The Content of U.S. House Member Web Sites.

We analyze a random sample of 300 U.S. House member Web sites, organized around four topics: personal information, communication and feedback, constituency services, and issue information. With respect to the first three, the sites are well-developed, though we anticipate some further diffusion in the provision of basic information. With regard to issues, there is little interactivity, and it is uncertain that interactive devices will catch on. Even with respect to conveying information about issues, Web sites could be made more informative, both by providing members' party affiliation more prominently and by providing simpler, more direct statements of members' issue positions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]