Taming the Internet

Editor's Note

December 2011 / January 2012 By: Bob Cochnar Volume 9 Number 6

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Tere wasn't much reaction in the media to the administration’s plan to speed up the transfer of federal research and development from the lab to the marketplace, which is a shame since the commercialization of government- sponsored technology can have a significant impact on the economy and, it follows, jobs. But I know I’m preaching to the choir. I—and you, I’ll bet—think it’s a big deal when the president in no uncertain terms directs federal labs to get moving on technology transfer. Now. You may be interested in some of the plan's details; they’re noted in Tom Michael's article (“Tech Transfer Is Now Hot,” page 17).
Another directive issued by the president also escaped attention. He has told his administration to create “within 90 days” BusinessUSA, described as a “one- stop, central online platform where small businesses and businesses of all sizes that want to begin or increase exporting can access information about available federal programs without having to waste time navigating the federal bureaucracy.”
THE WHITE HOUSE ADDS:
“BusinessUSA will implement a ‘No Wrong Door’ policy for small businesses and exporters by using technology to quickly connect businesses to the services and information relevant to them, regardless of where the information is located or which agency's web site, call center or office they go to for help. And the more federal agencies continue to add content to BusinessUSA to encompass the full range of business programs and services, the more we will be able to reduce the confusing array of web sites that exist today.
“To ensure that it is oriented toward the needs of the customer, BusinessUSA will be designed, tested and built with the active feedback of U.S. businesses and relevant online communities and, to the extent possible, will integrate related state and local government services as well as those of private sector partners.”
Any attempt to tame the internet is a mammoth undertaking. We’re currently choking on the amount of information available and the torrent isn’t going to stop, despite organizing efforts of search engines. Anyone who attempts to navigate government web sites know they are, at best, a mixed bag—some are clever, some are clunky. It’s good to know that some folks in the White House realize that it’s a fine idea for the government to organize its information in a customer-friendly way. The site’s not up yet; once it is, we’ll attempt an evaluation. Anyone who can create some semblence of order out of the chaos of the internet gets a gold star.