“The only way they can get their jobs done is to collaborate via a virtual office and to get the information via AKO,” Noble said. Project members collaborate via virtual meetings, file sharing, community pages and Web pages dedicated to their parts of the program, Noble said. “We already have video, blogging and threaded discussions, and we are going to add other features like wikis,” Noble said. One of the most influential Web 2.0 information-sharing projects in the military and intelligence communities has been the Intellipedia project, which uses wiki technology as the basis of intelligence information sharing.

With all the disparate systems the governmental departments use, wikis and other web 2.0 technologies are great avenues for them to start standardizing. Standardization lowers cost in both training and information sharing. The addition of using Open Source technologies will also help keep costs down elminating the need for yearly maintenance fees. We should encourage more governmental agencies to use open source technoligies. Most are very resistent for a multitude of reasons. The largest reason I have seen is they are afraid of change. By keeping the same technologies that have been used for years, you never have to learn anything new; you maintian job security; and you keep your budget artifically inflated due to the maintenance costs.