So ... blogging. Wow. It's been months. It's not that I haven't thought of stuff to write, but rather that I've been so busy at work that I'm too tired once I'm home.
But today brought two fun things:
being in a documentary about open government and then being mentioned on
the Washington Post's site as they discuss the documentary…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on January 21, 2010 at 6:00pm —
3 Comments
Added by Jeffrey Levy on December 8, 2009 at 11:20pm —
7 Comments
The official place to post federal job openings is
usajobs.gov.
But we're also allowed to post them on other online job sites. I'm guessing we'll simply describe the jobs in plain language and then link to the usajobs listing.
So I'm looking for suggestions. Whatcha know?
Especially helpful would be links to articles or other lists where people rate the sites for # of users, ease of use, etc.
I'll keep adding to the list below as people submit…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on November 20, 2009 at 9:59am —
7 Comments
Last February, thanks to Craig Newmark (of craigslist.com), I discovered kiva.org, a site that lets you lend very small amounts to startup businesses in developing countries.
So I started
a group here at GovLoop and
posted an explanation.
I'm ecstatic to report that the GovLoop group now has 70 members, 26 of whom have made loans tota…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on November 20, 2009 at 1:31am —
1 Comment
I started using Facebook and Twitter as professional experiments. I needed to know about these sites to decide whether and how EPA should use them. I also had a LinkedIn account that sat unused for years, and I joined GovLoop. Along the way, I set up accounts on Slideshare and Scribd to share my presentations and EPA’s blogging guidance.
But Facebook, Twitter and GovLoop are where I spend my time, and I’ve settled into a distinct pattern: Facebook is personal and the others are professional.
W…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on November 12, 2009 at 1:24pm —
4 Comments
Added by Jeffrey Levy on October 18, 2009 at 3:30pm —
2 Comments
I'd like to invite you to check out a few of the ways we're using social media here at EPA. This isn't all of it, and our uses are expanding rapidly, but it's a good start.
I'm also not getting into great detail about whether I think each effort is successful - that's not my point here. Rather, I just want to share some of it so you can see what we're up to and consider for yourself whether it seems to work, whether it would work for your agency, etc.…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on October 8, 2009 at 6:00pm —
3 Comments
Added by Jeffrey Levy on September 26, 2009 at 5:30pm —
1 Comment
@BareKnuckleDawg recently sent me the following concerns regarding government use of social media:
- I regard this "Gov 2.0 thing as the governments way of attempting to spy on the public while "sitting in their lap", so to speak.
- The government wants to constantly monitor public sentiment - and I think you are all aiming for a degree of control over it.
- I believe the government wants to monitor public sentiment in realtim
…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on September 9, 2009 at 2:00pm —
4 Comments
If you've read anything I've written, you know I favor government agencies using social media to meet their missions.
Strongly favor. I see these tools as offering tremendous potential benefits. Yet there are also other considerations at play.
Did you know the Department of Defense runs its own TV station called the
Pentagon Channel? I haven't really explored it, but the point is it exists.
Did you know that the Air Force blocks th…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on September 6, 2009 at 11:00pm —
8 Comments
In gov't web management circles, a common assumption is that there isn't much interest in agency heads. Rather, people come to us for information or to do things like get their driver's licenses. I discuss this idea with my friend Candi Harrison on a regular basis, and she's blogged about
how much she dislikes making a big deal out of agency heads.
I agree with the point that our Web sites should be about…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on September 4, 2009 at 11:30am —
11 Comments
I work at the US Environmental Protection Agency, and we're trying out some old tools in new ways.
Currently, our enforcement office is using two blogs to post concepts and then taking comments from anyone who wants to join in.
1)
Setting environmental enforcement priorities
2)
Establishing a plan to improve enforcement of the Clean Water Act
And this…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on September 3, 2009 at 11:56pm —
4 Comments
Sometimes I post a blog just to call attention to something worth reading. This is one of those times.
Check out this blog post by Henry Brown:
Tips for Stranded Evangelists
While you're at it, check out the great stuff in the GovLoop group that post is part of:…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on September 3, 2009 at 11:30pm —
3 Comments
You're invited to join these free webinars that I teach as part of EPA's Web training program. Please spread the word.
September 2, 2-3 EDT: Mixing Web 1.0 and 2.0. Using our efforts for Earth Month (surrounding Earth Day on April 22), I discuss how we used all of our tools to accomplish our mission. This experience helped me develop my social media mantra: mission, tool, metrics, teach.
Register…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on August 28, 2009 at 11:00am —
5 Comments
Next week, I've been asked to host an "
IT Quarterly Forum," a three-hour session of typically senior IT managers around gov't and industry. The subject is social media. I have the privilege of working with two of my Social Media Subcouncil colleagues, Michelle Springer at the Library of Congress and Amanda Eamich at the Dept. of Agriculture.
We're trying to avoid the standard agenda, with one Powerpoint presentation after an…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on August 16, 2009 at 6:30pm —
6 Comments
From the
info page (which is also where you register):
The US Department of Homeland Security's
National Cyber Security Division
and the
Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center
invite you to participate in the next session of the:
National Webcast Initiative
~ Security of Social Networking Sites / Web 2.0 ~
August 19, 2009
2:00pm-3:00pm (Eastern)
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on July 29, 2009 at 9:45pm —
No Comments
See
Andy K's post for more, including this great document.
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on July 28, 2009 at 11:45pm —
1 Comment
Don't know who said this, but it has stuck with me for years:
"Managing means doing things right. Leading means doing the right thing. Sometimes they match, sometimes they don't."
Discuss. :)
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on July 27, 2009 at 10:30am —
1 Comment
If you're in the web world, you're probably familiar with cookies - those small files sites drop on your computer for various purposes.
They can create privacy problems, so persistent cookies have been effectively banned for 9 years.
But persistent cookies can also allow us to create excellent customer service and personalization.
Now the Obama administration is reviewing the policy, and it wants your help!
Find out what…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on July 26, 2009 at 2:00pm —
1 Comment
First,
go read this critique of the recent Open Government & Innovations conference.
I see this sort of thing regularly: people who have high hopes that aren't met. As someone who enjoys teaching and leading, it's hard to watch people who want to move out get frustrated.
After reading her post and the comments, I wrote up a decently long set of resources with a challenge at the end, and I've copied…
Continue
Added by Jeffrey Levy on July 25, 2009 at 1:00am —
No Comments
