Register now for GovHack 2013

GovHack is on again this year and it’s gone national, with eight locations across Australia. With over $160,000 in prizes, the organisers anticipate over 400 participants in 150 teams – and due to venue sizes, entry is limited. If you’re interested in mashing up open government data for prize money, or simply interested in watchingRead… Read more »

White House Unveils Open Source API to View Petition Data

The White House has developed a new application programming interface intended to help users view data on petitions holding more than 150 signatures and posted on the “We the People” site. Next on the White House’s agenda is an API designed to help individuals collect and submit signatures on their own platforms and not havingRead… Read more »

On the Rocks: Best Icebreaker Questions for Meetings and Focus Groups

As a follow up to my post about Best Focus Groups Guides and Resources, here are some ideas about using icebreakers to get the session started on the right foot and not end up “on the rocks”: ABOUT USING ICEBREAKERS The Art of Icebreakers Excellent document about the use of icebreakers. FAST ICEBREAKER QUESTIONS TheRead… Read more »

Find Out What Congress Is Doing

Free. Easy. All Online. Public interest in Congressional activity surged in recent years. Confusion, misinformation, and outright lies abound. But we can get accurate information without extensive web searches. All official Congressional activity is available on one website. Have you ever wanted to read the text of a bill for yourself, while Congress debates it?Read… Read more »

A guide to Rooting your Android phone

By Ryan Kamauff One of the constant discussions between Android users is why/if you should “root.” Rooting is a term that describes the ability to grant programs “superuser” access. This allows programs to operate at the root level of the operating system, enabling full phone backups, changing certain parameters (CPU/GPU speeds) and changing the entireRead… Read more »

The Cyber Working Group Packs a Punch

by Steve Charles, Co-founder and Executive Vice President It may sound dull ⎯ Executive Order 13636 DOD-GSA Section 8(e) Working Group ⎯ but it’s a group with a lot of leverage. It could dramatically change the complexion of federal IT procurement. The Working Group is drafting a request for information from industry for how toRead… Read more »

After Boston: Terrorism and the Technology Gap

By Bryan Ware The Boston Marathon bombing, subsequent manhunt and current investigation are unprecedented – not only due to the nature of the attack but because of how much information has been available to law enforcement, the public and the suspects. Unlike any previous large-scale attack, data came in at a staggering velocity within secondsRead… Read more »