Feds taking this Web 2.0 thing way too far

Even before Barack Obama became president government agencies were all messing their pants with Web 2.0 excitement. Most famously NASA has been using twitter to broadcast information and win a worthless award.

Other agencies had been using Facebook, YouTube and similar sites for some time, and then the General Services Administrationthought it should tell the other agencies that’s it okay if these use these sights so long as they go through them.

Now, the State Department is sending a “New Media Technology” delegation to Iraq.

The delegation includes a mix of CEOs, Vice-Presidents and senior representatives from AT&T, Google, Twitter, Howcast, Meetup, You Tube, Automattic/Wordpress, and Blue State Digital. During their visit to Iraq, they will provide conceptual input as well as ideas on how new technologies can be used to build local capacity, foster greater transparency and accountability, build upon anti-corruption efforts, promote critical thinking in the classroom, scale-up civil society, and further empower local entities and individuals by providing the tools for network building. As Iraqis think about how to integrate new technology as a tool for smart power, we view this as an opportunity to invite the American technology industry to be part of this creative genesis.

Of course they are going to a country without reliable public power, where many people still have to run their houses off of portable generators. Now, getting these CEOs over there to show how these services can be used to open government, create a public dialogue and improve education are all great things, it just might be a bit early.

At least they knew enough to not send anybody from MySpace, and I can’t wait to find out when Baghdad will get its own Gawker, and eventual fameballs.