The Michigan Municipal League wants to congratulate the City of Houghton for being the first community to join in the League’s LotusLive proof of concept.

Houghton will be assisting the League in testing the applicability of this collaboration tool by using it in day to day operations and evaluating its effectiveness. The League believes that this system has great potential for all our members and is excited that Houghton is helping with the effort.

If your city is interested in participating in the pilot project, the League, in partnership with IBM, is offering this unique opportunity to a small number of our members for FREE. Members that participate in the project will get the use of the cloud-based software free for one year.

As part of the project, participants will be asked to validate three specific use cases, but can utilize the system for any project or process they wish during the trial period. Specifically members will be asked to use the system to communicate and collaborate with their council, an outside group, and on an internal process. We are already using the system at the League, and are convinced this program will save our members time and money, while greatly improving workflows and collaborations. The League is still able to include additional members, but there are limited opportunities to participate.

If you’re interested and would like more information contact the League's Rob Ferrari at (734) 669-6366 or rferrari@mml.org. The League believes that messaging and technology are one of the eight key asset areas that a community must have to be vibrant in the 21st century. To that end, we are constantly evaluating what we can do to help our members improve in this area, and this pilot is just one of many such effort. For more information on the messaging and technology asset, or the League’s Center for 21st Century Communities program. Go here for details.

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org or (734) 669-6317.
LotusLive is a collaboration tool available for FREE to a limited number of Michigan Municipal League members.

We all know Facebook allows us to do more than just keep in touch with our friends. Its 500,000 million users also sign in to see what people are saying about the local and world news, it is one of the best places to find local event announcements, and businesses and charities use it to connect with customers and colleagues. The site has also caught on with many cities, elected officials, and government agencies. Many have already been using (or are considering using) Facebook to keep in touch with their constituencies. The #1 social networking site has already proven itself helpful during natural emergencies. It is also proving to be an effective way to distribute information to tax-payers, blast municipal news and citywide events, and get feedback from the general public.

New changes to Facebook’s terms of service will allow more States and local governments to take advantage of the communication tool. 

Until this year, many "State and local governments had been concerned that under the previous conditions [of Facebook's terms of service] they would have to pay the company's legal fees if Facebook was sued because of content posted by an agency onto the website," among other issues, according to a Public CIO article posted on GovTech's website, entitled "Facebook Modified Terms of Service for State and Local Government." 

Read the article to find out how Facebook has changed their terms of service to better accommodate State and local governments. 

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers was especially concerned. "Suthers' office led a year-long negotiation with the social networking site on behalf of 13 states to modify the social networking site's terms of service so they no longer conflict with state constitutions, including Colorado's," Gazette (Colorado Springs) writer Andrew Wineke reports. Negotiations took some time but ultimately they were successful in addressing Suthers' major concerns. The modifications were announced at a National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) meeting, in Janaury 2011.

Suthers says; "We look forward to continuing to work with Facebook and starting a new dialogue with the people of Colorado through the company's website."

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info.

President Obama will be in Marquette to highlight how broadband connectivity spurs economic development. 

The President will speak at Northern Michigan University to unveil the "Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative" to bring high-speed wireless services to 98 percent of Americans.

And as noted in this article, Marquette is a great location to show off how internet access works to grow business and serve people not only in the area but the entire region, our state and the world. 

Its where the regional hospital provides servcies to distant clinics, where NMU gives laptops to all of its students and where the city is developing a web-based economy to serve as a model for other communities.

Congratulations to Marquette and to all of the good things going on in communities across our state!

Arnold Weinfeld is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Federal Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 or by e-mail.

Each year, e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government and Digital Communities Program honors “Top U.S. Digital Cities,” which “successfully incorporate information technology into operations to better serve constituents and businesses,” according to the award's website. For the third year in a row, Ann Arbor, MI ranked in the top ten. Ann Arbor took sixth place amongst 13 cities with a population between 75,000 and 124,000 people that made the 2010 top ten list (there were a few ties this year). Ann Arbor tied with West Palm Beach, FL.

annarbor.com recently reported; “The City of Ann Arbor was recognized for several online initiatives,” which set the city apart. Some of the ways the local government is using the internet to serve constituents are listed in the article; “1) Launching an open data catalog; 2) Introducing online payment for water bills, which also allows residents to forgo paper bills by delivering electronic statements; 3) Using social networking, including Facebook, Twitter, Animoto and Foursquare; 4) Adding eTRAKiT, an online permitting and development records systems that includes planning and development information, inspection results, the ability to look up permits online and check registration with the city or schedule inspections,” according to the annarbor.com report.

Although municipal budgets are tight across the board, 2010’s recipients “continue to demonstrate the transformative power of information technology,” by budgeting in information technology, according to Director Todd Sander. “Economic conditions are bringing about a fundamental rethinking of local government structures and support strategies. It is clear from the results [of the "Digital Cities Survey"] that digital technology is a critical factor in helping organizations not only maintain, but actually improve service delivery when faced with fewer employees and smaller budgets.” 

Read more of Sander’s thoughts about this year’s award recipients on the "Top U.S. Digital Cities" website or in an article released by Government Technology, an e-Republic publication.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info.