The latest in a series of Op-Eds in The Hill addresses how antiquated “Franking” rules, which govern how members of the House of Representatives can use paper mail, adversely affect their use of the web for communicating with constituents.
- Modern world, ancient websites, by David All and Paul Blumenthal, The Hill, June 19, 2007
…most member websites function as little more than online brochures, when they could better serve as a place to share information about the member’s activities in Congress, or even as a vital community center. Under these rules, members cannot use Google maps to provide visuals for district information important to constituents. Neither can members use non-congressionally provided blogging tools, nor link to other blogs that may be deemed to be of a political nature.
This is one of a series of Op-Eds written by contributors to the OpenHouse Project‘s recent report on congressional information. The complete report is available as a pdf document: Congressional Information & the Internet (The OpenHouse Project, May 8, 2007). The earlier Op-Eds are:
- Give bloggers Capitol access, by Robert B. Bluey, April 30, 2007.
- No light in basement, [campaign finance documents] by Tim La Pira, May 08, 2007.
- Inexplicable anomaly [CRS Reports], by Leslie Harris and Matt Stoller, May 15, 2007.
- More access to committees, by John Wonderlich, May 22, 2007.
- Preserving information, by James A. Jacobs, June 05, 2007
- Improve databases by Joshua Tauberer, June 12, 2007
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