National governments have recognized information and telecommunications technologies as sources of wealth in their national economies. National initiatives to develop computer and communications networks, such as the networking project by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1970s, eventually can lead to global communication networks (e.g., the Internet). Other countries besides the United States are developing plans to develop national information infrastructures. At the community level, people are also developing information and communications systems called Free-Nets that link valuable community information together. The result of these government and community networking initiatives is an increasingly dense mesh of networks at all levels--community, state, region, nation, and world.
In this chapter, we'll explore webs that support national information infrastructure plans as well as government and community information. While these webs are not necessarily the information infrastructure called for in national information infrastructure plans, the webs themselves demonstrate possibilities for and government commitment to advanced forms of information delivery. We'll look at examples of the range of government information available on the Web, including international organizations, government agencies and a U.S. Senator. We'll examine some community-based networks that have webs and see how people are creating ties among each other and to the world.
Online applications discussed:
- Industry Canada - Electronic Document Distribution
- Center for Global Communications, GLOCOM , International University of Japan
- MITI Program for Advanced Information Infrastructure (Japan)
- IT2000 - A Vision Of An Intelligent Island (Singapore)
- The Information Infrastructure Task Force (USA)
- The World Health Organization
- The World Bank
- List of WWW Servers (USA - Federal Government)
- The United States Department of Transportation
- Office of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy
Note: for a discussion of the Kennedy web in the 1994 campaign, see: Chris Lapham's article, "Beyond the press release: the Web as a campaign tool," Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine, 1(8):3. - The Free-Nets Home Page
- Champaign County / Silicon Prairie
- St.Petersburg, Russia
- City of San Carlos, California, USA
- Boulder, Colorado, USA Community Network
- State of South Dakota, USA
- Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
- Backstreets Restaurant, 207 South Main St, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
Updates:
- The European Community now has information online about Europe and the European electronic information market.
- The US White House and House Of Representatives now have webs. For more US political information, check out Thomas and Policy.Net and CapWeb
- North Carlonia Information Highway has a new URL.
For more information: