Submission + - Federal officials and YouTube nearing a deal (nextgov.com)
GovTechGuy writes: The federal government is on the verge of reaching an agreement with YouTube that would allow agencies to make official use of the popular video-sharing service. A coalition of federal agencies led by the General Service Administration's Office of Citizen Services has been negotiating with Google, YouTube's parent company, since summer 2008 on new terms that would allow agencies to establish their own channels on the site.
Agencies have not been able to post videos to YouTube (although many already have) because, under the current terms of service, people who post content is subject to their state's liable laws. Federal agencies must adhere to federal law.
On Tuesday, government officials said the negotiations were "very close" to being completed. Google officials did not respond to a request for comment.
"It's groundbreaking, and we're very excited to be in negotiations," said Sheila Campbell, manager for government Web best practices and co-chairwoman of the Federal Web Managers Council in GSA's Office of Citizen Services. "We're really thrilled."
The agreement will allow government Web sites to reach a broader audience, according to Daniel Schaub, senior Web manager and acting director for digital communications at the State Department. "In addition to just pushing information out like we did during the Web 1.0 era, [social media] also allows direct engagement with the public," he said.
Schuab noted that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has supported the use of Web 2.0 technology.
Campbell said under the agreement, which federal agencies will be free to sign once it is completed, agencies will be able to set up their own partner channels on YouTube. They will have full control over the channels. She said the government is negotiating with other popular video-sharing and social media sites, including Vimeo, Blip.TV, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn.
