Members of Congress are supposed to be restricted by rules governing their Web use and Web sites. In spite of these rules, some members choose to break them to make their official Web sites more interesting and more user-directed. One widely acknowledged example (how often do member Web sites get highlighted on CNN) is the Google Map of Sen. Ben Nelson’s (D-NE) CODEL trip to Iraq (CODEL stands for Congressional Delegation).

Google Maps provide a terrific way for members of Congress to share their experiences traveling, whether in this country or in foreign nations such as Iraq, with their constituents. Residents of Nebraska can see exactly what their Senator was doing when he went to Iraq. They don’t have to rely on cable news or their local newspaper to give them a look at what their Senator is doing. And as you may be able to tell from the screen shot they can watch what their Senator was doing.

Nelson is not only using Google Maps to reach his constituents, he is also using YouTube. At certain points on the map the Senator films his travels and embeds the YouTube videos into the individual point on the map. Nelson also provides and option of viewing his whole trip in Google Earth.

YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Earth. What do these things have in common? They’re all run by companies in competitive industries and are sites outside of Congress and the federal government in general. Therefore, under the silly rules in effect governing Web use they shouldn’t be used by members of Congress. Now I’m not calling out Ben Nelson; what he’s doing is amazing. But the fact that you can’t communicate your experiences representing your state or district by using the most dynamic and interesting Web tools is beyond silly. Members of Congress should have access to all the tools that are available to the public at large to communicate with their constituents and to let their constituents communicate back with them.