The question of whether or not a college education pays has been rumbling on the sidelines of reform discussions for some years. It got a renewed kick in the rear this week when PayPal co-founder, Facebook investor and billionaire Peter Thiel offered 20 promising young people a $100,000 not to go to college and insteadRead… Read more »
Welcome to the initial post of Day In The GovLife. This series will look into cool and or obscure government jobs and get the scoop on what it’s like to be in that role, how you can get there and overall advice for govies. Day In The GovLife Job: U.S. Ambassador Interviewee: Charles Ray, U.S.Read… Read more »
Earlier this month, our own Jen Pahlka had the honor of delivering the closing keynote at the EMC Data Scientist Summit in Las Vegas. The day-long event was a mix of speakers and panels with topics ranging from machine learning to cloud infrastructure. Jen rounded out the event by bringing the topic back down toRead… Read more »
As part of my work to promote Cloud Computing globally, I’m focused on a number of core technologies that are also key to Open Government. In particular ‘Open Linked Data’ – See my main summary of this here, where I describe that it will enable “Cloud 2.0” apps. Open Data is a very popular topicRead… Read more »
At the introduction to digital engagement workshop we ran this week, I debuted the digital engagement game. It’s a workshop exercise that’s an expansion of my version of David Wilcox‘s social media game, which in turn has been developed into the Social by Social game. The original game featured a pack of cards detailing variousRead… Read more »
Government websites are finally starting to come around. Just in the last years there has been several complete overhauls and redesigns that not only make the sites look better but make it tons easier for citizens to get around and engage with the government. Here’s a dataset with some great government website examples: http://data.govloop.com/Government/Government-Website-Design-Examples/drcq-g8fp GettingRead… Read more »
Seattle is pushing broadband providers to bring service to its Pioneer Square neighborhood. The city is a new construction project as an opportunity to lay conduit pipes for broadband providers to lease and bring service to the area. The pipes are for fiber-optic service or broadband which is nearly 100 times faster than DSL whichRead… Read more »
Research NIST cloud computing guide (05/2011) – NIST’s Cloud Computing Synopsis and Recommendations provides cloud computing technology in plain terms for Information Technology (IT) decision makers interested in cloud services. The publication presents information on the relative opportunities and risks of cloud computing. http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-146/Draft-NIST-SP800-146.pdf Engaging the public in a wired world (05/16/2011) – The newRead… Read more »
IRS MOVE ON (C)(4)‘S PART OF A TREND? Michael Barone discusses recent news on (c)(4) donations here. “Punishing enemies and rewarding friends — politics Chicago style — seems to be the unifying principle that helps explain the Obamacare waivers, the NLRB action against Boeing and the IRS’ gift-tax assault on 501(c)(4) donors.” Huffington Post featuresRead… Read more »
The gritty challenges that are involved in making real progress with Open Government is effectively captured through a review of the Campaign 2000 work. As they report Canada voted in a party that has no poverty reduction strategy. (Federal Election 2011 review – 10 page PDF). Not much chance of tackling poverty issues if thereRead… Read more »