By:
jbr1a_mtsu_s13 on 1/25/13
Generally speaking, I think that making information about government more readily available to constituents is a good thing. While I’m not sure how this app is better than or different from a comparable Web site, more means of connecting and communicating should be beneficial. However, I am a little concerned about the fact that not every citizen in the state has a smart phone or tablet. Why not simply make this information available in a similarly convenient format on the Web? The price is also an issue for similar reasons; $4.99 may not seem like a lot of money, but information about government shouldn’t cost taxpayers anything. The underlying issue seems to be that rather than a resource provided by the state government itself, this app was created by the Tennessee Electrical Cooperative Association and a lobbying firm. Shouldn’t the government have done this itself in the interest of better hearing and serving its constituents? Whenever a third party gets involved, particularly when that third party includes lobbyists, I worry about ulterior motives and conflicts of interest. Is the main use of this app to facilitate communication between representatives and their constituents, or to advance the interests of the Tennessee Electrical Cooperative Association and their lobbyists? Overall, I think that while the app is a good idea in general, some of the details about it are less than perfect.
Email
Print
Digg
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!