So, on a more boring note of a
blog, while there is so much excitement that goes along with the government and
how they use the internet, such as spying, they also utilize the internet in
many ways that can be useful to us. Take for instance using website such as
ncdot.gov, North Carolina’s official DMV website or fasfa.ed.gov, the Federal
Student Aid website.
Lifehacker.com
lists several websites that are out there for our use, some of which I had
never heard of. Many of these websites are helpful because, along with allowing
is to renew our drivers licenses and file for financial aid, they also give us
the ability to do our jobs as citizens, and keep up with congress, locate
historical documents, among many other things.
This website
outlines several different government websites among hundreds that are out
there. USA.gov is one which provides access to many online services such as
shopping government auctions and contracting elected officials. GPO Access
offers us the ability to access official information from all the branched of
the federal government. And CIA World Factbook provides us with information about
various countries and territories all around the world.
While
this may not be as exciting as reading about how the government is destroying
our lives by using our information without us knowing, I did find this very
interesting. I was unaware there were so many government websites designed to
provide us with information. It makes me think about our jobs as citizens of
this country to keep us educated about our government and what is going on. To
find out we are given it by them, I feel we have no room to be complaining when
there is information available to us out there that we seem to be doing nothing
with.
How many government websites are you all aware of? Any that
you use regularly? How does knowing these are out there and the information we
have access to make you feel about how informed the majority of the citizens
are about what is going on politically?
Citations:
Boswell, Wendy. "U.S. Government Web Sites You Didn't
Know You Could Use." Lifehacker. N.p., 16 July 2007. Web. 19 Nov.
2013.
<http://lifehacker.com/277405/us-government-web-sites-you-didnt-know-you-could-use>.
I will agree many Government websites are incognito. There isn't much advertising for them as there are for goods. Personally I used the DMV website when I had to replace my drivers license when it faded. The process was quick and easy. It was far better than actually having to go in person and apply for a new one. The added convenience works with people's schedule so there are really no excuses not to get the job done. I agree on the fact that many complain there is no information available when it only take a few clicks to be exposed. More advertising of certain sites and resources on local T.V. networks can bring in more visitors and also benefit society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware that there is a place online to renew your license. That is a wonderful addition in place of going to the DMV. Like the comment above me I believe there should be better advertising of these helpful sites.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that there was so many government ran services. I guess that the problem is the awareness of these types of governmental services through IT. Just like most people i know, there are not a majority of people that actually know about these things. I wonder if there is a way to publicize it better. Do you know of ways that they are broadcasting it to the masses?
ReplyDelete