Heineman called ‘tech savvy'

LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman has been dubbed one of “the nation's most tech savvy governors” by a government magazine.

But Heineman lamented in an interview Tuesday that he had to ditch his Blackberry after taking the reins of state government.

The time commitment of the state's top job also doesn't leave much time for checking up on Facebook or playing video games — which Heineman used to enjoy a decade ago, when his son was younger.

“When I was lieutenant governor, I had a Blackberry, and I had more time to access it. As governor, there are a couple of challenges with that,” said Heineman, governor since 2005.

For example, he said, reporters could make public document requests, which would require including text messages sent by his Blackberry or cell phone.

“Most of us, as chief executives, have found out it's easier to not have a Blackberry for those purposes,” he said.

Government Technology Magazine, which covers trends in use of technology by state and local government, recently interviewed Heineman about the Nebraska Health Information Initiative, which is using federal stimulus funds to create a statewide network of medical records.

Heineman has urged state agencies to offer more services via the Internet to save money.

“I want to use technology in a way to make us more efficient, at lower cost, and give greater access of citizens to government,” Heineman said.

Heineman initiated the use of electronic payments in the State Treasurer's Office when he was treasurer. As governor, he began offering live video of his press conferences online.

He also has used a Facebook page and Twitter messages to spread news about his administration.

But you won't find Heineman Twittering about his personal travels or activities or learn the avid sports fan's deepest thoughts about Nebraska's football prospects. His tweets are mainly headlines of press releases done by his press staffers.

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