In the first years of our young century, the rate of technological change has turned fast and furious.  Keeping up with advances in technology—particularly those involving computers, the Internet, and telecommunications—has turned into a full-time job.  An even trickier challenge is figuring out which technologies are suitable for use by local government.

Most of the new technologies fall into the category of “interesting but flawed,” meaning they are too complicated, too expensive, or too esoteric for the purposes of city and local government.   But there are two particular advances that promise enormous advantages at low cost:  RSS feed and podcasting.

RSS (Real Simple Syndication) is a method of sending small packets of frequently-updated information to Internet subscribers.  Many news sites offer RSS feed.  If you’ve seen those windows on CNN, MSNBC, and Reuters containing headlines and short paragraphs of text on the latest news stories, then you know what an RSS feed looks like.   Along with news organizations, RSS is also used by major corporations such as Siemens, the ING Group, and Fidelity Investments to keep employees posted on company policy, new hires, and business news.

Municipal RSS feeds can include anything from announcing the holiday schedule for garbage and recycling pickups to fire hydrant flushing schedules to road construction to council meeting agendas to news releases.  RSS feeds can also feature links to take interested readers to pages with further information.

The possibilities of RSS are virtually unlimited.  For example, Longmont, Colorado’s RSS feed currently features information on how residents can pay their utility bill online, how they can go about applying for the town’s 2006 Community Cultural Event Grant, or register for Longmont’s winter session of the Small Wonders Preschool program. 

Cosa Mesa, California’s RSS content includes information about the Mayor’s Awards Program and monthly schedules of various municipal events, while Overland Park, Kansas, features news about commuting, holiday DUI patrols, and pet license renewal notices.

Port Moody, British Columbia has several RSS feeds, each dedicated to a different topic.  Subjects covered include active job postings, news releases, recreation program information, and schedules of current yoga, skating, and soccer classes.

Franklin, Pennsylvania has RSS feeds for each municipal department: the police, the finance department, the city manager, the city engineer, the water department, the wastewater services department, and the community and recreational affairs departments.

Other municipalities with RSS feeds include San Francisco, California, and Warren, Michigan, a city that has also pioneered the use of podcasting by municipal governments.

Podcasting is a technique of posting audio files over the Internet, which can be listened to either through computer speakers or digital music players like the iPod.  (And not far down the line, in cars as well—Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest automaker, recently introduced Internet audio in its Golf, Golf Plus and Touran models.)  The beauty of podcasting is that it enables the subscriber to access the message wherever and whenever convenient.  Once the podcast is received, it can be listened to while jogging, during lunch break, or on the way to work.

Podcasting is a simple procedure on the transmission end as well, requiring only a computer, a microphone, and the right software.  Through podcasting, a mayor or municipal official can approach the ideal of local political involvement—the face-to-face chat with each and every constituent.  Podcasting allows officials to speak in their own voices directly to residents on topics of mutual importance.  Podcast content can include anything from a monthly address from the mayor to a tutorial on how to apply for a municipal building permit.

Major commercial broadcasters currently using podcasts include ABC, NBC, National Public Radio, Infinity Broadcasting, and Clear Channel Radio.  Although podcasting has been available for only a little over a year, it already reaches nearly 15% of portable digital music player owners, a number that recent consumer technology research reveals will grow to 75% by 2010. 

Several cities have also taken the plunge.  Crookston, Minnesota podcasts their council meetings, while Arvada, Colorado podcasts both their city council and planning board meetings.  Redmond, Washington podcasts feature stories dealing with local people and news along with area shopping.  Other possibilities include weather and crime alerts, job openings, calls for contract bids, announcements of schedule or procedural changes, or simply introducing new faces in city government.

Current users of RSS and podcasting have barely scratched the surface.  Imagination and experience will bring us new applications impossible to predict at this point.  RSS feeds and podcasting are fast becoming a standard mode of communication, taking a prominent place alongside television and radio.  The number of corporations and municipalities that have adapted the new technologies is growing constantly.  The day will soon arrive when we consider RSS and podcasting as necessities of life, much the same way we now view e-mail and the Internet itself.