In the age of the empowered citizen, the age of trying to “control the conversation” is over. Well over. It’s taken us a long time to actually get that memo, and some of us are still processing the digital ink it’s printed on. What it means. Instead, there’s still a lot of focus on “brand-building”. Where a message is transmitted,Read… Read more »
As a manager, giving difficult feedback to an employee can be one of the hardest parts of your job. The conversation can be fraught with peril. If done well, giving tough feedback can help your team member grow – but if done poorly, you risk consequences like straining your relationship, or demoralizing him or her. SometimesRead… Read more »
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 »
My agency has a whole team of people with the title “Storyteller.” They’re job is to make sure that analysts, managers and others communicate what they mean in a coherent way so that our customers can make sense of the products we give them. Storytelling can mean a lot of thing to different people. InRead… Read more »
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 »
By Stacy Surla The environment we work in matters. It gives us agency – the ability to affect things with our actions. As user experience professionals, it’s important for us to think about transforming the business – our environment – so Design Doing can happen. IA as commodity is stupid Let’s consider Jane, an informationRead… Read more »
Over the last two weeks, I shared how government leaders should heed Vanilla Ice’s advice in Ice, Ice Baby to Stop and Collaborate. In this final blog of the three-part series, we will focus on how to Listen. While many think of social media as the place to spew every thought one ever had orRead… Read more »
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 »
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 »
Government agencies tasked with the responsibility of keeping drivers and passengers safe on the road face daunting challenges every day. From finding new ways to increase awareness of the importance of cars seats and seat belts, to helping drivers avoid congestion and road closures, satisfying the ever-changing needs of today’s travelers can seem like an uphillRead… Read more »