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Albany, NY
(October 25, 2011)
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of New York State has been selected as the recipient of the 2011 Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year Award. The award recognizes a state or local government entity that has demonstrated innovative use of web 2.0 technology to advance their organizations core mission, serve citizens and foster open government and civic engagement.
“I am pleased to congratulate the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of New York State on being selected as this year’s Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year Award. They epitomize how an organization, regardless of size, can find value in the use of web 2.0 technologies to engage their constituents. Web 2.0 technologies and social media tools create new communication channels for government to stay connected with citizenry. Many state and local organizations are leveraging the technology more and more and I am very encouraged by this trend. Going forward I expect to see more innovative uses in this area,” said Daniel C. Chan, New York State Acting Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office for Technology.
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of NYS has a portfolio of Web 2.0 Applications it uses to engage residents, workers and visitors of Roosevelt Island. As part of its core mission to operate, maintain and develop the island and services, Web 2.0 Apps have played an important role in improving presence as a “Smart City” by increasing the availability and quality of knowledge, communication and social infrastructure. Smart Cities operate on the concept of six (6) main dimensions: smart economy, smart mobility, a smart environment, smart people, smart living and smart governance. Web 2.0 technology is a natural fit to promote the Smart City concept.
“We are extremely pleased to receive this recognition for our innovative use of Web 2.0 technologies. The use of Web 2.0 applications such as NextBus, SeeClickFix, and our Facebook presence is only the beginning. We are committed to providing more applications and other Web 2.0 technology that residents, workers and visitors of Roosevelt Island will use to more fully enjoy, engage and collaborate with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation in years to come” said Michael Moreo, CIO of The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.
To meet today's demands and anticipate future needs, New York State launched the Empire 2.0 Initiative in June 2009. Empire 2.0 is New York State's social media strategy designed to enhance customer transactions and experience of social media networking with state government, increase transparency into government operations, and enhance citizen engagement. In August, CIO/OFT furthered that initiative by launching a new website called Empire 2.0 Center of Excellence, a "one-stop" Center that provides resources and tools about social media and Web 2.0 technologies and best practices in the industry. To visit the Empire 2.0 Center of Excellence website visit www.empire-20.ny.gov.
The Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year fully embraces the principles of the Empire 2.0 Initiative which are to connect, create, and collaborate, by setting a high bar of IT excellence in the use of Web 2.0 social media technologies in state government to improve service delivery, enhance professional development, and promote collaboration among all relevant stakeholders.
