I still haven’t really got my head around mobile apps and their use for government services. However, James Coltham wrote up some excellent notes from a meeting up in Scotland on the subject recently: There is definitely a groundswell of interest, though, as well as a growing demand from the public, making for interesting timesRead… Read more »
Having been inside many governmental organizations, I can tell you that it will take a LOT more effort to get people to change. One of oft misunderstood positives of a government organization is that they aren’t driven by profit or the bottom line. Sometimes lethargy can actually be good in a giant and vast bureaucracy.Read… Read more »
Geospatial technology has become a reality of everyday life. We map out locations on Google, send tweets with geotags, and find food trucks nearby (especially the last one). But increasingly, these capabilities are proving to have profound potential for reshaping how government delivers services. With that in mind, the National Academy of Public Administration willRead… Read more »
About 10 years ago, I helped a colleague build a case that managing government websites is “inherently governmental.” A-76 (OMB Circular A-76: Performance of Commercial Activities) was rearing its head again, and some agencies were asking the question: could web management be done more efficiently and effectively by the private sector? A few agency webRead… Read more »
Yesterday I witnessed something digital. I witnessed A Shiny World. I watched Life in a Day. On the 24th July 2010 80,000 people filmed their lives on assorted devices and submitted them – responding to a call made on YouTube for people to shrink the world and share their lives. Just ordinary lives. Nothing special,Read… Read more »
People pretty regularly put out calls for position descriptions, skills needed, interview questions, etc. for social media specialists. I suppose some folks have them, but let’s use the power of social media to identify what it takes to lead social media for an agency. Wisdom of the crowd, anyone? For this post, we’ll discuss theRead… Read more »
I’m very pleased to announced that we’ve finalized a venue for CityCampSF 2011 on June 18,. 8:30 to 4 p.m. The SF Department of Technology has opened up the Atrium at 1 So. Van Ness, 2nd Floor, for our free civic tech unconference. Sign up now for CityCampSF 2011 now, as we expect to fillRead… Read more »
Having only attended one other code-a-thon before in my life, in Washington D.C., last weekend’s Applications for Good competition gave me the opportunity to experience civic app development, West coast-style. Applications for Good Registration Table Moderated by Arthur Grau of One Economy, the event began with a round table introduction of everyone in attendance —Read… Read more »
“Open government requires accessibility, not just data, specialists say” “Making important agency information easy to find online can also be a key factor in improving the agency’s public image, said General Services Administration digital government specialist Sheila Campbell.” “Open Government Philadelphia: an initiative and policy paper from Councilman Bill Green” The post has “his 10Read… Read more »
In a recent blog posting from the Washington Post’s Al Kamen, we find an interesting, slightly tongue-in-cheek debate going on about who actually takes credit for the SEAL Operation that took down bin Laden. Obama, Bush, or as Kamen writes: Some folks tried to give Bill Clinton credit as well, since he launched that missileRead… Read more »