New Zealand’s Govt.nz: What We Did Right

In earlier blog posts, I mentioned Govt.nz, which is the New Zealand Government’s flagship website. The new website was launched in July 2014 but things didn’t actually stop there. That requires a little explanation: we launched a minimal viable product or MVP. If you Google that term, you’ll get either a definition that includes return-on-investmentRead… Read more »

Local Newspapers Equals Local News to Most People. Work With Them

It’s tempting to fall in love with the internet and all the ways we can get our message out without relying on local news. Be wary of that temptation. Local news outlets, especially newspapers, still hold a powerful attraction to the people in our communities. And reporters, although fewer in number and more overworked thanRead… Read more »

Reprioritizing to Enhance Cyber Capabilites

The following post is an interview with Bob Lentz, Member of FireEye’s Board of Directors, President of Cybersecurity Strategies, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber, Information, and Identity Assurance. It is an excerpt from GovLoop’s recent guide, Securing Government: Lessons from the Cyber Frontlines.  Though government spending on cybersecurity continues to increase, manyRead… Read more »

Go-To Tools For Easily Creating GIFs

Did the govies that got GIF game inspire you to think about making your own GIFs? Smart move. These eye-catching animated graphics can really gussy up your digital communications. Making your own GIFs is surprisingly easy. The toughest part is finding the right source material, whether it’s a video, a series of photos, or one image that can becomeRead… Read more »

Why Every Federal Agency Should Have A Chief Customer Officer

Chief Customer Officers (CCO) are becoming commonplace in the private sector, with more than 2,000 of these C-level execs in the US alone. Should federal agencies follow suit? The answer is unequivocally yes. As the only senior exec whose primary goal is to represent the interests of the customer, a CCO can help a federalRead… Read more »

Harness the Power of Unstructured HR Data with Text Analytics

Federal HR professionals with access to electronic employee databases typically have access to a wealth of so-called “structured” employee data, or information that can be quickly counted and analyzed in spreadsheet programs to create pivot tables and reports. Examples of structured HR data include employee salary and demographic information and employee survey responses, all ofRead… Read more »

These 9 Govies Got GIF Game

It’s no secret I love a good GIF. The animated images are an eye-catching way to quickly convey information and emotions. They work on almost every operating system, browser, website, and social media (except the frustrating holdout, Facebook). That’s why I made sure to watch DigitalGov’s recent webinar, “The Essentials of Animated GIFs for PublicRead… Read more »

How To Be Excellent!

Excelling is often defined as going above and beyond what’s expected. So in its very nature, achieving excellence is not something that should come easily. In government contracting, excelling is not something that’s common sense. It’s a complex task, and it takes teamwork and collaboration for government workers to understand the best ways of goingRead… Read more »