Utah.gov Breaks New Ground with Geolocation Services and Web 2.0 Enhancements

Innovative Technology Brings Both State and Local Events and Services to Your Browser

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Utah’s official state Web site, www.Utah.gov, unveiled a completely new design, with new features that aim to provide a more engaging experience and encourage users to increase their civic involvement in all state and local government issues.

“The new Utah.gov incorporates cutting-edge technologies to enhance the user experience and the usability of the site”

Key features of the site include:

• Integration of emerging geographical detection technology to estimate the location of the user and display relevant location-specific information, including local meetings, local government Web sites, local school and library information, local park information, and available local online services.
• Better usability with more explanation provided for each main menu item and one-stop search for all government agencies, online services, and more than 50,000 government forms.
• Extensive use of Web 2.0 technologies including: aggregation of 27 state blogs and more than 100 Twitter accounts, helping users quickly find and subscribe to content that interests them; the Utah.gov Facebook page; the Utah.gov Flickr photo group for users to view and upload photos; an updated Multimedia Portal, providing a hub of “channels” of video and audio files sortable by topic or agency; and a centralization of all state RSS feeds.
• Enhanced display and use of Flash technology, as research demonstrates that 97% of Utah.gov site visitors currently use Adobe's Flash software.

“The new Utah.gov incorporates cutting-edge technologies to enhance the user experience and the usability of the site,” said Stephen J. Fletcher, Chief Information Officer for the State. “This site is ground-breaking in the effort to help citizens find information regardless of the level of government.”

In addition to the recently launched transparency portal (http://transparent.utah.gov), Utah is showing a continued commitment to open government and democratizing information with their new data portal (http://data.utah.gov). Data.Utah.gov can help users find and access Utah data from local, state, and federal government sources, along with over 400 unique geographic data sources. By allowing public access to this raw data, Utah.gov is encouraging citizens to utilize and merge it in new and innovative ways – giving citizens the ability to participate in making government services more effective, accessible, and transparent.

About Utah.Gov

Utah.Gov is the State of Utah’s official Web portal (http://www.Utah.gov). It was ranked first in the 2008 Digital States Survey by the Center for Digital Government and also ranked first in the nation in the Center for Digital Government’s 2007 Best of the Web competition. It is managed and operated without tax funds through a public-private partnership between the state and Utah Interactive, the Salt Lake City-based official eGovernment partner for the state of Utah. Utah Interactive is a subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV)

About NIC

NIC is the nation’s leading provider of official government portals, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company’s innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, the public, and businesses across the country. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,000 federal, state, and local agencies that serve 97 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.nicusa.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5982540&lang=en.