Will Facebook Replace Traditional Government Web Sites?

Like most big cities, San Francisco runs a Web site packed with hundreds of pages of city services, department listings, community information and other resources. But SFgov.org's days as the primary electronic gateway into San Francisco government may be numbered.

Chris Vein, CIO for the city and county of San Francisco, said popular Web 2.0 platforms like Facebook or Google's search-driven suite of services may be displacing public-sector Web sites for many citizen-government interactions. "We're seeing a fundamental shift in the way services are being delivered," said Vein. "We're looking at perhaps the end of a Web site for the city and county of San Francisco. I'm being overly dramatic, but Web sites may no longer be the primary way you get your information."