The Farmer's Web Site

Once there was a Little Red Hen. She lived on a farm with her friends. As she was walking home one day, she realized the Internet could provide instant 24-7 access to government services and information. She was very excited and ran clucking to her friends.

"Who will help me build a government web portal?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"The Internet is a fad!" grunted the Pig.
"The Internet is a fad!" quacked the Duck.
"The Internet is a fad!" meowed the Cat.
"The Internet is a fad!" barked the Dog.

"Then I will set up a web server all by myself!" said the Little Red Hen. And so she did.

The next day she configured the server. Soon it was ready to be connected to the Internet.

"Who will help me build the TCP-IP network?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"I have a committee meeting!" grunted the Pig.
"I have a committee meeting!" quacked the Duck.
"I have a committee meeting!" meowed the Cat.
"I have a committee meeting!" barked the Dog.

"Then I will build it myself and pay for it out of my own budget besides!" said the Little Red Hen. And so she did.

Once the network was up and running, she built a web framework and loaded some web templates on the server. She realized that loading the content was a very important job.

"Who will help me create the content?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"I can't work with those people!" grumbled the Pig.
"I can't work with those people!" screeched the Duck.
"I can't work with those people!" snarled the Cat.
"I can't work with those people!" growled the Dog.

"No one knows your content better than you do, but I will do my best!" said the Little Red Hen. So of course she did.

After the site had been running a little while, she reviewed the site
feedback and WebTrends reports. She realized that a usability study could
help her fine tune the organization of the site. "Who will help me test the
site so we can improve it?" asked the Little Red Hen.

"I have a taxpayer sponsored retreat to attend!" grunted the Pig.
"I have a taxpayer sponsored retreat to attend!" quacked the Duck.
"I have a taxpayer sponsored retreat to attend!" meowed the Cat.
"I have a taxpayer sponsored retreat to attend!" barked the Dog.

"Then I will organize the testing and analyze the results all by myself!" said the Little Red Hen. And so she did.

Soon, the website became a big hit. More citizens were using it everyday and sending the Farmer email praising his management style. The Farmer came to the barn one morning and asked all the animals what they thought of the website?

"Where is my home page?" snorted the Pig.
"I don't like the color!" squawked the Duck.
"I want my own domain name!" yowled the Cat.
"I'm setting up my own web server!" whined the Dog.

"No, " said the Farmer. "The Little Red Hen offered you many opportunities but none of you would help her build our website. I am not going to allow you to buy new domain names or servers or hire Web Design firms so you can build separate websites. The citizens hired me to manage their money wisely and provide easy access to our services. The website is already built and proven. You are to work with the Little Red Hen to get your information and services on our web site, ASAP.

The Duck, the Cat and the Dog said nothing. "Harrumph," snorted the Pig. Soon the Little Red Hen had everyone logged in and busily loading their content.

The next day farmers throughout the country began calling to ask "Who built your fabulous website?"

"I did!" squealed the Pig.
"It was my idea!" honked the Duck.
"I designed it!" mewed the Cat.
"I built it!" yowled the Dog.

"No," answered the Farmer,  "my Little Red Hen built it all by herself."

"So I did!" clucked the Little Red Hen. "So I did."

	"Alternative Views"
	- What if the Little Red Hen  got what she asked for?
	- Brainwashing in America?