Push Comes to .GOV

How federal agencies learned to stop worrying and love Web 2.0

"My parents brought us here," said Lisa Holz, who brought along her daughters, 4-year-old Kayla and 7-year-old Erika, and her husband and parents.But the things that annoy some about Tavern on the Green are exactly what made it irresistible to fans, including three generations of a family from New York's northern suburbs."I'm going to do flying, but I'm not very good at it; I'm just warning you," she said. The raven-haired Paulette Darkstone avatar promptly smacked into a tall pine tree.Another Yelp contributor didn't mince words: "Besides my risotto being just eh, and besides finding a small bug on my plate, I had a fiasco getting my jacket from the coat check."Even the restaurant's name is up for grabs. At stake is whether another restaurateur taking over the 27,000 square feet of space, owned by the city, can reopen as Tavern on the Green.That didn't deter a smiling Diane Allen-Smith from coming for a lunch with her husband in December, three years after their Tavern wedding, on a visit from Boca Raton, Fla.The former sheepfold at the edge of Central Park, now ringed by twinkling lights and fake topiary animals, is preparing for New Year's Eve, when it will serve its last meal. Just three years ago, it was plating more than 700,000 meals annually, bringing in more than $38 million.Still, agencies cannot always play by the superconfessional rules of social media. "One of the biggest challenges for a government blogger is to be transparent. There is some information you just can't share," Burns told the crowd. He cited the 3-ounce rule for liquids in carry-ons- he's been thoroughly briefed on the reasons for the measure, but he's not allowed to tell his readers.The city's parks department has asked the bankruptcy court to bar the sale of items that "cannot be removed without irreparably damaging the space they occupy," according to an objection that department lawyers filed in court this week."Our wedding food was wonderful," she said. "And we didn't have to do anything for the rest.""Selfridges, London is our flagship counter and therefore we are delighted to be unveiling the new design here before anywhere else in the world. This counter will also carry the widest range of products and shades found in any department store in the UK--so even more blushes and eye colors to play with!" said Andrew Rodgers, marketing director, Bare Escentuals UK.Kyle Carothers, a media producer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, started the agency's YouTube channel in 2006, making NOAA the first government agency to sign an official partner agreement with the service. But even he acknowledges that agencies should use social media only as it's applicable to their agency's mission. "If your Web site doesn't produce videofriendly content, why produce it?" he asked.Welcome to the brave new world of Government 2.0.Just about everything from the current restaurant will be for sale Jan. 13 through Jan. 15 at a Guernsey's auction held live at the Tavern, with a public preview there from Jan. 6 to Jan. 12.By design, social-media tools promote interaction between citizens and the often byzantine world of federal agencies. When the TSA launched its blog in January 2008, it received more than 2,000 comments in the first three days. "Kudos to TSA for starting off on the right (albeit a shoe- and bootieless) foot," wrote Wired magazine of the site, creatively named The TSA Blog. "Passengers were finally able to vent to the TSA- they aren't really comfortable doing it at a checkpoint," said Curtis "Blogger Bob" Burns, who helms the blog. He admitted that he still struggles to strike a conversational tone. "Just like if I met you at the grocery store, that's how I try to write," he said.The counter incorporates more "make-under" stations to play with the products and the notorious chandelier design that is essential to represent the style of all Bare Escentuals boutiques globally.The decisive moment in the intellectual-property dispute over the name comes in January. That's when a Manhattan federal judge will either side with the city and rule that the moneymaking name Tavern on the Green, valued at about $19 million, can be used by whoever operates the space or say the LeRoys own it.

Maybe government is getting the hang of the Internet after all.

Author: Connelly, Phoebe