Communications

Less is More

Optimism is rising among small business owners, but, according to a recent Citibank survey, the rosier outlook may not lead to more hiring, Dow Jones Newswire reports today. While more than 80% of small company CEOs think that 2011 will be better than 2010, only 14% say they will hire additional employees. Unfortunately, this isRead… Read more »

The Modern Policy Wonk Workstation

The web is integral to my work. Here’s a mockup of my workstation on a typical workday (Note that dual monitors are integral to this set up)(click to enlarge): Tweetdeck (for Twitter) Tweetdeck is open almost all day, and I am constantly paying partial attention to it. I have a it broken down into multipleRead… Read more »

Is Social Media your town square, classroom, coffee house or Nightclub?

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her second speech on internet freedom and social media, two subjects for which she is a strong advocate. She said the internet has become the world’s “town square, classroom, marketplace, coffee house and nightclub”. Today, I attended Facebook’s DC Live Event: Social Media and the WorldRead… Read more »

What myths would you like to see busted?

Mythbusters are in Government — and it’s not just a TV show! I had the pleasure of joining colleagues and friends at the AFFIRM luncheon today where we heard Daniel Gordon, Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget candidly talk about his priorities and a few myths they are trying toRead… Read more »

“Strike 2.0” in Israel Foreign Service: another opportunity to upgrade Open Government?

One month ago we have experienced in Israel something very unusual – the strike of the Israel Diplomatic service. Diplomats rarely go to strike, as diplomacy is considered an important element of the national security. But this time diplomats protested against the deterioration of their working conditions in the last 15 years, and there wasRead… Read more »

Yo Government! Why You Should Recruit in 49 Words or Less!

A recent study by the Pew Center shows some interesting facts about Twitter usage. Facts that are so interesting, they might be worth paying attention to. There has been a push recently for Open Gov and public facing interaction from the public sector. Many agencies have started to use Twitter…but are they using it inRead… Read more »

State Department adding new in-language Twitter feeds

Originally posted at blog.GovTwit.com I attended Secretary Clinton’s speech about Internet freedom yesterday at George Washington University (see the State Department report and Alex Howard’s write-up at GovFresh.com for good overview and links) and as her remarks came to a close, she mentioned that in addition to tweeting in Arabic and Farsi, the State DepartmentRead… Read more »

CRS Report on Government Transparency Asks Right Questions But Doesn’t Go Far Enough

By Dennis D. McDonald, Ph.D. Back in February 2009 in Challenges Facing Recovery.gov and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board I wrote the following about making Federal stimulus spending data more accessible and “transparent” to the public: Whatever methods are developed to represent and report on the various processes that are involved in implementing theRead… Read more »

No Textbook Answer: Communities Confront the Achievement Gap (documentary film)

This post includes details on a new National Issues Forums documentary film on how schools can use deliberation to uncover the best ways for them to address the achievement gap. The film will be aired on PBS stations around the country in 2011, and you can (1) request a free copy of the film andRead… Read more »