that they are on the job even today, they have identified many questions which have yet to be answered in a satisfactory way and we need to make sure that they are or the long term will be the residence of the gulf. we think all of you for being here today and we hope to stay in contact with -- we don't all of you for being here today and we hope to stay in contact with you -- we thank all of you for being here today and we hope to stay in contact with you. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> on "newsmakers," massachusetts congressman edward markey, chairman of the subcommittee on energy and environment and the select committee on energy independence, discusses the gulf oil spill, its impact on u.s. energy policy and other issues. that is sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. >> one thing i regrett life in washington is that every major figure from the president on down is merely reading from something someone else has produced. >> he produced speeches for simon vance, wrote about presidents, and as a literary editor. he will share some insights sunday night on "q&a." >> this week on "the

communicators," interviews from the gov 2.0 summit held at the convention center in washington, d.c. >> "the communicators" is here at the gov 2.0. we're talking with denice ross. is the the head -- the deputy director of the center. what kind of data do you collect? >> we collect data that is important to our audience, which changes depending on the audience's needs. we focus primarily on nonprofit agencies before the storm. we focus on information to write grant proposals, and after katrina hit, the environment changed. all of that data that we had organized by neighborhood to be easy for people to use -- it was instantly obsolete and historical. we had to start figuring out who the new audience was, what

questions they had, and what might didn't -- what data might be available to answer those questions. >> what is the process to answer the questions? how do you develop the information to those who consume your material? >> we have been around for more than 12 years. we have a very strong website audience. we have about 100,000 unique of idiots -- and in unique visits every year. we know we can get our finger on what people are looking for. after the storm, people needed basic information on who was back in new orleans and where they were living. now that was really clear for us. what is the best source for population data post-disaster? we conducted a thorough review. we looked at public school enrollment, boating, traffic data. -- voting, traffic data.

>> it helps to find out who was coming back, who is staying there. who are the users? is the government itself? >> it is beautiful and a simple data set. everybody any is the information for basic decision making. -- everybody needs the information for basic decision making. it is almost a tipping point. are there interventions that can be done in those borderline neighborhoods to help bring people back? health clinics need to know where to place themselves so they can distribute health services. for evacuation planning, you need to know where folks -- if you're going to put in a fast- food restaurant, grocery store, business, housing developed -- everyone needs to know how many people are back and where the

are living. >> how are you supported in this effort? >> we are a neutral entity. it is important that we're not tied to any government association or administration did we do not get paid to make data. the idea is that we're funded by a mostly private foundation. our mission is to democratize the data. we want to make data that is important for community decisionmaking available to all stakeholders. >> as far as the information that is collected, what has fascinated you most about what you have come up with? especially post-katrina? >> right after the storm i thought that we would be rested at any moment with federal assistance that would tell us -- rescued at any moment with federal assistance that was -- would tell us what was happening. i think i had some idea that they would just scan the area

entellus who was back. it is really hard to get information in the post- disaster time. somebody from the booking -- the brookings institute said it was easier to get data about the rebuilding of iraq than new orleans. that is definitely true. to get that basically population data -- it was jerry interesting. once we figured out and that would be the best indicator, we learned that the postal service can not share that kind of data. they do have some arrangements with for-profit companies if they meet certain qualifications. the company that sends your junk mail -- right after the storm may happened to shelve the 2005 idriss data. when we contacted them, they said they had the data.

they donated that to us. they provide regular updates. >> do you do firsthand information-gathering or do you depend on other agencies like the census bureau? >> we depend on other agencies. they're a been a lot instances of neighborhoods collecting their own data and they have got a really good at finding out what information they need to make their neighborhoods a better place. we look for administrative data sets that will be used by decisionmakers. we figure out how to package that data so it is really useful for people who are not paid experts. >> i notice there are plenty of maps and graphics. is that part of helping people understand how the data looks? >> maps and graphics are really important. we do extensive visual ability -- a visual testing. i was in this hotel in webster,

texas, in the business center. i knew that people wanted elevation by neighborhood. we saw that was a really hot topic. i asked my colleague in san diego at the time, can you make a map of allegation by neighborhood? she was already working on it. she sent me -- of the elevation by neighborhood? she sent me a prototype. she used the color blue. everyone freaked out because they thought it indicated flooding. it was a good impromptu test. i was grateful that i had people to interpret the map so that we would not make that horrible mistake. >> as far as the ability to put the data out there, what lessons have you learned from those who attend the conference and talk about the kind of information they need? >> one thing i have been

impressed that with this gov 2.0 conference is the intense focus on the users and what information they need and what decisions they need to make with data. that is certainly always a place to start. there is too much information to try to catalog it all and make it all useful. we always take that user- centered approach. start with who your audience is. what decisions do they need to make? how do you design the data to support decisionmaking? >> as far as those looking for post-katrina and data, is it still as assistant as it was -- as consistent as it was five years ago? >> the local community is always needing data. they want advocate, make decisions as neighborhoods, they need to figure out what to do next.

the media is certainly still interested. they are turning it more into anniversary journalism appeared with the fifth-year anniversary coming up, there is certainly a renewed interest. now, since it is 2010, the results will be released soon. that will relieve a lot of the burden because we will be back to some of the basic information we had before the storm. >> denice ross, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> elizabeth losh, you talked here at the gov 2.0 expo. the title of your talk was, if you cannot control the data, considered the message. >> there is a tendency to assume that, when there is a government website, it is just about transmitting your information as a commodity that everyone can in 0--transmitting your information

as a commodity that everyone can understand. you have to think critically about the kinds of rhetoric that you are promulgating to the public. i had a list of four "don't's". don't pander. don't promise what you cannot deliver. don't get too far ahead of yourself. don't live for the moment. i talked about the different problems i see in public- communication strategies at public agencies. >> as this become more urgent? >> absolutely. the recent survey indicated that more americans are contacting the government by website. they are participating in retasking and sending out that data in new forms. they are finding information on's their web site and then -- on their

representative's website and then repackaging id. people use e-mail to promulgate information. it is important to not for get web 1.0 -- to not forget web 1.0 technologies. >> talk about the larger issues of the government. >> if you look up the word "rhetoric" on the whitehouse.gov site, you will find there it is a bad thing. it is a man that our opponents or are global and if things -- global -- it is something that our opponents or global enemies do. it is used to persuade people. it is about recognizing the

right word at the right time, the right place, and the right context. it is not a bad thing. as a teacher, at university, i think a lot about how students who have learned forms of communication from in person -- from informal networking communication. i teach a course on rhetoric where we look at a range of different platforms and talk about ways they could be more successful. everybody has to be a spokesperson for something. >> when the government puts out information, it is their rhetoric involved, even though it is in the guise of being transparent? >> everything will be rhetorical. even the colors that you pick for your pie chart have a certain flavor to them. people have talked about maps

being rhetorical for a long time. the way that north america as represented -- that has rhetorical significance. if we're going to be this large, geographical land mass that is centrally located, that says something different from if we are represented proportionally with consonants -- continents like africa. >> talk about some of the things you think regarding the government information and rhetoric. what concerns you the most? >> have a couple of concerns. i do not think the government is doing enough about information literacy. i talk about children's websites as a really bad example. cartoone characters, puzzles, mazes. children do not go to government websites to play games. they want to do school work. we have this great opportunity to provide certain kinds of

information and literacy skills and teach kids about what credible sources are. the opportunity is being missed. we're giving them puzzles and games, cartoon characters, everything they do not need, and nothing they do need. >> if you were consulted as far as these issues are concerned, -how would you advise the government? >> there are many things to consider. i give a word every year -- awards every year named after mark foley who sent those in appropriate messages. there are bad examples. i think what is tricky is that government agencies speak to many audiences. you cannot have a one-size-fits- all solution to speaking to public audiences.

one sort of communication might be appropriate to hiv patients, but not to 65-year-old senior citizens who are worried about being over-medicated. there are different communiques appropriate to different communities. if i were a consultant, i would make sure that you are creating vibrant communities around this material, rather than simply assuming that you know what people will like without knowing if there is a user base for it. the mistake is often made -- not by nasa. nasa is a great example of a government website. they have been really smart about government media for a long time. there is a long tradition of amateur astronomy. people have been interested in space exploration for a long time. not just ufo nuts.

they are part of the public discourse, too. nasa understood there would be citizens who would want to participate in forms of what we now call gov 2.0. they were thinking about this from the beginning and they thought about it in a smart, non-pandering, non-cheesy, non- advertising-oriented way. they have a lot of people who were consultants who came out of advertising and marketing, not the government. you got people who were oriented about thinking the government was a brand. it was a set of deliberative processes, not just a commodity. our government is much more complicated than that. >> is there component where it is not only one part of how the government puts out information, but how the consumer takes and uses information as part of the process?

>> 4000 often, you see these -- far too often, you see these legal notices were they asked you not to alter property. it carted ignores the culture we live in. it is a form of political expression. i worried there is an attempt to constrain free speech when we see these government web sites where there are a lot of instructions about what not to do with their material. i understand what to keep the message in its on filtered form -- unfiltered form, but i do not think they can bar free speech in that way. >> how did you start in this area? >> i started about -- thinking about this right after college. i worked for the california

youth authority added delinquency center. i had gang members, kids who wanted to overcome certain socio-economic barriers kids of immigrants come at immigrants themselves. there was a program called p.e.n. -- the public electronic network, designed to get citizens to participate in things like trash, homelessness, other issues. i thought it would be really cool to take the kids and put them on the network, give them e-mail addresses. remember, this was 1991, before most corporate c.e.o.'s had email. they were not really interested in talking to their representatives. they talked to each other. the kids or all on the computer

chatting. they were in the same room. i felt like -- i could not recognize that as a political speech, but i do now. it is a form of community building, -- >> you teach a course on this issue? >> yes. worst google the world's video resume, you will come up with this didn't resume -- this student's resume. he says he is -- he says pompous things about his knowledge about business and how he will talk to his boss. it was a total disaster. it was viral. he was parodied.

he got verty -- very upset. he started putting up takedown notices. himle got even matdder at and then found things he had lied about. then there was a student who made videos during the 2008 election where he was analyzing the different candidates' youtube channels and telling them how to reach the audience more effectively. they started watching his channel and making videos back to him. they came to his dorm room to be interviewed. we bring him into our facility so that students can ask him questions.

think about the question of how to be more like him. he to the vintage of his opportunity. -- he took advantage of his opportunity. we go from facebook to second life. we cover a whole range of things. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> at gov 2.0 with kate bladow of pro bono. >> we are a nonprofit that works with organizations nationally and internationally on access to the court and legal information. we do it through three things -- volunteers and, collaboration, and technology.

probono.net provides support to pro bono attorneys and legal staff. there is a web site at help people fill out forms -- both the public and the attorneys. there is another website that helps them manage pro bono work. >> how this technology play a role in this? >> the courts are part of the government. they tend to be a little bit opaque to the public. laws are complex. the processes are not intuitive. the resources that we provide break that down for them so that they can, if they cannot afford an attorney, they can get access to the court. >> what type of information people are looking for -- what

is the most common type of information people are looking for? >> family law is the most common. things around divorce, child custody, domestic violence. people who need orders of protection to secure themselves and their children. >> how many people have access and how much traffic do you get? >> our web sites are well- trafficked. i did not know the specific numbers on lawhelp.org. we had about 146,000 documents generated last year. that was in more than 30 states. >> as far as the help that you need to keep the platforms running, how many people are involved? how many volunteers do you have? >> probono.net is a small organization with about 15 too

20 people. we have about -- a gigantic network. we have local partners who put the content together because lost all laws are different. they know their communities. -- local laws are different. they know their communities. i do not know the number of partners, but it is the huge number of people that support us. some of them do volunteer work locally. a lot of resources go into getting people to volunteer, to take cases and represent people in court, because that is one of the greatest areas of need. >> what is the response from the court system? >> they have generally been very receptive. the cases move faster. people are more prepared for courts. they do not have to explain as much procedure. it makes their jobs easier. they do not want people to not be in court and not resolve

their problems. it allows them to assist those people. >> i thought i read that new york state was working with you on these issues. >> we have several courts that are working with us, including montana, california, and new york. new york is a huge portrait the courts started out with an initiative in the city courts. they were working on a land war, tenant, these basic issues. in family court, 70% of people were coming to court without attorneys. in housing court, 90% of people were coming to court without attorneys. they would see pleadings on all sorts of different things. the joke is that you get the pleading on a napkin, which is not particularly useful. it does not allow someone to explain their circumstances in a way that the judge can use them. based on their interviews for

the city, they expanded that program to the entire state. last year, they had 25,000 documents generated. in the first quarter, they have generated almost half of that already. they had 12,000 forms filled out by the public. we get great comments from them. people are incredibly thankful for the resources. people let us know that the service is better than pena butter. they are glad to have a website that is available where they can buy the forms -- can use the money for food instead of buying forms. >> what is the volunteer community like? >> california is a good example. they have self-help clinics. they have self-help clinics.