Mobile government, mobile benefits

Posted: 12/29/08 by Mobile Future Team

According to The New York Times, there's a lot of good news about mobile technology improving government:

"In Singapore, text messages are used to pay parking tickets; in the Philippines, they are used to pay income taxes; and in part of India, people can receive a text message saying how much property tax they owe. Exam results are sent by text message in Kenya, while in Lewisham, southeast of London, people can e-mail photos taken by cellphone of graffiti or litter to local officials.

Unfortunately, not everyone is enjoying the benefits:

"The United States has generally lagged behind in the innovative use of cellphones...."

Our coalition has been speaking out on the need for federal agencies to become more mobile-friendly as they try to become more transparent.  A new year's resolution for the Obama-Biden team perhaps?