Upcoming Webinars on Nonprofits and Social Media

Heather Mansfield, an expert in nonprofits and social media, is hosting several upcoming webinars in late July and August that might be of interest: 7/26 :: How Nonprofits Can Successfully Utilize Mobile Websites, Group Text Messaging, and Text-to-Give Technology: http://www.diosacommunications.com/webinars/webinars/mobile/july26.htm 7/28 :: How Nonprofits Can Successfully Utilize Mobile Social Networking Tools and Location-Based Communities: http://www.diosacommunications.com/webinars/webinars/mobile/july28.htmlRead… Read more »

Santa Cruz Assistant to the City Manager Interview

As a recently graduated MPA student (July 1 graduation– check it out here!), I’m trying to learn as much as I possibly can about government. This post is the first of a series of interviews with outstanding state and local government employees across the country. I find people incredibly fascinating and I love learning aboutRead… Read more »

GovTech: New Facebook App Connects Citizens to Government

Government Technology reported that citizens in Burleson, Texas, now have another way to connect with government. A new Facebook application was developed to make it easier for citizens to report and request services from their local government. The Facebook application is called the Citizen Request Tracker (CRT). Public administrators in Burleson have seen an increaseRead… Read more »

Taste For Makers

Zach Yates sent over a great quote leading to an amazing 2002 blog post, Taste for Makers It takes confidence to throw work away … When people first start drawing, they’re often reluctant to redo parts that aren’t right … they convince themselves that the drawing is not that bad, really — in fact, maybeRead… Read more »

Social Media: The Norm

I came across an article today that I thought brought up an obvious (but much needed) point. The article says that CIO of Michigan gave a presentation and “[stated] that Online tools and social media are now the norm.” This is an important point that government officials who are resistant to using social media (suchRead… Read more »

Videoconferencing a “game changer” in economic growth

Deltek Sr. Analyst Kyle Ridley reports. The National Association of Counties (NACo) held its 76th Annual Conference and Exposition in Multnomah County, Ore. July 15-19, 2011. Several county officials, vendors and IT professionals attended the event in an effort to discuss policies and issues affecting counties nationwide and collaborate on ideas for shaping a brightRead… Read more »

The Opportunity for Civic Startups [Video]

Jennifer Pahlka — founder of one of Civic Commons’ founding partners, Code for America — gave a talk at the Future of Web Apps conference in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, entitled “The Next Disruption: The Opportunity for Civic Startups.” The keynote, embedded below, outlined how there is a huge opportunity in the governmentRead… Read more »

Rethinking the Food Label

In 2003, then Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona reported that obesity had reached crisis levels. Carmona explained that obesity is ”the fastest-growing cause of disease and death in America. And it’s completely preventable.” In response to this crisis, Michelle Obama has been publicly advocating increased physical activity and improved diet. In 2010, the first ladyRead… Read more »

Data, Design and Diabetes

On June 9, 2011, sanofi-aventis U.S. announced the “sanofi-aventis U.S. Innovation Challenge: Data, Design, Diabetes” at the National Institute of Health’s Health Data Initiative Forum. The challenge integrates open data with a human-centered view into diabetes, and will award $220,000 in total prize money. Guest blogger Michele Polz provides details on how this challenge cameRead… Read more »

Weekly Round-up – July 22, 2011

Gadi Ben-Yehuda Recommended Daily Downloads? The FDA has proposed health-related mobile application guidelines. The Food and Drug Administration reports that there are more than 350,000 health-related apps for Apple devices, and tens of thousands for other platforms. Because these apps are tantamount to medical delivery devices, the FDA argues, they should be regulated like otherRead… Read more »