Monday, 28 January 2002 : "Congressional websites"

The Congress Online Project, a venture funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, evaluated the Web sites of all 605 House and Senate personal offices, committees and leadership offices. Just 10 percent received grades of A or B, while 90 percent got grades of C or below.

...lawmakers have a different agenda from the constituents, lobbyists and journalists who are searching the Web. As the report notes, those accessing the sites "are seeking basic legislative information such as position statements, rationales for key votes, status of pending legislation, and educational material about Congress. However, offices are using Web sites primarily as promotional tools -- posting press releases, descriptions of the members' accomplishments, and photos of the member at events."

The best sites, according to the project, correctly identify their audience; provide up-to-date, targeted content; offer opportunities for interaction; are easily used; and employ creative innovations.

The report also outlined several mistakes other lawmakers were making ... includ[ing] engaging in excessive self-promotion, failing to provide fresh content and including so many graphics that visitors have to wait several minutes to download the site.

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Posted by Mike @ 01/30/2002 12:47AM est