We Don’t Know Who Buys American Drones, NASA’s Visual Data Processing, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: The Government Accountability Office found that the federal government has no way of knowing which countries have purchased American drones because of inadequate databases and weak communication between licensing departments and intelligence agencies. More here. The United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity has awarded aRead… Read more »

Outsourcing Government Communications?

A recent news story in The Economist discussed outsourcing and privatizing of government communications, and used Sandy Springs, GA as an example of a government entity that had outsourced many functions. Suzanne Horsley, an assistant professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Advertising and Public Relations, was intrigued by the article, and now she’sRead… Read more »

Citizen Disaster Preparedness Extremely Low

A recent article on Emergency Management Magazine’s website stated, “Surveys consistently indicate that less than 10 percent of the public is considered prepared for a disaster and that percentage is usually closer to 6 percent.” The article deems current strategies to prepare the public for emergencies as inadequate, stating that the threat-based message is deliveredRead… Read more »

Stuff Police Officers Say

This Quora post brought back a lot of childhood memories; my parents loved to tell their strange cop stories to their kids. I think #1 and #2 are very relevant to some workplaces out there, unfortunate though it may be. Original post

Why the Latest and Greatest is Important – Software, Maintenance and Enhancements

Next week, I’ll be attending the OnBase Training & Technology Conference (OTTC). During my time in government, I went to many users’ conferences, mostly out of self-defense. I viewed these events as a chance to lobby for the enhancements and improvements I needed for my department. Unfortunately, the process for discussing these needs was oftenRead… Read more »

FOMO — and working for the federal government

Do you have it? I certainly do. It’s not always easy to admit, but I am ready to do it now. I have succumbed to the latest Internet-induced disorder. It’s called FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out – and increasingly people are stepping up and admitting that it’s affecting their social lives. Now, though, it’sRead… Read more »

Weekly Round-up – September 14, 2012

Gadi Ben-Yehuda Using the Internet to Raise Money for Cities. A few weeks ago, I wrote about “kickstarter for civic projects.” One site that’s doing that, Citizinvestor, is off the ground, with five entries from three cities, including four petitions and only one project. Will it gain momentum? Using Data to Earn Money for Entrepreneurs.Read… Read more »

The Office Challenge

I’ve often argued that a little levity in the office goes a long way. It’s why I made a web comic a while back on the Kubler Ross Model of internet blocking, why I sometimes advocate guerilla tactics in the workplace, and why I launched Gov + Memes. you! by dhammza It’s also why I’mRead… Read more »

Can foreign digital gatekeepers unduly influence democracy?

One of the perils of the digital age, as traditional media goes digital or goes downhill and more and more people rely on the internet for their daily news, is that countries such as Australia are losing ‘editorial’ control over what news is promoted as the ‘top stories’ each day or what links appear atRead… Read more »

With Facebook, Your Recruitment Pool Is One Billion People

J.J. Colao, Forbes Staff 9/14/2012 @ 10:32AM |339 views With Facebook, Your Recruitment Pool Is One Billion People When Hard Rock Café opened a restaurant in Florence, Italy in the spring of 2011, the company needed to hire 120 people in four weeks. They did it all through Facebook. Using the services of a companyRead… Read more »