So the Obama transition team is gaining plenty of praise for putting out a video of ... itself. As one obviously brilliant thinker put it in a comment following a post about this by Politico's Ben Smith: "What makes this transparent? This is a one-way bit of propaganda. It is self-aggrandizing. It is self-conscious. Those Clintons: They are leaving their mark already!" I have it on good authority that NBA... Craig Colgan

Intriguing piece here from the Washington Post about the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution this week hosting an open meeting -- for the first time -- and taking tough questions, from a live audience as well as from real-time emailers. This in the wake of a very public scandal leading to the resignation in 2007 of the previous head of nation's largest museum complex, after the Post had... Craig Colgan

A commenter to a Josh Bernoff Groundswell blog post wonders: What the heck happened to @Obama? The busily tweeting campaigner -- or his staff, more likely -- has gone silent since Nov. 5. The obvious answer: THE GUY WON, that's what happened. It turns out the president-elect will likely surrender his Blackberry, since he is now, well, the president elect. The New York Times reports: In addition to concerns about... Craig Colgan

Two of many efforts already underway to build on election campaign momentum on the Web: The Groundswell crew proposes my.america.gov, "the world's largest focus group." The goal is to inspire the Obama team to quickly shove all of that online get-elected energy into mass problem-solving mode. To be clear, this is but an idea, at this point, and not yet a reality. The "I" is Josh Bernofff: I call on... Craig Colgan

A new day has dawned, we are told, for the country and for both political parties. For those who vote for Republicans, as I do, the question is what is next. As the president elect has showed so vividly, and as his failed opponent demonstrated so frustratingly, the future is the Web. For better and for worse. For better: it can effectively be made use of to fight 'smears,' as... Craig Colgan

Three examples showing how the candidate has been let down by a total absence, top to bottom, of any coherent interactive online presence:First, I follow "Sarah_Palin" on Twitter, from whom I recently received these direct messages: Sarah_Palin Hi. Just wanted your thoughts on Obama's aunt being found in South Boston... Have you talked to people about it? 7:30 PM Oct 30thSarah_Palin Right now, the issue that's resonating is that Obama... Craig Colgan

Bill Gentes, mayor of Round Lake, Ill., is running for state senate as a Democrat in the 26th district. He has the good sense to separate his campaign blog from his mayor blog. The Libertyville Review, which called him "blogging mayor" in their first reference to him in a story on his race, reports: "If elected, Gentes said he would 'act as a cheerleader for the region,' blogging all the... Craig Colgan

See this gorgeous Web site? It is owned and operated by the good people of the City of Reno, Nevada. Lately they have been very busy not only making the site's presentation look great, but finding new ways to actually use it to connect and better serve citizens. One of the department's latest moves is to install an online crime reporting system. Last month the city upgraded the system to... Craig Colgan

As more states investigate use of YouTube as a multimedia portal (see California and Virginia), the state of Utah is working at building its own video platform. Dave Fletcher, the State of Utah's Chief Technology Officer, says he is not only excited about Utah GovCast as it is, but about its potential. "More is happening," he says simply. Is it ever. "The site now provides a video search for several... Craig Colgan

Yet another blogging FOM (Friend of Municipalist) is Steve Harrelson, who is Arkansas House majority leader. Steve's blog offers a fascinating graphic today that reveals: Arkansas has not gone for a presidential loser since 1968. Harrelson narrows it further: "You won't hear this on Meet the Press, but as Logan and Van Buren counties go, so goes the nation." Our Q & A with Steve from December 2007 is here. Craig Colgan

The Miami Herald reports on on yet another controversy regarding a public figure and digital communications: "New e-mails have surfaced that appear to further implicate new Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho in a romantic relationship with a former Miami Herald reporter -- only days before the School Board is expected to vote on Carvalho's $275,000 contract." This one has been going on for awhile, with revelations weekly. By the way,... Craig Colgan

Delaware.gov and the U.S. government's official Web portal, USA.gov, topped the federal and state rankings of government Web sites in the annual study by Darrell West, who recently moved from Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy to the Brookings Institution. The study evaluated 1,537 state and federal websites against 18 best-practices criteria, such as online publications, disability access and foreign language or language translation to gauge the state of... Craig Colgan

The Loudoun County, Va. county library system, ranked among the top 10 in its size nationally, just went live with LoudounPedia, a community wiki focusing on a diverse list of local topics and issues. Sporting a clean, contemporary design, it appears to have the potential to become an important destination for any new resident looking to gain an awareness of the county and various institutions public and private, and to... Craig Colgan

Check out their debate site. Very impressive. Craig Colgan

Here is the archived call T. Boone Pickens did with bloggers on his energy plan. He speaks convincingly about the use of his Web site in this effort. This kind of thing is just easier and easier. We are now on the hunt for examples in the public sector -- outside campaigns or Congress. Craig Colgan

So the new organizing mantra: The reason Republicans are out-Interneted by Obama and Daily Kos, etc., is (wait for it) they are insufficiently angry. The Atlantic Monthly's Planting the Right Roots searches for the conservative Joe Trippi, considers the attraction of "geek chic" and pronounces "outrage as the logistical backbone of any political movement." So there you have it: Parity and power online will be achieved by assembling more rage,... Craig Colgan

We actually advocated for this awhile ago. Be careful what you wish for. Then again, it appears that in the short piece posted on the new Daily Beast, Clinton may be just responding to a request for what he is reading. But he is included as part of the DB's Buzz Board, sort of a group blog of various mostly lefty pseudo-intellectuals. For William J., a perfect description. Craig Colgan

The Smithsonia Museum of American History has started a blog. This museum has always been one of my favorites here in D.C., more for its collection than its presentation. The place has badly needed a makeover and new attitude for decades, and it finally has happened. Allegedly. The remodeled museum, closed for two years, opens Nov. 21. The space will include a remodeled Star Spangled Banner viewing gallery, the flag... Craig Colgan

At mid-afternoon today, a visitor to JohnMcCain.com finds a large graphic with this: "Tonight Governor Palin proved beyond any doubt that she is ready to lead as vice president of the United States." Which may be true. Except that IT'S TODAY ALREADY, and "tonight" is ... last night. We have seen this before here, and too often it seems that the Web just moves too fast for these people. Which... Craig Colgan

Michigan Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra just a few minutes ago from Twitter:petehoekstra Deciding what to do on bailout bill.What a disappointment that Ds put junk into the bill and that Rs leadership supported it.Pathetic.First, the guy is NOT tweeting to show the world what a smart guy he is. Instead, he is actually admitting that, you know what, I don't know what direction I am going to go here. Then,... Craig Colgan