For this week’s assignment, I thought it would be best to look at some of the initiatives taken by various government websites to employ Benkler’s Gov 2.0. I came across a website that I had heard of before but never actually took the time to look at- http://www.ny.gov/. At first glance, http://www.ny.gov/ looked like exactly what Benkler called for.

When you first enter the site, you see various issues and are allowed to show your support for them. Under the issue, there is a tab called “Get Involved” that surprisingly lets you get involved. Similar to petitions, this form asks you to sign in and then show your support for the program so that your electronic signature can be accounted for. Unlike other petition websites that I have seen, you can also provide your own story regarding the issue. You can state how the issue impacted you and state your own opinion regarding the issue rather than just being cast into a simple for or against position. The site also offers data and statistics to back up the stance of the petition. Even though this data does not really allow the government to get a better idea of the needs of the citizens, this seemed to be exactly what Benkler wanted. People would be participating directly within government by offering their opinions on major issues.

This site even went past the simple petitioning site. It offered methods to complete certain tasks that involved the government such as filling out tax returns or starting your own business. It also had a section that tells users about events in New York State where the issues brought up on the website would be discussed. When you add the use of apps by http://www.ny.gov/ to further inform the public about everyday issues such as crime and transportation, http://www.ny.gov/ appears to be Gov 2.0 in action. The main problem I found with this website was what Benkler first proposed for the new Gov 2.0-openness.

Benkler repeatedly mentioned that these Gov 2.0 sites should be open to spark growth and innovation. Users would be able to input their ideas and the government could learn from the citizens. The site http://www.ny.gov/ does not allow this to happen. From what I saw, all the issues that were brought up and discussed were brought up by the makers of the website. The users of the site could not propose to discuss about a issue that was troubling them. All the issues that were discussed were the issues the government wanted for the citizens of New York State to discuss. Albeit these issues are relevant and significant, it seems to go directly against Benkler’s ideal Gov 2.0. Benkler wanted for the citizens and the government to work with one another in an open, unrestricted space so that effective change would come about. The website looks like it is only willing to do this for issues it feels are appropriate for this new type of discussion. This made me wonder just how ready is the government for Gov 2.0? Gov 2.0 would take away some of the power of the government and place it in the hands of the citizens. But aren’t we in a democracy so all the power already lies in the hand of the people? Or are we in an oligarchy and Gov 2.0 would represent a revolution towards a true democracy?