[LINK] Government web sites see record traffic after attacks

[Tony Barry]

Extracted item for information.

Source: Edupage, September 26, 2001

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GOVERNMENT WEB SITES SEE RECORD TRAFFIC AFTER ATTACKS
Following the Sept. 11 terror attacks, many people turned to
government Web sites to get information. In terms of the number
of online visits, government Web sites ranked second only to
news Web sites in the days immediately after the World Trade
Center and Pentagon disasters. The White House site, for example,
was visited by 162,000 people per day following the attacks,
according to Jupiter Media Metrix, and the Navy's and Army's
sites drew on average of 205,000 and 137,000 daily visitors,
respectively. The FBI's site, built to collect leads in the
investigation, succeeded in gathering 66,000 tips as of the
Thursday after the attacks. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency Web site activity also rose sharply to 88,000 visitors per
day, up from what was considered a negligible amount of traffic.
University of Southern California associate dean of the Annenberg
School of Communication Joe Saltzman said people "hear a lot of
information, but feel more comfortable by checking what they hear
on reliable sites."
(Reuters, 21 September 2001)

GOVERNMENT OVERLOOKS WEB'S POTENTIAL
Many federal government Web sites failed to deliver updated
information about the national crisis when citizens needed it
most. Former Office of Management and Budget IT policy director
John Spotila criticized federal officials for not taking the
opportunity to demonstrate the abilities of the Internet to bridge
government and citizens in times of crisis. Although the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) site quickly posted relevant
information, the FirstGov federal Web portal did not post any
news or a prominent link to the FEMA site, he said. Other agencies
directly related to the government's response, such as the
Department of Justice and Department of State, offered only sparse
information about the attacks. One anonymous federal Webmaster
expressed extreme annoyance with the administration of the
FirstGov portal. Because it is operated under an outside contract,
he said updating the content was a convoluted, drawn-out process.
(Interactive Week, 17 September 2001)
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