Agencies using blogs to bring government closer to the people
Lawyers and the government, it’s tough to trust them. Sometimes you’re unsure of their motives and they all seem a bit phony. Well, the government is trying to do what many lawyers have already done: use blogs to increase public trust.
From Government Computer News:
A new Web site from the General Services Administration is showcasing federal agencies’ launch into the blogosphere.
The new site on the USA.gov portal provides links to archived and active Web logs from agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
“What blogs are really about are engaging the public with the government,” said Bev Godwin, director of USA.gov. “There are people that read blogs more than they go to Web pages and so it’s a way to get your information out whether it’s about safety or [the] Library of Congress or anything else into the blog community.”
Blogs have become increasingly popular among federal agencies as they try to bolster their online presence and become more user-friendly. Many of the blogs featured on GSA’s new Web site are hosted by senior agency executives and address some of the more pressing challenges agencies face.
For example, the Department of Health and Human Services is finishing up hosting a five-week blog focused on preparing for a potential flu pandemic. The blog, which runs from May 22 to June 27, features dialogue among business, community, faith and health industry leaders, and is meant to foster collaboration that will spur ideas on how to best prepare for a crisis.
It’s a start. Maybe a day will come where you’ll be able to check your RSS reader to see what a certain Senator wrote in response to the President’s “State of the Union” address, which you listened to earlier via podcast from the White House Blog. It’s a long shot, but constantly updated blogs with first-person views and opinions from those who run our country would increase the public’s trust and engagement in the government.
A good blog can do more than put out more legal information and boost search engine exposure. As Godwin said, blogs are engaging. Lawyer blogs engage potential clients, fellow lawyers and other blogs. They also have the ability to increase trust by bringing the lawyer closer to clients. Who do you think a potential client is more likely to trust: a lawyer who’s constantly publishing and discussing their view on recent legal happenings or one who gives potential clients not much more than their Martindale Peer Review Ranking and education background?