Posts By Alexander B. Howard

White House hosts second annual science fair, celebrates academic achievement

Yesterday in Washington, President Obama hosted the second annual White House Science Fair. Video of his comments is embedded below, along with a storify of exhibits and students from the day. “The young people I met today, the young people behind me — you guys inspire me. It’s young people like you that make meRead… Read more »

Data.gov launches business community, adds more open data

Just after midnight last night, here on the East Coast, a new part of Data.gov went live. http://www.data.gov/business Politico’s @MorningTech reported this morning that around 200 new datasets were released to the public. At present, I’m seeing 120 datasets, most of which relate to the agricultural industry, census data or import/exports:http://www.data.gov/communities/node/244/data_tools?itemcount=100&tid=&keys=&field_categorization_value= US CIO +Steven VanRoekelRead… Read more »

Less TV, more Internet

The first Google Plus Hangout from The White House with a sitting president was watched by hundreds of thousands of people* online earlier tonight. My immediate takeaway? The forum featured real questions on significant issues, with genuine citizen-president interactions, with back and forth conversation. That was precisely the promise of the platform that I consideredRead… Read more »

What’s the most important Gov 2.0 or open government story of 2011? Why?

2011 is almost over and, with the promise of new year, it’s time to look back at the year that was. Here on Govloop, the community has already been discussing the issue of the year. So far, the threat of a government shutdown has led the list. A related issue –“austerity” — was the storyRead… Read more »

What questions do you have about open data, apps contests and sustainability?

*What questions do you have about open data, apps contests and sustainability?* Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency launched a contest to build “green apps” using its data. After months of preparation, development, publicity and engagement, the contest produced 38 apps:http://appsfortheenvironment.challenge.gov/submissions Last week, the winners of the contest were announcedhttp://www.epa.gov/appsfortheenvironment/winners.html Tomorrow, I’ll be moderatingRead… Read more »

White House releases open government status report before launch of Open Government Partnership

The Obama administration has released a status report on open government. The report, which I’ve embedded below, was released through a blog post at Whitehouse.gov by Steven Croley, special assistant and senior counsel to the President: President Obama has made open government a high priority. Greater openness renders our government more efficient and effective. ItRead… Read more »

Connecting Open Government to Research and Development

Earlier this week, the White House convened an open government research and development summit at the National Archives. Columbia statistics professor Victoria Stodden captured some key themes from it at her blog, including smart disclosure of government data and open government at the VA. Stodden also documented the framing questions that federal CTO Aneesh ChopraRead… Read more »

What is the state, use and future of emergency social data?

Last year, I asked Govloop about the value proposition for open government data before the first International Open Government Data Conference. The discussion was so rich and helpful for informing my presentation that I’m back again to ask you, the community, for insight. Next week, the Red Cross will be hosting a discussion of emergencyRead… Read more »

White House recognizes Grammy winner on Twitter, links to performance on YouTube

Esperanza Spalding won a Grammy for Best New Artist tonight. She’s an extraordinary talent. Moments after her win, White House new media director Macon Phillips congratulated her on Twitter and linked to a video of her performance at the White House Poetry Jam on YouTube: ] Shortly after that, the White House account shared theRead… Read more »