I noticed a rather odd government website the other day, which led me to wonder exactly how many government websites there were out there.  I don’t know if there is a way to count, but it’s a lot.

And since we know that government is oh-so-frugal when it comes to websites, whether it’s the $75,000 tap water site in Minneapolis, or the $9.5/$18.5/$38 million recovery.gov site, just imagine how much of your money powers this government mess.

We can start with sites that act as directories to other sites.  Of course, you have a choice, because nobody wants just one index:

  • USA.gov – Which lists other sites by topic.
  • Fedworld.gov – Which… also lists other sites.  But this one has been around since 1992.
  • If it’s science info you’re looking for, head over to science.gov.
  • But if you just want to search, try USASearch.gov.
  • And don’t forget egov.gov, which is mostly about the e-government initiatives.

USA.gov, which used to be firstgov.gov, has won many awards.  They won the Federal 100 by Federal Computer Week, and they also won an excellence.gov award.  And let’s not forget being named Entertainment Weekly’s site of the day for January 1, 2009.  (The reason: The federal domain of New Year’s Resolutions, obviously.)

Of course, some of these sites are so big, you find yourself yearning for smaller, boutique sites.

Want to know about the flu?  Flu.gov.  Hydrogen?  Hydrogen.gov Sadly, there is no helium.gov.

But there is a GlobalChange.gov, which is different than change.gov, the online home of the non-existent Office of the President-Elect.

Also, govgab.gov, a blog!!!!  How hip!

The one good thing about all these websites is that you find out about all sorts of federal bureaucracies that you never knew existed.  For instance:

  • The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ahcp.gov)
  • The African Development Foundation (adf.gov)
  • The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ahrq.gov)
  • The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (ttb.gov) – Part of the Treasury, totally separate from the ATF.
  • The American Battle Monuments Commission (abmc.gov)
  • The Architect of the Capitol (aoc.gov) – Currently being revamped!
  • The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (access-board.gov)
  • The Arctic Research Commission (arctic.gov)
  • The Armed Forces Retirement Home (afrh.gov)

Whew.  And that’s just the A’s.