NASCIO Progress Reports on State Government Internet Presence

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) today released Harmony Helps: A Progress Report on State Government Internet Presence.

Now more than ever citizens are using the Internet and e-mail to transact all types of business from online banking to buying books to accessing product comparison information. Citizens also look to the Internet to find state government information and services. In recent years, states have made great strides in maturing their Web portals, enhancing their online service and information offerings, and better aligning their domain-naming conventions and portal branding efforts. State CIOs have played a key role in this progress and will continue to do so in the future, said NASCIO in a release.

An update of a 2002 NASCIO brief entitled, Proposed GSA Rule: New Policy on the Dot-Gov Domain, this brief explores how state Web portals have matured and examines:

• The impact of the 2003 expansion of the dot-gov domain to state and local governments
• Trends in state portal domain naming conventions
• Trends in Internet portal branding and marketing
• The alignment of agency Web sites and state e-mail addressing with the state portal
• Areas of cross-boundary collaboration for online services
• Areas for future progress in cross-boundary collaboration for online services.

"We are pleased to offer this brief as an update on the progress that states have made toward the better alignment of state Web portals and online service offerings," said NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson. "Citizens are finding the discovery of state government portals to be more intuitive and similar from state-to-state. This is an example of how state CIOs can use technology to build citizens' trust in government to provide them with convenient ways to access government services and information."