Introducing the IN.gov Update
Welcome to the first installment of the IN.gov Update. The Update will be sent every other month and will update you on IN.gov direction, initiatives, and policies. Future issues will focus more on current projects and agency success stories, but this issue is focused on a key meeting, webmasters.IN.gov, and reinforcing the IN.gov brand. A regular feature of the Update will be our quarterly metrics report.
We hope you find the Update useful, and we welcome your feedback to make it more useful.
Chris W. Cotterill
Director of IN.gov
12/11/06 @ 9am: State of IN.gov Meeting
On December 11, 2006, at 9 a.m. in the IGCS Auditorium, the director of IN.gov will hold an open meeting to present the State of IN.gov to agency heads, deputies, public information officers, communication staff, webmasters and IT directors. The presentation will, among other things, address:
- What IN.gov staff has done in 2006;
- What our drivers will be in 2007;
- How to work with us and what to expect from us;
- A review of the FY2007 Q1 financials and 2006 Q3 metrics; and
- The plan to redesign IN.gov with the implementation of CMS in 2007.
webmasters.IN.gov - For All IN.gov Requests
Effective October 16, 2006, agencies now have an easy way to submit any IN.gov-related requests to IN.gov staff: webmasters.IN.gov.
Requests to change content, obtain a web address, report a bug, ask for a new application to be developed, etc. should all be submitted using these convenient online forms. Once submitted, the request form is routed through the IOT Helpdesk, which then generates a ticket that is sent directly to the IN.gov staffer charged with completing the work. We are able to track requests and report on responsiveness like never before, and because the IOT Helpdesk system was leveraged, IN.gov has a fully operational helpdesk at no additional cost to the State.
Additional changes, such as auto-populating your name, e-mail address and phone number are coming soon.
“IN.gov” Replaces accessIndiana Brand
IN.gov staff is gradually replacing all references to accessIndiana to re-brand Indiana’s web portal to “IN.gov,” which is both the brand and the web address. This shift will also help remove the confusion within state government about whether accessIndiana is the website, a vendor, etc. IN.gov is Indiana's official website and the IN.gov staff (state employees and contractors) support it.
.coms & Other Non-IN.gov Addresses Discouraged
To ensure that the IN.gov brand is consistently used, web address requests made by any state agency are reviewed by the IN.gov staff and the Governor’s Office. This includes requests for .coms, .nets, .orgs, etc., as well as addresses on IN.gov (e.g., specialty.IN.gov). These requests should be submitted via webmasters.IN.gov. “Specialty” web addresses are reserved for multi-agency collaboration or major initiatives.
So they can be easily renewed and managed, IN.gov will purchase any approved non-IN.gov domain. While non-IN.gov domains can be set to forward to IN.gov, they cannot be marketed. IN.gov staff are currently transitioning non-IN.gov domain names from agencies to IN.gov management.