NEWS RELEASE
Tennessee is Second Among U.S. States in "Best of Web" 2005
NASHVILLE - (October 5, 2005) - The State of Tennessee's Web site is bookmarked as the second favorite in the nation by The Center for Digital Government in their 2005 Best of the Web analysis. The state's Web site, www.tennessee.gov, is cited for balancing innovation and customer service to create high-tech interactive portals without compromising ease of use. Innovation, functionality, efficiency and economy were the primary considerations in judging state Web sites.
“We are gratified by the recognition from the Center for Digital Government and we are working very hard to meet Governor Bredesen's call to use technology to make state government more accessible to our citizens and more efficient in its operations," said Tennessee Chief Information Officer Bill Ezell.
Tennessee.gov was also highlighted for promoting universal presentation throughout its state Web sites. “We're looking at the entire state of Tennessee as the enterprise, and not permitting agencies to do their own Web sites using their own styles, formats and presentation methods,” Ezell said.
Tennessee uses a vendor to accomplish its portal goals -- a successful partnership, according to Ezell. “The National Information Consortium [NIC] has been very good to work with and has brought some good ideas to the table,” he said.
Increased Web accessibility since 2004 includes:
- Online sales and use tax filings are up 56 percent;
- Online health licensing renewals are up 20 percent;
- Online professional privilege tax filings are up 117 percent; and
- Online driver's license reinstatements are up 45 percent.
Overall, Tennessee.gov has a monthly visitor average of 823,000.
RSS and audio podcasting allows citizens to automatically receive new content from the state’s web site. Citizens can also monitor traffic conditions in real time and submit digital photos for display on the state website. The state hopes that allowing for photo submissions will attract people and encourage them to return for repeat visits. More than 500 photos have been submitted since the feature was first offered in June 2004.
Tennessee.gov also offers educational information -- students can find facts, symbols, science, geography, history, biographies, mathematics, technology, social sciences and the arts, all relating to Tennessee.
Contacts
- Lola Potter, Department of Finance and Administration
