Here’s an interesting new report — The Blogging Revolution: Government in the Age of Web 2.0. Think of it as a kind of "Blogging for Dummies" without the humor. (No disrespect to the author or to the "…for Dummies" series.)

This report could be very helpful to any Member of Congress, mayor, state legislator, bureaucrat, corporate CEO who is looking to get an understanding of blogging and Web 2.0. In a straightforward and non-threatening manner, the report explains the Web; its history, its now, and its future. It also attempts to encourage decision makers to engage this brave new world. In common language, the author explains everything from how to start a blog, to social networking, to why blog in the first place. And he makes the case that Web 2.0 tools can increase civic engagement and strengthen our democracy.

The author includes many examples of government sponsored blogs such as Sen. Inhofe, Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Miller and even the LAPD. He includs a list of corporate CEOs who blog, such as Dallas Mavareck’s owner Mark Cuban and Sun Microsystem’s Jonathan Schwartz. He lists all the Members of Congress who blog as of April of this year:

Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.)

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas)

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.)

Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.)

Rep. Jack Kingman (R-Ga.)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.)

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

Rep. Mike Pense (R-Ind.)

Rep. George Radanovich (R-Calif.)

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)

Blogs are the fastest growing part of Web 2.0, the report says, and are becoming more respected. The benefits to government of blogging are pretty obvious. In addition to allowing government officials to communicate directly with the community, bypassing both internal and news based editorial control and encouraging openness, accountability and transparency, the study notes that Blog readers tend to be better educated, more diverse, more engaged in public decision making than the public at large.

We couldn’t have written the recommendations better ourselves.