Social Media Management: From Novelty to Utility

Summary: Social media is still a novelty to many professionals, especially those in leadership positions. Rather than viewing social and digital technologies as a radical departure from traditional communication approaches, however, it’s better to think of them as “new tools for doing old things” and to remember they are facilitators and enablers, not an endRead… Read more »

Is technology killing books and reading?

A fairly interesting, if somewhat confused in places, piece in The Guardian a few days ago from the author Philip Hensher. He starts by pointing out the rather glorious way that slightly niche publishing projects can get off the ground thanks to crowd funding websites such as Kickstarter, and also the way in which it’sRead… Read more »

CHART POST: My top 10 at being in the top 10

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve made the charts new in at number four. An unexpected email dropped the other day from the nice people at Cision. They’ve rated this blog as 4th in their list of UK PR blogs. I haven’t a clue what metrics they’ve used but I suspect pictures of cake have played aRead… Read more »

Survey: The state of digital communications in government

Dear Communicators, Do you use digital media as a communications tool for internal or external audiences? If so, your participation in a survey on how government departments and agencies, throughout North America, are using digital communications. The National Association of Government Communicators, FedInsider, and Adobe have partnered to conduct this survey, which will explore use,Read… Read more »

That Local GDS conversation again…

Just about 2 years ago I wrote this post on the GDS blog titled “Does local government need a local government digital service” the answer I gave then as I would give now is “YES” but just like then I outlined the challenges in actually making that a reality and instead focused on some areasRead… Read more »

What Is the Public’s Role in Government?

The Clinton Administration promoted customer service. The Bush Administration expressed sympathy for taxpayers. The Obama Administration has advocated citizen engagement. So, who are we? Customers? Taxpayers? Citizens? Or something else? And how should government managers respond, given the differences implied by these various roles? A recent academic article by Georgia State University professor John ClaytonRead… Read more »

Is It Time to Professionalize Contract Management?

It’s the problem that won’t seem to go away: for decades, government agencies, academics and industry associations have identified a lack of expertise and training among acquisition personnel as a key challenge for the acquisition workforce. Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, acknowledged the problem, adding a new goal toRead… Read more »

Gov Meetings Go Virtual — critical training on government virtual meetings

When I created the Gov Meetings Go Virtual online course in 2012 I had two main objectives. The first was to create an easy-to-understand curriculum that could raise everyone’s understanding of virtual events. The second was to create the first-ever learning community focused on virtual events, and hub for learning, networking and best practice sharing.Read… Read more »

Alienate Your Audience Lately? Avoid Using Negative Language

While doing some searching on the Internet, I came across an article on public speaking. The speaker said early in every presentation, he tells people “This presentation is for you. So don’t hesitate to interrupt me and ask questions. In fact I encourage you to argue with me. I’m here for you. In fact, IRead… Read more »