John Wonderlich, a Sunlight Foundation program director, said, "One of the most positive things about [the plan] is that they are soliciting public comment and taking it seriously," he said, adding that the government will need the private sector's money in meeting its goals.
John Wonderlich, a Sunlight Foundation program director,
noted that despite significant government investments in THOMAS
and other online ventures, "constituent information expectations
still outpace technical realities." National Journal's Technology Daily
John
Wonderlich, the Sunlight Foundation's program director,
said lawmakers' main source of technological expertise should be
doctorate-level staff and non-industry groups -- but there isn't enough of
either.
"Members and staff should be open to
industry groups' input, as they have an important perspective," he said.
"Input from those affected by legislation, however, should only augment
the technological competence of staffers" and "non-partisan
legislative support agencies."
The competition for people's attention these
days is intense, he said, so using a technology like Twitter, which only
requires a small investment of time, gets constituents "the
information they want in the way they want it."
Akin to an omnipresent diary, Twitter will
take some practice for most lawmakers to grasp. "Members of Congress
are still feeling out this strange medium," Sunlight Foundation
Program Director John Wonderlich
said.
That may be why outsiders are tweeting about
Congress. Citizens are providing updates about House floor action, new laws and some of the work of
the Congressional Research Service.
Bluey said, "Based on informal
conversations I've had with young people, many aren't even aware of
Twitter, let alone the fact that members of Congress are using it."
But the change likely would affect paid-subscription sites that charge for legislative updates. Their "business model will need to evolve to compete with citizen technologists," Sunlight Foundation Program Director John Wonderlich said. Companies may need to add more substantial analysis in order to compete with free services, he added.
There also may be resistance from congressional administrators, who "are often wary of taking on new departmental responsibilities if they are not accompanied by statutory justification or appropriations," Wonderlich said.