Miscellaneous

Point System and User Incentives

I am working on a collaboration tool with a DoD customer that awards points to members for activities such as posting articles and commenting on existing ones. I would be interested in learning of any ideas others are using as rewards (via points) to encourage greater participation in their sites. Our system offers no rewardsRead… Read more »

Elephant migration (Or, the federal budget process and local government)

Those with antennae to the ground heard them coming months in advance. Drawing near, the thundering, trumpeting and pounding of the pachyderm feet was like a dry thunderstorm. All of us: ants, mice and small creatures of the forest scurried for cover and got into position for the passing. When the train was just abreast,Read… Read more »

Obama Putting National Security and Foreign Policy on the Backburner?

President-elect Obama has certainly drawn plenty of comparisons to President Clinton. From bringing on former Clintonites like John D. Podesta and Rahm Emanuel, it seems that team Clinton will be back in office on January 20th. What is really interesting is that Obama is also being compared to Clinton when he first came into officeRead… Read more »

Bathroom. Convenience. Oubliette. Facility. Water Closet. Services. Powder Room. Little Boys’ and Girls’ Rooms.

How do people handle matters relating to the other end of the alimentary canal? For instance: What do they call that room in their language? (If there is one – in one place I visited, when I asked to use a restroom, two people got a sheet of corrugated metal and held it upright. Voilá!Read… Read more »

Meeting

I like being able to call in to meetings. I dislike it when the first half of a meeting consists of reliving the prior meeting for the benefit of people who missed it. I like the mute feature on my phone.

Applying Crowdsourcing/Collaborative Models in a Government Environment

This is the third of three in a mini-series of blog entries. In the first blog entry, I described Gov 2.0 as a world of “permeable boundaries”, characterized by crowdsourcing and collaboration, and described the challenges that created for leadership. In the second blog entry I looked at some model organizations that are already workingRead… Read more »

State/Local Adaptation to Climate Variability, Extreme Weather…Fusing Data for Tactical Decision-Making

I’m out here in Phoenix with Molly O’Neil, Jerry Johnston, Jeff Levy and 800 others for EPA’s EnviroInfoSymposium. We presented a paper I wrote with AZ DEQ Secy Steve Owens and EPA GIO Jerry Johnston on next best moves for states, locals dealing with extreme weather. We’ll be working together in the coming months toRead… Read more »

Does Obama Need a “Warren Buffet-Like” Person to be the DNI?

For those of you who have not read David Ignatius editorial in the Washington Post this morning, it is worthy of checking out. He breaks down all of the challenges facing the intelligence community and what should be done under the Obama administration. From highlighting the “left-right slugfest” over the fate of the community, toRead… Read more »