The Four Rules of Media and Layers

These four rules help government agencies plan for social campaigns, because they force us to answer key questions about our audience, our message, the tools at our disposal, and the resources available to us–the four constant variables in every activity that includes a social layer. The Goal of a more Participatory Government I’ve been thinkingRead… Read more »

Estonia as a Cyber Trafalgar

On Wednesday, May 23, Jason Healey, moderator for the Atlantic Council’s “Building a Secure Cyber Future: Attacks on Estonia, Five Years On,” reminded us that for all the talk of emergent threats and new technology, cybersecurity has a history that’s worth remembering and learning from. While the Navy still studies the Battle of Trafalgar fromRead… Read more »

GovBytes: Run-of-the-mill malware still poses huge cybersecurity threat

As of late, we’ve all heard of the threat of new, advanced, nation-state sponsored viruses like Stuxnet and Flame. But it’s important not to forget the risk posed by run-of-the-mill malware to our machines and personal information. McAfee’s latest threat report suggest that this year is shaping up to be one of increased risk online,Read… Read more »

Confusion Surrounding Social Media Monitoring

Here are some verbatim responses I often get when asking clients the following question: “Have you ever monitored social media while at work?” “social media monitoring is not our responsibility, it’s done by the [comms/web/IT] people]” “we have a social media monitoring tool gathering info for us” “we already do media monitoring” “our [branch/department/organization] doesn’tRead… Read more »

Avoiding Business Development Budgeting Pitfalls and Proposal Cost Cutting Blunders

As a proposal manager getting a proposal plan approved, I always found it difficult to get my management to approve a budget that was based on 40-hour weeks for employees and 50, 60, or even 70-hour weeks for consultants. It just didn’t look good: a consultant often cost more per hour than an employee, andRead… Read more »

Connery got the job done at the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit

In post 9/11 world, securing nuclear materials and safeguarding them from non-governmental actors is as important as ever. In 2010, President Obama hosted 50 world leaders in Washington, DC at the Nuclear Security Summit. The gathering was the largest of world leaders since the creation of the United Nations in 1945. Joyce Connery, the currentRead… Read more »

Now, this is a leap in the right direction!

Last week, I put a few thoughts together regarding the newly published Digital Government Strategy. Imagine my surprise when I received a Tweet from Mr. Macon Phillips, White House Director of New Media. Mr. Phillips asked me about my thoughts on a new program called the Presidential Innovation Fellows – MyGov. I have to admit,Read… Read more »

New research: Nearly 15 Percent of Work Email Is Gossip

New research: Nearly 15 Percent of Work Email Is Gossip When leaders “embargo” or “close hold” information about upcoming changes, I try to explain the conversations are already happening. The question is—do you want to be a participant? Here are data that show “negative” gossip, characterized through a Natural Language Text Processing analysis, was inRead… Read more »

Are Government Contractors Doing Enough to Differentiate Themselves?

Without a doubt, the next 12 to 24 months will be a period where government contractors need to be even more competitive – chasing after fewer and smaller contracting opportunities. Many are already seeing this as a particularly challenging time. As the market for winning new contracts and holding on to existing ones becomes moreRead… Read more »