Government Technology - August 2007 - (Page 12)

the last mile Group Publisher: DON PEARSON dpearson@govtech.com EDITORIAL BY C HA D VA NDER VEEN TECHNOLOGY AND POLITICS EDITOR Editor: Associate Editor: Assistant Editor: Chief Copy Editor: Managing Editor: Justice Editor: Technology and Politics Editor: Staff Writers: STEVE TOWNS stowns@govtech.com SHANE PETERSON speterson@govtech.com JESSICA JONES jjones@govtech.com MIRIAM JONES mjones@govtech.com KAREN STEWARTSON kstewartson@govtech.com JIM MCKAY jmckay@govtech.com CHAD VANDER VEEN cvanderveen@govtech.com ANDY OPSAHL, CORINE STOFLE, JESSICA WEIDLING DESIGN Creative Director: Graphic Designers: Am I an Internet Idiot? Illustrator: Production Director: Production Manager: Internet Director: KELLY MARTINELLI kmartinelli@govtech.com CRYSTAL HOPSON chopson@govtech.com MICHELLE HAMM mhamm@govtech.com JOE COLOMBO jcolombo@govtech.com TOM MCKEITH tmckeith@govtech.com STEPHAN WIDMAIER swidm@govtech.com JOEI HEART jheart@govtech.com JUDE HANSEN jhansen@govtech.com PUBLISHING D o the Intarwebs make us more stupider? What an amusing irony it would be if the so-called Information Age actually made us less intelligent. Along with the wonders the World Wide Web brings to our homes and offices — and laptops and cell phones and video game consoles and God knows what else — it also provides a forum for raving lunatics to voice their insanity. One of my favorite Web sites is Digg, the news aggregator populated by news links submitted and voted on by users. The more people like the link, the more prominently it’s displayed on Digg’s main pages. But the problem is that the very thing that makes For some reason, the Internet makes people do and say things they would never otherwise do or say. Over at Penny Arcade, a popular webcomic, comic character Jonathan Gabriel once enounced the brutally eloquent Greater Internet Jerkwad* Theory, which states that: Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total Jerkwad*. Yet Web sites like Digg, Fark and Slashdot are getting more popular because user comments — no matter how stupid — are interesting in their own right. So much so, that traditional news outlets are entering the commenting game. In addition to the detrimental effect anonymity has on normal people, some “Netizens” have a special way of taking part VP Strategic Accounts: VP Bus. Development: Sr. Director of Sales: JON FYFFE jfyffe@govtech.com TIM KARNEY tkarney@govtech.com EAST PAM FYFFE pfyffe@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL EAST SHELLEY BALLARD sballard@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL Regional Sales Directors: LESLIE HUNTER lhunter@govtech.com Account Managers: KRISTA O’SULLIVAN kosullivan@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL MELISSA CANO mcano@govtech.com EAST ERIN HUX ehux@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL ANDREA KLEINBARDT akleinbardt@govtech.com Director of Marketing: Director of National Sales Administration and Organization: Regional Sales Administrators: Dir. of Custom Events: TRACEY SIMEK tsimek@govtech.com NANCY GLASS nglass@govtech.com SABRINA SHEWMAKE sshewmake@govtech.com WHITNEY SWEET wsweet@govtech.com “For some reason, the Internet makes people do and say things they would never otherwise do or say.” Digg great — user-generated content — is what makes me feel so stupid when I read it. Here is a sample of the leading links during the time of my writing: Bush’s Grandfather Directed Bank Who Funded Hitler; Gay Flamingos Adopt a Baby; and Woman Drinks 12 Diet Cokes a Day. Digg, like many other news-aggregating sites, allows users to also comment on stories. Would you believe 200 people have something to say about a woman who drinks a dozen Diet Cokes? In the offline world, you’d be lucky to find two people who’d care to comment. But online, every person can, and often does, share their two cents. Sometimes you read some really funny, insightful stuff — comments that go on to be Internet memes (temporarily popular Internet phenomena, such as the LOLcats or L337 speak). But more often, Internet commentary is evidence that the globe is full of failing high school students, conspiracy nut jobs and video game fans. AUG_07 Custom Events Manager: LANA HERRERA lherrera@govtech.com Custom Events Coordinator: KARIN PRADO kprado@govtech.com Dir. of Custom Publications: STACEY TOLES stoles@govtech.com Custom Publications Managing Editor: Business Development Director: Publisher’s Executive Coordinator: EMILY MONTANDON emontandon@govtech.com GLENN SWENSON gswenson@govtech.com SARAH LIX slix@govtech.com of a story and transforming it into something simultaneously hilarious and utterly moronic. Take the word “Intarwebs” or its relative “Intertubes.” Each began life as a play on a quote. The former word came from President Bush’s usage of the term “Internets,” and the latter was taken from Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens’ explanation of the Internet as a “series of tubes.” In fact, many Internet users would know exactly what you meant from the word “tubes.” For example, if a person were to say, “The tubes are clogged again,” he or she would mean Web sites are loading slowly. This is all symptomatic of the Internet’s uncanny ability to reduce big chunks of very useful information into tiny bits of questionably useful stuff. I just hope these little nuggets of data I glean every day aren’t turning me into an Internet idiot. * Less offensive term substituted for original. Director of Web Products and Services: VIKKI PALAZZARI vpalazzari@govtech.com Web Services Manager: PETER SIMEK psimek@govtech.com Project Coordinator, Web Products and Services: MICHELLE MROTEK mmrotek@govtech.com Creative Web Administrator: Circulation Director: JULIE DEDEAUX jdedeaux@govtech.com PAUL HARNEY pharney@govtech.com CORPORATE CEO: Executive VP: Executive VP: CAO: CFO: VP of Events: DENNIS MCKENNA dmckenna@govtech.com DON PEARSON dpearson@govtech.com CATHILEA ROBINETT crobinet@centerdigitalgov.com LISA BERNARD lbernard@govtech.com PAUL HARNEY pharney@govtech.com ALAN COX acox@govtech.com Government Technology is published by e.Republic Inc. Copyright 2007 by e.Republic Inc. All rights reserved. Government Technology is a registered trademark of e.Republic Inc. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of the publisher or editors. Article submissions should be sent to the attention of the Managing Editor. Reprints of all articles in this issue and past issues are available (500 minimum). Please direct inquiries to Reprint Management Services (RMS): Attn. Angie Van Gorder at (800) 360-5549 ext.176 or . Subscription Information: Requests for subscriptions may be directed to Circulation Director by phone or fax to the numbers below. You can also subscribe online at . 100 Blue Ravine Rd. Folsom, CA 95630 Phone: (916) 932-1300 Fax: (916) 932-1470 12 PRINTED IN THE USA http://www.govtech.com http://www.govtech.com http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - August 2007

Contents Point of View The Big Picture The Last Mile Letter to the Editor GT Spectrum Up Close Vanishing Act Way Back Machine Fast Track to Nowhere Best of Both Worlds Texting 911? GIS to Go Neighborhood Watch Two Cents Products Signal: Noise Government Solutions

Government Technology - August 2007

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