Linder Web Site Wins 2007 Gold Mouse Award
618 House and Senate Web Sites Evaluated for 2007 Gold Mouse Report

Washington, D.C. (March 6, 2008) – The web site of Congressman John Linder (GA-07) was honored by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) for having one of the best web sites in Congress. The site, http:// linder.house.gov , was recognized in The 2007 Gold Mouse Report: Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill. CMF analyzed 618 congressional web sites, including all Senate and House Members, committees, and official leadership sites, and awarded Gold Mouse Awards to only 36 sites.

   “The purpose of my online office is to provide updated resources and access to services around-the-clock,” Linder stated. “The site is organized in a way that prioritizes regularly requested items to make them more accessible and also provide updated information on a monthly, weekly and daily basis. It is a pleasure to receive this award again, and I encourage everyone to stop by the site and review the resources and services it has to offer.”

   The 2007 Gold Mouse Report and Awards are part of the “Connecting to Congress” research project, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. For this project CMF partnered with researchers from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, University of California-Riverside and Ohio State University to study how Members of Congress can use the Internet to improve communications with their constituents and to promote greater participation in the legislative process. 

   Beverly Bell, CMF’s Executive Director stated, “Congressman Linder’s web site shows that he understands the value of creating a virtual office to reach specific audiences who have come to expect having their needs met online. The Congressional Management Foundation congratulates him for having a web site that is among the best-of-the-best on Capitol Hill, and we are pleased to present Congressman Linder with the 2007 Gold Mouse Award. Web sites like Congressman Linder’s provide a template for other congressional offices to follow.”

   Web sites were graded on how well they incorporate five basic building blocks which extensive research identified as critical for effectiveness: audience, content, usability, interactivity, and innovation. A full copy of the report, the 2007 Gold Mouse Report: Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill, is available on the Congressional Management Foundation’s Web site at www.cmfweb.org .