Transparency Questions Answered from the National League of Cities Conference

We attended the National League of Cities conference last week and got a lot of questions about streaming council meetings online to increase transparency. There were some concerns raised about pricing and complexity, we wanted to address these in a blog post to give people some key things to consider when deciding what type ofRead… Read more »

ChatterBachs announces GovLoop training

On the ChatterBachs blog: ChatterBachs announces GovLoop training http://wp.me/p14i4G-50 ChatterBachs announced today that they will offer training on GovLoop as a part of their services. ChatterBachs, a social media and communications consulting firm based in Northern Virginia, has capabilities to create and maintain blogs, conduct social media training, act as an outsourced component for establishingRead… Read more »

Questions for Journalists, Politicians and Police Departments about Public Information Access

When Bradley Tech, a troubled Milwaukee public high school, had to be locked down and receive massive police support to stop a fight involving gang members and kids from other schools, the most important issue is not about the school, the 18 arrests, the gangs, the fight, or the police response. It’s about having noRead… Read more »

USDA Communications Moves To The Cloud

Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a massive move of its 120,000 employees to communications technology hosted in “the cloud,” the common term for Web-based services like email, instant messaging, and content management. This new initiative is part of a major consolidation of over 20 different email systems currently in use, andRead… Read more »

CB2: Simplicity for City Council

About 3 times per month my City Council in St. Petersburg meets to discuss and vote on local issues. Aside from knowing the name of my district representative, I generally have no idea what he’s voting on or if I should re-elect him. That’s a shame because (forgive the web-speak) he’s dealing with hyper-local issues:Read… Read more »

Take the “Difficult” Quiz

Does your employer think of you as “difficult” … and before you answer that, let me add that difficult employees aren’t necessarily bad employees. Some employees are viewed as “difficult” because they’re effective catalysts for organizational change. They’re engaged in their work and confident in their contributions to the workplace. They clearly communicate their desireRead… Read more »

What Australian government data would you like to see online under an open reuse license?

The NSW government has introduced a new service where people can provide suggestions on what government information they would like to access via a web or mobile front-end. Thus far the eight suggestions focus heavily on public transport information – knowing when and where buses, trains and ferries may be found. You can add yourRead… Read more »

5 Myths About Government Workers

Just in case you did not read the Washington Post this past Sunday (December 5, 2010) Please spread the word – all of these are untrue but still prevail by those outside of the goverment. 1. Federal employees are over paid compared with private-sector workers. 2. The Federal workforce is bigger than ever. 3. YouRead… Read more »