Maine.gov Rocks!
By Paul Sandlin, eGov Services, OIT
Recently the State of Maine Domain Name Management Policy was approved by Richard Thompson the Chief Information Officer for the State of Maine. This policy seeks to moderate the use of World Wide Web domain names and reiterate the primacy of the Maine.gov brand for State services.
At present there are nearly 200 different domain names used to address State agencies and services on the Internet. The use of so many names and locales for State services represents an expensive indulgence and ignores the collective strength of the “One Government” approach to service delivery. Service provisioning through multiple government domain names, based on agency, program or other orientations, is often confusing to citizens and is discouraged.
In support of the One Government principle, the State of Maine has established Maine.gov as the primary outwardly facing domain name through which services and information can be reached. Establishing Maine.gov as a readily identifiable brand with a common look and feel helps ensure name recognition, simplifies marketing, and provides easy access to, and consistent navigation of services. Supporting Maine.gov as the prime brand of Maine State Government avoids confusion on behalf of our citizens by focusing on a single point of predictable, reliable access.
This policy (located at http://www.maine.gov/oit/oitpolicies ) will soon be accompanied by several supporting documents including:
- Standard for the Use of Domain Names at the State of Maine
- Procedure for Agencies Requesting Domain Names and Waivers to the SOM Domain Name Policy
- Procedure for Counties and Towns Requesting Domain Names
Questions and Comments should be directed to Paul Sandlin of eGovernment Services at 624-9427.
