Castles in the Sky

Meet Jesse Bounds. From Wall Street to 9th Street Jesse has literally climbed mountains (and one glacier) in search of more meaningful work. A search that led him here to 155 9th Street, home to staff and fellows of Code for America. Watch Jesse’s journey: If you want the see and touch and feel theRead… Read more »

Emergency Planning & the Disaster Supply Kit

Few would disagree on the importance of emergency planning and management in the face of natural catastrophe or disaster. However, many Americans tend to overlook or disregard the simple process of creating such a plan for themselves or their family and implementing a disaster supply kit for such emergencies. There are numerous resources online, foundRead… Read more »

NASA’s Space Robot App, FBI Investigates Chinese Firm For Selling Iran US SurvNeillance Tech, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has seized 70 websites for alleged copyright infringement. More here. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has updated security standard for the Personal Identity Verification cards for all federal employees and contractors to account for technological change. More here. TheRead… Read more »

The Digital Advantage with Natural Disasters

Natural disasters, such as the recent forest fire outbreaks in Colorado, are often thought as “Acts of God” that cannot be tamed, or avoided. The best you can do when you know a natural disaster is headed your way, like a tornado or forest fire, is stock up on supplies, prepare your home as bestRead… Read more »

Friday the 13th Not Feared by Government and Contractors

The government and contractors are both busy with sequestration fears, but with Friday the 13th approaching, I found myself wondering whether triskaidekaphobia was actually a more immediate concern. Knowing that many buildings, particularly older ones, do not have a 13th floor (Otis Elevators puts the figure at 85 percent for the buildings it serves), IRead… Read more »

Weekly Round-up: July 13, 2012

Gadi Ben-Yehuda Psst! NIST on PIV. FedScoop reports that “The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the second draft version of its updated security standard for identity credentials in personal identity verification cards, also known as PIV cards. The document. . . is now open for public comment” Kickstarter, for roads? Rob GoodspeedRead… Read more »

Android Continues To Lead US Smartphone Market

New reporting by Nielsen provides context on smartphone buying habits important for enterprise technologists to understand. According to Nielsen, two thirds of mobile buyers are now buying smartphones, and Android is dominating this smartphone market. 51.8% of smartphone owners are using an Android OS handset. Just over a third (34%) of smartphone owners use anRead… Read more »

“Many Shades of Gay” HIV Prevention Campaign Shows Future of Public Health

In early June the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) launched “Many Shades of Gay”, a cross-media prevention campaign with global creative agency ATTIK to encourage gay and bi-sexual men to get tested for HIV. The campaign orbits around a website – www.manyshadesofgay.org – where “visitors can create and share their own unique avatar to showRead… Read more »

Trust is the only thing that scales

Sometimes the best thing you can share is real life advice you’ve given someone. What follows is an email [almost verbatim] I sent to someone who asked me about the blurring line between professional and personal lives online (emphasis added): My first impression is that this [person] is doing something awesome [online]; and that IRead… Read more »