Second-generation Internet

As detailed in this report, blogging is an activity that is increasingly moving from the fringes to the mainstream, with intense interest in both corporate America and public offices as to how to join the conversation. There are currently 60 million blogs in existence as of April 2007, and the blogosphere (the sum of all blogs) is growing at a rapid rate, with everyone from teenagers, CEOs, and, yes, politicians- from the halls of Congress to city halls across America-joining in the conversation. In the end, blogs may well become, as AOL Vice President Bill Schreiner described them, an “oral history” for our times (eMarketer, 2005c). Thus, it will be incumbent upon public sector leaders and private sector executives to stay abreast of the development of the blogging phenomenon.

In this research report, the author examines the phenomenon of blogging in the context of the larger revolutionary forces at play in the development-or redevelopment-of a second-generation Internet. In the first part of the report, the state of blogging across the American public sector is examined, seeing how pioneering leaders (let’s call them “blogoneers”) in the public sector are making use of this new technology to foster improved communications both with their constituencies and within their organizations.

Blogging is fast becoming a new tool for promoting online and offline engagement. The author provides a comprehensive assessment to date of the blogging activities found across all levels of government, including blogs from: Members of Congress Congressional committees and caucuses Governors and lieutenant governors State legislators City managers and mayors Police and fire departments College and university presidents

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