GovLoop's Blog – December 2009 Archive (14)

A Little GovLoop 2009 Recap

2009 was a momentous year for GovLoop.

I started the year on January 1st on a solo southeast roadtrip and spent a lot of time thinking through my goals and visions for GovLoop for 2009. I made a stop in Durham, North Carolina where I spent 3 hours with a fine chap named Andy Krzmarzick talking about the potential of GovLoop (9 months later he was the 1st GovLoop hire). I spent a night in Asheville, NC staring at the hills and scenery.

My vision and goals for 2009 were… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 30, 2009 at 10:30pm — 5 Comments

Best of GovLoop 2009 - Top 7 Videos

Man...there were a ton of us sweet videos on GovLoop in 2009. I got my good buddy Phil to do a best of 2009 Videos. Here's his take...

The Machine is Us/ing us. Would you like a snappy introduction to the web 2.0 and the new computing with a nice little techno soundtrack? Then this popular video (over 10 million views on YouTube) posted to GovLoop by… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 28, 2009 at 2:55pm — No Comments

GovLoop 2009 Virtual Trophy of Awesomeness

Lists are always hard and I hate excluding people. Especially as I'm forgetful and always miss someone who is really awesome.

But as 2009 finishes up I wanted to thank the amazing people on GovLoop for their awesomeness in making GovLoop a thriving community.

So I've announced the 2009 Virtual GovLoop Trophy of Awesomeness thanking these amazing folks...They've been awarded this sweet trophy on their profile :)

I would like… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 22, 2009 at 9:32am — 11 Comments

AwesomeGov Winner - Adventures For the Cure Gets $1,789 Donation

I'm super duper excited to announce today the winner of the GovLoop AwesomeGov charity contest (as decided by you the GovLoop community)

Drumroll please....

ADVENTURES FOR THE CURE

A great charity startup founded in 2005 by two Gen Yers (Adam Driscoll, who works for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Patrick Blair, who is a government contractor) who affected by Type 1 diabetes… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 21, 2009 at 3:30pm — 15 Comments

The Dinner Party Analogy

The Dinner Party Analogy

Have you ever thrown a dinner party? It seems easy, right? Buy some food, invite some people, and it will be a huge success.

But it never is. You need to send invites early, find out if people are allergic to anything, follow-up individuals to remind people to come, stage the conversation once people come, start connecting friends that would fit, get good seating arrangements, put people apart who don’t like each other, move the meal through each… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 20, 2009 at 3:30pm — 5 Comments

The Wisdom from Outside

The Wisdom From Outside

It’s always interesting to see how persuasion occurs. How do you convince someone of something they don’t believe in currently?

I saw this growing up. I’d often have discussions with friends or family and I would try to make a point. “Really, Garth Brooks is the biggest selling artist of the 90s”

Before Wikipedia, it was hard to solve these debates. People wouldn’t agree with me and it would go on.

But often I saw that… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 17, 2009 at 3:30pm — 3 Comments

Day 12 - Buy a 12oz. Coffee for a Colleague - The AwesomeGov "12 Days of Giving" Contest

***Contested ended Dec. 15th - Results coming soon ***

The holidays are nearing and I can tell by both the holiday music (thanks Bob Dylan for the new gem) and the change in holiday coffee cups (oh how did Starbucks become part of the holidays).

As such, GovLoop is kicking the holiday spirit up a notch with the "12 Days of Giving"

On the Twelth Day of Giving, my GovLoop friend gave to me:

Buy a 12oz. cup of coffee for a cube mate and tell them… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 13, 2009 at 11:30pm — 12 Comments

Explaining What You Do

Explaining What You Do

Have you ever been out in public and people ask “what do you do?”

Of course you have. It’s one of the standard questions when meeting someone new.

Being a public servant it is always funny to answer that question. When growing up, my father worked for the IRS. So when people asked what my father did, I told them he worked for the IRS. They always said something negative and ran.

After grad school, I worked for Department of… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 11, 2009 at 3:30pm — 3 Comments

Can We Have a Mobile City Hall?

I'm a huge fan of the potential of government moving into the mobile realm. I firmly believe that mobile is the future and it is a platform that government should be working on.

One interesting potential connecting mobile and government is the idea of using mobile apps to report city blights (potholes, graffiti, etc). This has been proven by FixMyStreet in the UK and the… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 11, 2009 at 9:00am — 4 Comments

The H1N1 Rapper

The H1N1 Rapper

By now you may have seen the winning entry for the HHS H1N1 Public Service Announcement Contest.

It’s a doctor who is a rapper who raps about how to prevent H1N1.

Personally, I find it hilariously awesome. Who knew that would be the winning entry? Who knew we had a rapping doctor?

I think the H1N1 rapper exemplifies the beauty of contests and emergent knowledge networks. Often we reach out directly to people we know who have talents and get… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 9, 2009 at 3:30pm — 3 Comments

Draft Australian Gov 2.0 Taskforce Report

Cross-posted from Gov 2.0 Taskforce blog:

Here is the draft Government 2.0 Taskforce report Engage: Getting on with Government 2.0. The Taskforce is seeking your comments and input before finalising the report to go to Government.

Please understand that this is a draft and there will be some proofing issues which we are still working on. Your comments are welcome on those, but we are…

Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 7, 2009 at 6:34am — No Comments

How-To: Write Post-Interview Thank-You

POST-INTERVIEW THANK-YOUS By

Lily Whiteman, author of How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job and Federal Times Columnist

Question: What is the first thing you should do after you get home from a job interview (after you rip off your uncomfortable interview outfit but before you pour yourself a stiff, cold drink)?

Answer: Write a thank-you letter to your interviewer(s).

If you’re like most job applicants, you resent the mere suggestion that you should thank… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 6, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

The Life of a Flyer

The Life of a Flyer

So I spend a lot of times on airplanes. Primarily this USAirways route from Tampa to DCA.

It’s pretty good – on-time, free Coke Zero, and it is direct.

Every flyer has a routine. Some do work, some read a Kindle, some have magazines.

Lately, I’ve been using it as a brainstorm time. My mind seems to have the best ideas on the plane. I actually look forward to the time to step back, think how things are going, and come up with new… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 3, 2009 at 1:30pm — 2 Comments

The Art of Dressing

The Art of Dressing

I’ve had a range of dress codes in my public service career. My first internship at Social Security Administration it was pretty much jeans and polos. And the next gig at Education was more khakis and polos. Then I moved to DHS and it was suit and tie, then dress shirt and pants, and then back to suit and tie.

Each wardrobe changed required new purchases. It sounds silly but when I was allowed to wear jeans everyday at SSA, I needed to buy more jeans.… Continue

Added by GovLoop on December 1, 2009 at 1:30pm — 3 Comments