As the tech community gears up for the, whenever it’s going to be, announcement of the first Chief Technology Officer (CTO), it would be worth our while to look at some of the efforts over the past few years by executive agencies to expand their presence in social media and Web 2.0. The past few years have seen a number of executive branch agencies begin to use social media and Web 2.0 tools. A lot of these agencies are experimenting with blogging, Twitter, and, some, despite legal questions regarding archiving, are using Facebook to talk to people across the Web. The General Services Administration (GSA) has been leading the push for social media and Web 2.0 in the executive branch. Currently, the GSA is in talks with Google to set a Terms of Service policy for the executive branch for the use of sites like YouTube (Congress recently did the same).

Federal News Radio has a report on the uses of social media in executive branch agencies that you can listen to here:

Federal News Radio – Executive Agencies and Social Media

The Federal Web Managers Council has a bunch of great reports providing examples and suggestions for further adoption, and the obstacles to doing so, of social media and Web 2.0 strategies. Here’s a few:

Putting Citizens First: Transforming Online Government

Examples of Agencies Using Online Content and Technology to Achieve Mission and Goals

Barriers and Solutions to Implementing Social Media in Government.