The lives of congressional members are already mapped out in minute detail. One of Senator Jon Tester’s (D-MT) first acts on arriving in Washington was to publish his schedule online. It’s not a great leap from publishing written daily schedules to publishing daily schedules on maps. The advent of Google My Maps makes this easier than ever for congressional staff.

Some congressional members would no doubt be squeamish about revealing so much publicly, but many others would welcome the opportunity. It is possible to imagine a group such as the Open House Project taking up this cause and publishing the map on their website. Those congressional members who initially refuse to take part will ultimately be forced to in order to remove the air of suspicion hanging over them.

Could this be the best method of restoring accountability in Washington?

Mapping devices such as Google Maps, Mapquest and Yahoo Maps have been wildly successful because they provide visual context. Sen. Nelson’s Iraq CODEL map is a terrific example of this. Showing constituents where he has been and what he has done is far more powerful than merely telling them.

Crucially, Sen. Nelson’s Iraq CODEL map also provides accountability, a particular concern in the post-Abramoff era. In the wake of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s conviction there was a lot of criticism of the many trips taken by congressional members, particularly those funded by lobbyists. A majority of the public perceive these trips as frivolous, but many congressional members argue strongly in favor of them because they see them as important educational opportunities who find it tough to escape the beltway bubble.

There is some truth to this, but with public trust in politicians at an all time low they are reluctant to accept this argument. Sen. Nelson’s Iraq CODEL map provides a way of justifying such trips whether they be at the expense of the taxpayer or lobbyists. By detailing his trip so extensively constituents can be confident Sen. Nelson’s trip was worthwhile.

Kudos to Sen. Nelson and his staff for recognizing this and taking this important step towards open government.

Abi Tatton profiled the map on CNN’s The Situation Room.

Funny viral videos featuring American politicians are nothing new. However, they have mostly lampooned politicians and not one has been created by a politician themselves. Consciously creating humorous viral video is very hard. Could Democrat presidential candidate Bill Richardson be the first? 88,456 views, 260 comments, 15 honors on YouTube later and still going strong…

Whatever next?

Many thanks to Simon Hanson and Jon Ball at the Harrogate end for wiring it all together.

And a big thank you to the clever people at Skype and Festoon for writing the software that made it all work!

At next Saturday’s fringe meeting, it will have one (or possibly two) speakers joining via video.

We’re intending to use Skype for the connection - a bit like the Skypecast that Ming Campbell did for the Taking Power policy consultation.

The theme is ‘Lessons from the US mid-terms’ and the confirmed speakers are Mark Pack - the party’s Head of Innovation, and Martin Tod, PPC for Winchester and one of the founders of Flock Together.

Details of time and place can be found on Flock Together.

Not another spoof video lampooning Conservative leader David Cameron, but much more seriously, a Labour MP has raised concerns about violent content after an assault which took place in his Hartlepool constituency was found online.

Another challenge to YouTube has come from Japan, where media companies complained over music and video clips that were being distributed over YouTube without permission.

To avoid a string of costly court cases, it may be necessary for Google and Youtube to screen videos before allowing them to be published, which would add costs and delay to the emerging business.

BBC reports

Google Buyout: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6034577.stm

Illegal clips cut http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6069692.stm

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