Joab Jackson at Government Computer News has, for the second year in a row, pulled together a compendium of 10 government Web sites that he says are embracing both social networking tools and transparency. (He produced his first list last August). This year's list includes sites that embrace the Web's full potential, Jackson writes, and they can offer ideas for other agencies seeking to improve their own sites.

Governmental agencies have realized that a Web presence is essential, since most citizens are now beginning to interact with government online. "By and large, agencies have responded to that demand by creating richer, more interactive sites," Jackson wrote. He quotes Sheila Campbell, co-chair of the Federal Web Managers Council, saying agencies are starting to see that they need to social media revolution and its larger information ecosystem. "Managing the Web isn't just managing the Web site. It means putting the content out where people are on the Web."

Making Jackson's list are:

Data.gov for fundamentally shifting how government interacts with the Web.

Forge.mil which provides an online meeting place for military agencies to build software in a collaborative fashion.

San Francisco's Trasit.511.org combines the schedules of dozens of subway, light-rail, trolley and bus systems to provide a one-stop shop that can help users plan a route from doorstep to doorstep.

The State Department's State.gov for using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and other social media tools to get the word out about the agency's activities.

Government Printing Office's Federal Digital System offers public access to documents from all three branches of government through a single portal. "It is a Web site of sweeping scope," Jackson writes.

The State of Utah's Web site for pulling off what "is perhaps the most amazing trick of all: not looking like a state-run Web site."

Science.gov, out of the Office of Scientific and Technical Information within the Energy Department, presents information and makes it accessible by subject matter rather than by the office or agency that generated the information.

The U.S. Postal Service's site for making it possible to do online about 80 percent of everything you can do by taking a trip to the post office.

The Department of Health and Human Services' two sites Women's Health/Girl's Health that uses plain, easy-to-understand language, to address more than 800 topics related to women's health, such as fitness, nutrition, breastfeeding, pregnancy and reproductive health.

Federal Web Managers Council's WebContent.gov provides most of the information Web managers need to bring "uniformity and quiet sophistication" for federal Web sites.

It's highly encouraging to see government agencies responding to the public's demand for more helpful and easy-to-use online tools.

Elizabeth Newell, at GovExec.com, writes about how federal agencies are beginning to stick their toes in the social media pool. It’s beginning to dawn on agency leaders that when citizens search for government information, they will want to use the same systems they do in their everyday lives. But as David Herbert at the National Journal writes (reposted here by NextGov.com), many agencies still struggle to make connections online.

Newell cites the GSA’s GovGab, the Defense Department's roundtable with military bloggers, and she referenced the growing list of federal agencies that post on Twitter. Herbert points to the TSA is an agency that gets it. The Evolution of Security blog is an effort by TSA to explain the bizarre airport security system and offer tips for travelers. The agency realizes that in the online world, “if you build it they will come” is not the way things work. At airport security lines they advertise their site with signs saying “Got Feedback?” The site has been up for a year and posts average 3,000 page views and 100 comments.

NextGov.com has posted a "Best Practices for Government Web sites," where they highlight five agencies that pay careful attention to what their users want to see and do online. NextGov.com consulted with online experts who told them, that meeting the needs of the public will always be the foundation for any great government site. The five agencies they selected are: NASA, Library of Congress, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Social Security Administration, and TSA. They have an interactive "Best Practices" presentation where they explain why they picked each agency.

Despite this progress, bureaucratic barriers and inefficiencies still exist to further governmental embrace of social media. For instance, government agencies get hung up on terms of service agreements, legal jurisdiction and issues over advertising. And as Herbert reports, many agencies have put content online, but much of it is useless, boring and unable to attract an audience. He quotes Sheila Campbell, co-chair of the Federal Web Managers Council, "It doesn't make sense to be using Web 2.0 tools for the sake of using Web 2.0…(they need) to make sure they're developing compelling videos that resonate with their target audiences."

Newell quotes several agency communication and technology leaders as being encouraged by the rhetoric coming from the Obama administration about service, citizen engagement and transparency. And they are hopeful that the administration’s pro-new media attitude will further speed up the embrace of these tools by their agencies. As one observer is quoted as saying, "We really hope . . . the White House from its bully pulpit says, 'This is OK,' and gives agencies the comfort level to make that leap of faith."

Herbert quotes Micah Sifry, co-founder of the Personal Democracy Forum and senior technology advisor for Sunlight, about the federal government has a long way to go in embracing Web 2.0, but he remains optimistic. "Right now you can point to some failures of some interesting experiments, but six months to a year from now things will be very different," he said. "And it's about time."

PBS' MediaShift has an interesting post by Mark Drapeau where he makes a compelling argument for how government could and should use social media tools to transform how it engages and relates with the public. Couldn't agree more with Mark about the need of government to embrace the spirit of creativity and trial-and-error characteristics of the social software community. Mark writes:

"Social software has numerous government applications, including information-sharing within and between agencies; collaborating with outside partners like humanitarian workers; public outreach and crowdsourcing; and empowering people with inexpensive, simple, mobile technology. In addition, as hostile entities become more adept at using social media for propaganda, it is imperative that governments familiarize themselves with social technologies."

He links to an insightful memo produced last month by the Federal Web Managers Council that looks at the perceived and real barriers within the federal government regarding the use of social media tools. The memo also proposes solutions to the barriers. Interestingly enough, the memo's authors write that social media in government has become the number one topic of discussion within their government Web manager community over the past year. This memo and the promises for use of technology  from the incoming Obama Administration give me renewed hope that the federal government will finally get it. As Mark writes, government's adoption of social technology "can make networking and engagement with the public simple and powerful, make research faster, identify influencers in useful micro-niches, provide mechanisms for combating negative publicity, and measure public sentiment to help inform public policy." All levels of government, whether it's on Capitol Hill or in state houses, from court house squares to city halls, would benefit greatly once they start using these invaluable social networking tools and the "indirect, intimate influence it propagates."