Governments implement RSS
Really Simple Syndication is an XML-based web service that was invented by bloggers to make it easy to subscribe to multiple blogs and be notified when a blog is updated. It takes a news aggregator running on a client machine to make the connection, but with this software you can subscribe to hundreds of blogs (if you have little else to do) and aggregate a feed from them all when new posts are made.
As an alternative to e-mail, governments are using RSS in a variety of interesting ways. Costa Mesa, CA has implemented RSS on its news site so citizens can subscribe and receive notices whenever a new story is posted. Utah, always a leader in developing new web tecnology, has elected to use RSS to notify prospective bidders when a new RFP is released.
These agencies are not the first to try RSS, and now that this technology has been adopted by some mainstream news media, it may catch on even more in government agencies. One of the advantages over e-mail notification is that there is no payload that can carry viruses the way e-mail has been used as a delivery mechanism. Some news aggregators such as Newsgator just run as a plug-in to Microsoft Outlook without putting another separate application on the client computer.
RSS has interesting potential for law enforcement and justice applications such as communicating with strike force members or sharing major case information
9:18:53 PM 
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