These days, everything that we do revolves around technology. Every facet, every element of our daily lives can be documented and traced online. Literally any and all policies and information regarding government, society and individuals making a difference in the world can be found on a variety of sites that allow user content to be posted and reviewed. Open source government refers to the governance of information that can be reviewed and revised freely by the public.

Both open source and the open content movement believe that any member of society who is interested in the politics and policies of the land they live in should be able to assist in the creation of and editing of said documents.

The government has this open door policy that provides for the input from citizens in several main focus areas, where related to open source software use and data. This data is shared between government agencies as well as being open to the public in many cases. There is much debate over what level of freedom this open source documentation should carry.

Believing that the every member of society has a place in the creation of legislation that will rule over local and federal jurisdictions, government agencies are working to find a happy medium as far as this level of authoring is concerned. The United States and the United Kingdom have been working on open source government for decades and has found a place in the world thanks to the rapid development of the internet.

Open source government includes but is not limited to forums that are open to the public debate. This gives a safe, semi-anonymous location for the public to discuss policy and local leaders. Blogs are sometimes open to the general public and sometimes by invitation only. Any true open source government allows for the voicing of feelings and opinions by individuals, however contrary to popular opinion they may be.

Another way that the ideals and fundamentals of open source work together to help benefit the people of any given society is through the creation of software and other tools that can be used online by government agencies as well as others who work with local, state and federal agencies. Collaborative efforts can be carried out across the internet by people in different time zones, departments and sections of government as well as in different countries across the globe.

Wikis provide people everywhere with an open source to add and change information so that those who are experts in particular fields of knowledge can enlighten each other and provide people in all social and economic classes the same high level of correct information.

True open source software provides for the opportunity to accept a software package and change it as one sees fit. One of the most difficult problems that companies and individuals find with software is that it is expensive. Generally, there are very few options that can be changed and customized, furthering the need to make more purchases of upgrades and additional services from the manufacturers of the software.

Support is another issue that often becomes costly and is frequently difficult to manage, especially when you have multiple users in multiple locations. Open source government allows for a wide base of support as it comes from the actual user community.

While we pride ourselves on the freedoms of our country, there are constantly new and improved means that become available to enlighten and empower the people. Because open source software is free, it can also be updated and changed and re-released without any issues with licensing.

Continuing the effort to be of the people, by the people and for the people, our government has a few ideas of its own when it comes to what is meant by open source. The vague terminology can also be used to describe open source coding that the government requests and in many cases requires software designers to use in their operating systems and other releases that are put out.

The government wants to be able to have access to the computer of any and every individual who is living in the country. In most cases, they want access to the data of individuals whom they may believe to be creating crimes. This open back door gives them access whenever they want it, without the end user ever knowing any better.

While many consider open source government an integral part of the future and success of this country on a technological front, many others believe that it is simply a mask created to fool citizens into letting down their guard and allowing access to their private data.