No Blogs at City Hall

Cincinnati City Hall has banned access to blogs. Evidently, they have been using a software program to limit access to specific sites since 2002.

But last week, the program apparently started to forbid access to any site in the blogspot.com domain - a popular place for posting web diaries called "blogs." Websense categorized them as message boards, which are forbidden on city computers.

Brendon Cull, press secretary for Mayor Charlie Luken, immediately requested - and received - permission to view two local blogs on his computer only: Brian Griffin's Cincinnati Blog (cincinnati.blogspot.com), and Nathaniel Livingston's Black Cincinnati Blog (blackcincinnati.blogspot.com). That gives Cull - and only Cull - the ability to read those sites from his city computer.

First, I can understand wanting to limit the ability to access Blogger to make posts from work. I can see how this could easily start to take productive time from city employees. I could also see that there are probably some sites that are less than "business related."

But at the same time, there are many blogs that I think would be of interest to city employees and government officials. Banning them all is overkill. I suspect that the total ban is the only technical solution to the "problem", and if you have to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so be it.

But it also appears, as though the press secretary - and only the press secretary - will have access to his favorate left leaning sites.

Brendon Cull, press secretary for Mayor Charlie Luken, immediately requested - and received - permission to view two local blogs on his computer only: Brian Griffin's Cincinnati Blog (cincinnati.blogspot.com), and Nathaniel Livingston's Black Cincinnati Blog (blackcincinnati.blogspot.com). That gives Cull - and only Cull - the ability to read those sites from his city computer.

This is probably more disturbing. On a couple fronts.

The obvious question is why should Cull get special access to the sites, and none of the other employees.

But the bigger question is why would Cull want access to these two blogs, but none of the other Cincinnati based ones. Is Cincy City Hall interested in hearing the voices of it's citizens - as long as they come from the left. Or even more specifically, from these two blogs. All other bloggers need not apply.

As the blogosphere continues to grow, access to blogs will give government officials insights into the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of many of their constituents that they would otherwise not have.

To ban access to them is a short sited decision. It throws away a tool that has tremendous potential in the future.

City Hall should embrace blogs, not ban them.

Hat Tip: A Face Made 4 Radio, A Voice Made 4 the Internet