Google Ties Up with State Governments to Index Public Info

Private sector technology cutting public sector red tape. It’s a beautiful thing.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced partnerships with the states of Arizona, California, Utah and Virginia to make it easier to search for hard-to-find public information on state government websites.

These partnerships developed as both Google and officials with the four state governments recognized that the public is increasingly turning to search engines like Google to access government services, but that a significant share of the information on state agency websites is not included in its index of information sources on the web. As a result, many online government services can be difficult for the public to find.

I hope these public servants appreciate just how lucky they are. Most private enterprises would love to have Google extend a hand to reach deeper into their sites. Well, except for the total n00bs, anyway.