constituents engage in electronic political communications. From a hypothetical point of view, there may be times where a constituent needs assurance that their privacy will be maintained before submitting materials to government officials or agencies. Without this assurance, it is conceivable that some constituents will maintain their status within the 55% of the non-participatory constituents cited above. Along similar lines, individuals are less likely to explore the use of interactive media in communicating with government if trust is not clearly established (Pascual, 2003). When establishing interactive communication channels, it would be wise for political leaders to ensure that safeguards are in place, such as encryption technologies for instance, as a means of providing incentive for constituents to engage in the communication process. Generally speaking, constituents in the United States want to engage in better communications with their elected officials. It seems that one of the greatest difficulties in making this an easier process is the overarching perception that politicians are simply not interested in dealing with them. To this affect, there exists opportunity for change that can help to diminish the prevalence of these perceptions among the citizenry. Since an average of 81% of surveyed citizens state they openly desire to learn of their elected official’s personal stance on legislative issues directly from the legislator him/herself (Goldschmidt & Ochreiter, 2008), clearly there is opportunity for politicians to make changes to better engage this public desire. VI. Conclusion This paper has attempted to explicate the current reality of political communications and the changes that are most likely on the horizon. Based upon the research cited in this paper, it seems one of the greatest difficulties for elected officials is

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not necessarily the realization that new communication channels are emerging, but how to best utilize them to communicate with their constituents. Transitioning away from older communication methods, such as postal letter writing, will take some time. Elected officials however do have a duty to uphold, in collecting, interpreting and acting upon input from their constituents. Consideration of much of the contemporary data indicates that constituents increasingly prefer electronic communications to transmit ideas to Congress and receive information about their elected representatives actions through the same mediums. Further changes will need to be made to realize the greatest benefit for this symbiotic relationship. In the current environment, great potential exists for the desire among constituents to have communications improved with the government. Interactive media harbors the potential to advance government beyond the bounds of its current existence. The full effect however of adapting interactive media towards governance is unlikely to be completely understood in the present. Current trends suggest the likelihood of positive effects on constituents, politicians and agencies, especially when broadly applied. The messages originating from the White House in this regard are further encouragement. It is probable that a combination of executive level guidance, greater awareness of the latest technology tools and improved organization across government agencies will propel interactive media to become an increasingly viable means of enhancing government transparency and public participation well into the second decade of the twenty-first century, if not beyond.

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Annotated Bibliography Adobe Systems, (2009). An opportunity for the US government. Proceedings of the

Government Computer News whitepaper list, http://gcn.com/whitepapers/list/whitepaper-list.aspx

This white paper presents a series of recommendations for the federal government on how to best use technology to allow greater transparency. Through the encouragement of utilizing ubiquitous technology, regularly updating information, asking and noting public feedback and altering the security measures to be more specific for the context of information. The argument presented reflects that if these steps can be enacted, which is possible through current technology, the government will make significant strides in meeting the Obama Administration’s call for greater government transparency. Although this article represents a commercial interest, the information it contains is very insightful regarding specific benchmarks that should and can be achieved to open government to the public. Binetti, D. (2009). @2gov-Civic participation made simple. Retrieved from

http://2gov.org/ Built around the popular Twitter social media website platform, this resource is a politically independent social media tool allowing citizens to sent policy messages to their respective representatives. The website acts as a transmission platform, collecting user messages and delivering them in a professional format to each politician. Demonstrating the flexibility and power of social media, this website is a strong resource to reference for my research purposes. The website is showcasing action individuals can take, using tools they are familiar with, to let their input on issues be heard among their elected officials. Campbell, Vincent (2009). Blogs in American politics: from Lott to Lieberman. Aslib

Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 61(2), 139-154. Highlighting three events of political significance in the United States over the last few years, this journal article presents the argument why blogs cannot be over credited for spurring political change. Though influenced to varying degrees by blog posting online, the 2002 resignation of U.S. Senator Trent Lott, the Dean presidential campaign of 2003-2004 and Connecticut Senate primary victory by Senator Lieberman all resulted mainly due to outstanding political influences where were largely unrecognized among the blogging communities. The perspective presented in this journal article could be useful in recognizing the limitations or misrepresentations that can be attributed to blogging regarding political influence.

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Carrizales, Tony (2008). Critical factors in an electronic democracy: a study of municipal managers. The Electronic Journal of e-Government, 6(1), retrieved from http://www.ejeg.com/volume-6/vol6-iss1/v6-i1-art3.htm

Focusing on the positive and negative associations of electronic democracy and electronic communications online, this article focuses on why some methods are more practical than others. Contrary to many similar studies that have focused attention on urban governments, rural governments are highlighted here. Case studies of various municipalities in New Jersey provide contextual examples of the discussed practices in action. By explaining the mindset and opinions of government leaders in small communities, this information is valuable in accessing the reasoning why some governments are slower to engage their constituents through online channels than others.

Clift, S. (2009, May 12). Government 2.0 meets everyday citizens and democracy. Steven Clift Articles, Speeches and Consulting About e-Democracy, Retrieved from http://stevenclift.com/?p=273

The author discusses a range of topics pertaining to the disconnect between the public and governments, specifically on the local level. Many governments do not realize the need to supply timely information to feed the public interest in governmental business. The problem could be most easily be fixed among smaller governments, if plans for change are acted upon. By outlining problems with legal constraints, lack of infrastructure and poor planning the author paints a problematic picture for the survival of democracy extending into the future. The point is underscored throughout the piece that democracy will not survive and afford its inherent freedoms to currently democratic societies if democratic principles are not translated into practice online. Crozier, M. (2008). Listening, learning, steering: new governance, communication

and interactive policy formation. Policy & Politics, 36(1), 3-19.

New forms of communication are shaping government policy formation but this should not be made out to represent explicit democratizing. This is the underlying argument proposed by this article, in which the author characterizes interactive forms of government communications as factors in changing dynamics of relationships but not the entirety of what government is becoming. The author specifically downplays the importance that has been generally characterizing the idea of interactive communications. This insight differs from many other sources relating to the topic and could prove valuable in providing a measured perspective of the effects that interactivity is or is not having on government.

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Drapeau, M., & Wells, L. II. (2009). Social software and national security: an initial net assessment. Center for Technology and National Security Policy at National Defense University Retrieved from http://www.ndu.edu/ctnsp/publications.html Paying primary attention on social media tools as they relate to national security, this article does expand social media uses into other government applications. The article specifies four areas of analysis: inward sharing, outward sharing, inbound sharing and outbound sharing. For each area, examples are explicated that provide value to respective organizations inside and outside of government. Additional insight is provided through numerous suggestions as to how best harness social media to aid government while providing greater benefits to the public. The outlook and application of various tools presented in this article provides excellent insight towards current and future understanding of social media roles within government operations. Feld, L., & Wilcox, N. (2008). Netroots rising: how a citizen army of blogging and

online activists is changing American politics. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

In this book, numerous examples of election campaigns are referenced regarding the use of traditional and new media techniques. In many ways, the perspectives account for historical commentary about political ideologies. The authors do center in on how the public, mainly the Democratic voters, organized on the Internet to mount a new era of political campaigning, referred to as netroots, which hurt the Republican Party cause in recent years. The authors go on to surmise that drastic changes continue to occur within politics so that any political entity that ignores the collective power of the public in an online space will be doomed to failure. The information provided on specific online political campaign efforts is very useful in showcasing the process by which modern political mobilization is occurring. Although it is apparent the authors political inclinations within the context of the book, the information provided should be very relevant in demonstrating examples of online interactivity in modern elections. Fitch, B., Goldschmidt, K., Fulton, E., & Griffin, N. (2005). Communicating with Congress: how Congress is coping with the surge in citizen advocacy. Congressional Management Foundation, Retrieved from http://www.cmfweb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Ite mid=109 Statistics are used in this report to demonstrate the changes applicable communications between Congress and the electorate. This data is used as a basis for explicating suggested or necessary changes Congress will need to undertake in order to operate with greater efficiency while serving the best interests of the public. The document also highlights the challenges that face Congress in coping with these changes. The richness

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and depth of the statistical analysis in this report will serve as strong evidentiary support of the changing communications methods among political and public interests. Godwin, Bev, et al. Federal Web Managers Council. (2008a). Putting citizens first:

transforming online government Washington, DC: Federal Web Managers Council. Retrieved from http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/documents/Federal_Web_Managers_WhitePaper.pdf

This white paper is composed by government web managers highlighting suggestions for the Obama administration to implement to ensure more effective communications with the public. Suggestions include mandating agencies to allocate financial and personnel resources to handle information transmission via computers, better organizing content online to prevent duplication, providing clear means by which public opinion is collected and used in future planning efforts and making information accessible to those with disabilities. Collectively, these suggestions serve as a call to mobilize resources among Obama administration officials by means of providing a basic framework to enable more effective communication with the public. This article is very valuable in that it provides strong planning ideas, in clear language, that can serve as fodder for advancing steps of interactivity into regular government functionality. Godwin, Bev, et al. Federal Web Managers Council. (2008b). Social media and the

federal government: perceived and real barriers and potential solutions Washington, DC: Federal Web Managers Council. Retrieved from http://assignmentfuture.blogspot.com/2009/02/information-underload-washingtons-ways.html

Social media is discussed in detail in this piece; specifically what actual and perceived problems exist for the government use of social media tools. The paper outlines a series of recommendations of how to identify specific difficulties within government bodies regarding the utilization of social media and provides potential solutions in overcoming the difficulties. The planning and perspective contained in this article are extremely useful in understanding how government entities perceive social media today. This information should be useful as a means of demonstrating potential solution sets that can be applied to specific government agencies or politician’s online presence. Goldschmidt, K., & Ochreiter, L. (2008). Communicating with Congress: how the Internet has changed citizen engagement. Congressional Management Foundation, Retrieved from http://www.cmfweb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16 &Itemid=45

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Typical approaches used by politicians in Washington to connect with the general public are gradually become obsolete. As more people log onto the Internet, they are communicating with more people, more often and more quickly than through traditional mediums. Politicians will need to realize that as a greater percentage of the public become active online, the communities they participate in more accurately mirror their constituent body. The passage states the risk politicians take by not making attempts to listen and engage the growing online communities. This piece is of relevance to my research as it draws a clear connection to the shifting paradigm between the public and elected officials regarding communication. The most effective path for both sides is a common understanding of the shifting media landscape and how to harness it. Holbert, R. L., & Geidner, N. (2009). The 2008 election: highlighting the need

to explore additional communication subfields to advance political communication. Communication Studies, 60(4), 344-358.

Citing the historic 2008 United States presidential election as primary focus material, this article argues the need for attention to be paid to communication subfields in order to better understand political communication. The author references examples during the election cycle where communication theories often disjoined from traditional political science methodologies provided valuable material for application to political communication research. Interactive communications are referenced in regards to whether their true existence is interactive, how they differ from traditional communication and the valuable perspective they may provide to understanding modern politics. Howard, P.N. (2006). New media campaigns and the managed citizen. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Paying much attention to the theories that support political action, specifically campaigns, the author expands the ideas to examine how the process of producing and consuming political information has evolved over the last decade. This is done within the framework of hypermedia and the effects that this newer form of information delivery has had and will have on the relationships between government and the public. Of particular relevance to my research purposes, is the examination of how hypermedia has redefined what it means to be a citizen. This book contains highly relevant material on the basic foundation upon which politics has operated upon and how more recent technological changes have created new dynamics that effect communications between the public and political entities.

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Negrine, R. (1996). The communication of politics. London: SAGE Publications. This book provides a chapter of material that discusses a general perspective regarding community involvement in political discourse. Though written in the 1990s, the concepts have grown even more relevant in modern times. The author argues that media treats the public as audience instead of involving them in devising solutions to societal problems. Furthermore, the author presents the idea that the media is part of the problem in that potential solutions to problems being considered by political leaders are often ruined by invasive media coverage that results in the polarization of opinions. Even though the material in dated, the viewpoints presented are valuable in comparison to the current state of interactive media in order to showcase the progression that has occurred with regards to government communication with the public. Newell, E. (2009, February 1). News+analysis social butterflies. Government Executive, Retrieved from http://www.govexec.com/features/0209-01/0209-01na3.htm Focusing on some of the challenges unique among government agencies in meeting technology initiatives set out by the White House, this article focusing on interviews and perspectives on these issues from government experts. Among challenges discussed include those relating to security, integration with regulations of social media websites and the influence that the Obama Administration will have on future initiatives. Most valuable to this piece are the quotes from experts that provide insightful research components when considering the challenges from within the highlighted government agencies. Obama, B. The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (2009). Memorandum for

the heads of executive departments and agencies Washington, DC: The White House. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/

A substantial document in terms of intent, this directive issued by President Obama on his first day in office, directs all Executive Departments within the Federal government to start composing plans to provide greater transparency to the public of their agency’s actions. Though the document is ambiguous in how to go about these tasks, the document signals a clear intent to begin a large scale transition towards opening up information flow to the public compared to past practices.

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Pascual,P.J.(2003).e­Government.Retrievedfrom http://www.apdip.net/publications/iespprimers. Breaking down electronic governance and associated definitions, this work aims to present material that clearly describes what e-government is and how it can be applied. The work utilizes a series of case studies and commentary of experts in their respective fields about successes in the integration of new technology to aid in interactive communication endeavors between government entities and constituents. Throughout the piece, clear designations of actionable areas are presented in order to make e-government a workable solution. Due to the specific attention paid to very specific areas of governmental and societal needs, this document should prove valuable in application towards United States government progression of electronic interactions with its citizens. Sargent, J. F. Congressional Research Service, (2009). A federal chief technology

officer in the Obama administration: options and issues for consideration (R-4150). Washington, DC: Resources, Industry and Science Division of CRS. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/congcomp/getdoc?CRDC-ID=CRS-2009-RSI-0360

The creation of a Chief Technology Officer position within the Obama Administration is meant to allow greater transparency to government, strengthen web security and assist in electronic means to spur interagency growth. This article examines the tasks that this position is intended to handle, what necessities will be needed for these missions to be completed and defining how authority is defined within a Congressional context. In essence, the piece provides detailed definitions to define the scope of this position and the challenges that may be faced with full implementation of the role. This information lends itself to an understanding of the approach being used by the White House in harnessing interactive media in new ways to aid government and public communications. Tauberer, J. (2001). Govtrack.us: a civic project to track Congress. Retrieved from http://www.govtrack.us/ Presenting extensive information on nearly all Congressional activity, in an interactive medium, is the basis behind this website. Created by a college student, the website is meant to serve as a collaborative tool for the public to learn what Congress is doing and provides specific resources to allow users to track specific actions of specific politicians, such as those representing their own district. This resource could prove very valuable as a demonstration of ideas put into action. Focusing on open, free, useable content for public information, this website should serve as a strong model of what may be to come in the future of government interactivity.

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Towns, S. (2009, May 11). Beth Noveck: government transparency must deliver results. Government Technology, Retrieved from http://www.govtech.com/gt/667712 Comprised of mainly an interview with Beth Noveck, deputy director for open government in the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy, this source sheds light on the approach towards government transparency from an official who very active in the daily activities of such initiatives. The comments contained in this resource provide greater depth of understanding to the motivations and approaches being used by to increase government information online. This information should strengthen other reference sources for my research on this very topic. Ward, S., Owen, D., Davis, R., & Taras, D. (2008). Making a difference: a comparative

view of the role of the Internet in election politics. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Although presenting chapters on the role of Internet in elections in different countries, the chapter of greatest relevance focuses on the United States. It is here that content from a data analysis of the 2004 presidential election is compared to assess the effectiveness of interactive Internet tools in supporting a political cause. It is argued that the findings suggest that politicians still serve the functions of their respective political parties but that through the utilization of new interactive tools, it better incorporates the interest of at least some potential voters. The information contained in this reference focuses on campaigning as it relates to elections. However, the information should be useful in demonstrating measurable effects that new media techniques have in mobilizing action among citizenry and allowing direct public feedback to influence political planning activities. Welch, E. & Fulla, S. (2002). A theoretical framework for describing effects of virtual

interactivity between government and citizens: the Chicago Police Department's Citizen ICAM Application. Proceedings of the American Political Science Association annual meeting, http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p65852_index.html

Examining what interactivity is, how it can be applied to public-government communications and the problems with current applications to government are explored in this paper. Specifically, the authors argue that the current application of interactive communications is multifaceted. Several models are proposed to better summarize the means in which interactive communications are practiced between the public and government officials. By proposing an alternative model that relies upon the self-adopting techniques of virtual communities, the authors focus the application of this

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framework on a community-oriented program that has been initiated by the Chicago Police Department. Zissis, D., Lekkas, D., & Papadopoulou, A. (2009).

Competent electronic participation channels in electronic democracy. Electronic Journal of e-Government, 7(2), Retrieved from http://www.ejeg.com/volume-7/vol7-iss2/v7-i2-art8.htm

Focusing primarily upon technological frameworks necessary to make electronic democracy possible, this article pays significant attention to the focus on methods best suited for placing government participation online. Detailed SWOT analyses are conducted to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of various methods to employ e-democracy tactics. The specific analyses of individual methodologies and tools for public participation in online governance is useful, as it reflects levels of engagement and easy of use for each tool. These resources could be very helpful when demonstrating why one online communication tool would work better than another in relation to government dissemination of information in the online space. (2007, April). Critical tasks survey [Online Forum Comment]. Retrieved from

http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/about/documents/strategic_plan.shtml

The document serves as a compilation of statistical data and themes resulting from government web manager survey results. Tasked specifically with obtaining quantifiable results regarding their respective agencies in terms of resources, planning initiatives and difficulties in enabling greater transparency within the respective branches of government. A key theme of collaboration is evident through most of the data summations as the majority of government entities represented in the survey results lack collaborative relationships with other governmental bodies. This document is worthwhile as it provides first hand insight to where targeted improvement must take place to help make the government and its resources more accessible to the public. (2009). Open government innovation gallery. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/innovations/ < This webpage serves as simple yet informative resource for accessing numerous government projects that have attempted to increase government transparency. The page linkages here should provide a centralized resource to learn more about certain sources likely to be used in researching for this paper.

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(2009, October 7). Rep. Michael Honda launches government's first-ever crowd-sourced website. Retrieved from http://honda.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=772& Itemid=110 The press release documents the efforts and outcomes by Representative Michael Honda, representing the 15th District of California, to launch the first crowd-sourced Congressional website. He is quoted in regards to several intends behind the effort and his hopes for the impact that the effort may have in broadening the appeal of greater transparency in government. As a result, this piece is a very useful document in reflecting personal insights from politicians who are embracing participatory efforts for constituents through the use of interactive media tools. (2009, August 10). The Library of Congress THOMAS. Retrieved from

http://www.thomas.gov/

Serving as the official hub of legislative information online as provided by the United States federal government through the Library of Congress, this website posts information relating to the actions orchestrated by Congress. In addition to providing current information, the website provides free access to archived records of Congressional actions. This website is the governments version of a library displaying information to the public pertaining to the daily actions of elected officials. It contains an extensive amount of information that will provide reference material for my research, especially original documents. (2008). Transparency- A Good Thing. Nextgov Open Government Survey,

http://www.nextgov.com/transparency/

Raw data is grouped by themes and summarize in the visualization of question responses of 430 government managers regarding transparency on government information. The findings, along with analysis presented, indicate a pattern of desire among those surveyed to allow public access to government information in a computer readable format. Survey results indicate the likely challenge in enabling greater government transparency due to differing ideas of how to implement changes, who should be responsible for changes and why changes should be made at all. The data sets contained here are excellent material for my research in providing insight to the feelings about transparency among higher-level government employees.