FCC Dives Into Web 2.0 Applications, Tools to Plug Free and Open Intenet

The FCC has established the OpenInternet.gov web site as a portal for public participation in the discussion about preserving the free and open Internet, introducing collaborative tools Web 2.0 applications.  Among the links included on the site is one to Idealscale at http://openinternet.ideascale.com/, which allows the public to evaluate, rank and discuss the ideas regarding the open Internet, in new and improved pathways for communication to encourage and facilitate public participation.

The page breaks the discussion down into ten open Internet topics that have generated widespread interest, including freedom of speech, innovation, transparency/disclosure, and others.

A blog at http://blog.openinternet.gov/, will provide an additional forum for public comment and debate.  Comments from the blog and the Ideascale page other than anonymous comments will be included in the official public record of the Open Internet inquiry, along with comments filed through traditional channels at the FCC.  And one of those traditional channels – the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/ – became much easier to use and search this month with the launch of ECFS 2.0.

The FCC previously announced the use of other popular social media sites to increase public participation, including Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FCC , YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/fccdotgovvideo , and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/FCC.  Over 90,000 people are now following the FCC’s tweets.  Another new page, www.broadband.gov, was launched to encourage public participation in the Commission’s development of a National Broadband Plan.  In August, the FCC launched a portal for RSS feeds at www.fcc.gov/rss, and continues to increase the catalog of data feeds available as part of its commitment to opening government data and furthering transparency.