Yearly Archives: 2011

Ricardo’s story

This month we are featuring a series of stories about our Fellows, in their own words. We hope you will enjoy learning how these remarkable young people are making our cities better places to live, work and play. I worked for the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) Greenspace Division during my CityRead… Read more »

Don’t Outsource Social Media to Interns

I’m old enough to remember the early days of the web. Back then (not too long ago, the 1990s), organizations didn’t take this online medium seriously. The web site paled in importance to the newsletter or magazine, at least according the leaders of the time. After all, who reads things on a computer? The InternetRead… Read more »

Respectable

I was watching a loser grinding to make a mark at a party. The more he tried, the worse he did. It was drunk and ugly. Suddenly I got it. To gain respect, you have to be respectable. Changed my relationship with the word. Previously respectable was nose in the air, Viennese middle class, notRead… Read more »

Pinterest for Government

Lately, there has been a site called Pinterest that has skyrocketed in popularity. The basic concept behind Pinterest is an online pinboard; a virtual space for sharing images from all over the web based on specific themes. It’s a way to discover new ideas and get inspired. People use it for home remodeling, wedding planning,Read… Read more »

Breathe2Relax App

The National Center for Telehealth and Technology develops technologies to support psychological health and traumatic brain injury recovery in the military community. They developed the Breathe2Relax appto help with mood control, anger and stabilization. The Breathe2Relax app, available on the iOS and Android, helps users learn the stress management skill called diaphragmatic breathing. According toRead… Read more »

How Do You Measure Social Media Success?

Here’s a question for all you social media specialists: How do you measure your success? When are you certain you’ve “gotten your word out”? That people are actually listening? What is the goal of social media (other than AWARENESS) is there a more substantiated way to measure your success?

Top 5 Member Blogs of 2011

Top Member Blogs The internet is a weird place and getting eyes to your content is hard. Of course there are tricks like SEO (search engine optimization), catchy headlines, and in the case of GovLoop getting in the carousel or newsletter. But more so than anything else the thing that drives eyes to content isRead… Read more »

Christmas Vacuum

Well, I didn’t have a Christmas tree this year. Not even a fake one. But I did have a vacuum cleaner. A big red vacuum cleaner. With presents. It was just perfect. Of course, what does this have to do with procurement? Well, have you ever thought what it takes to manufacture an actual vacuumRead… Read more »

Are Reverse Auctions A Way For Government To Save Money?

New York State through law and regulations imposes procurement requirements that local governments must abide by. One of the recommendations of Governor Cuomo’s Mandate Relief Redesign Team is to allow local governments to conduct reverse auctions electronically. As I was not familiar with utilizing reverse auctions in government, I did some research into the topic.Read… Read more »