John Monroe

Writing last month at the FCW Insider blog, I asked federal managers to share their reasons for opposing telework. I recently summarized the results in another blog post (“4 reasons why federal managers resist telework“). I would be interested in any responses anyone might have.

FCW has posted an extensive response to this debate topic from Patrice McDermott and Amy Bennett, from OpenTheGovernment.org. The article picks up on the open government-Twinkie comparison with great élan.

“At the most basic level, the difference between Twinkies and open government plans is that, although probably okay in moderation, Twinkies…[Read more]

FCW has posted an article from Robert Dix in response to this FCW Challenge debate.

Dix, as you might know, is a former staff director for the House Government Reform Committee’s Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census Subcommittee. He is now a vice president of government affairs at Juniper.

Here is an excerpt…[Read more]

Federal managers need to stop worrying about where their employees are working and start focusing on what work is getting done. That’s the basic message of an article we recently posted by Deloitte’s Anne Weisberg and William D. Eggers as part of the FCW Challenge. They say that the concept of a results only work environment is not only feasible,…[Read more]

Another provocative comment from FCW.com:

In DoD, everyone already gets annual training. They ignore it. Since they never discipline anyone for allowing breaches, fear does not work as a motivator. The response has been to lock down hardware and perimeter controls so tightly as to impede mission capability. DoD, and the rest of FedGov, needs…[Read more]

Here is an excerpt from an intriguing comment posted at FCW.com:

The truth is that we don’t have sufficient security expertise and security experts to provide a secure, on-line environment for the entire world – the technology (and the hacker) is moving too fast for that. We would be better-off to reconsider (1) if everything that is online has…[Read more]

A comment from Michelle at FCW.com:

The internet has changed things; one of the main changes is the viability of news media watchdog groups to produce reliable stories on government. In that process, the average person is no more interested now than they were then (like when the electoral college was developed). BUT for those that are; for those…[Read more]

And another one from FCW:

If I want to discuss government issues, or learn what others are saying, I will go to a real (commercial or private) Blog to do so – not to some Federal Agency sponsored Web-site that screens/censors every comment before posting it – I suggest that government entities should do the same. What arrogance on the part of…[Read more]

Another comment posted at FCW:

Open Government is obviously a political ploy. If this administration really believed they would have started at the top. Instead we have an administration that keeps far more secrets about itself than is normal. However, they are getting away with it since most of the population is not informed of what is really…[Read more]

Here is a comment we received at FCW:

I’d venture a guess the Wax may be correct. Not every citizen is interested in a participatory engagement. In that vane, we can’t even get most registered voters to vote. On a different note, knowledge is vital to innovation despite what was said in the previous comment. Unless you are into sifting a mountain…[Read more]

Here is a comment we received from Susan at FCW:

Andrea DiMaio would agree with you, I think. In reference to FedSpace he says: “This is yet another example of how governments try to bend government 2.0 to fit within their comfort zone. Unfortunately the train has already left the station long time ago. I’m sure that FedSpace will be moderately…[Read more]

Here is a comment we received from Dave at FCW:

Building and hosting an application that is already available and free is the epitome of old-school, and is only done because of the Federal Government’s need for control. In the long run, the cost of competing with free services and the cost of O&M will result in a crappy application and shrinking…[Read more]

Here is a comment we received over at FCW:

The government should certainly feel free to build their own social network sites but they should also understand that these sites will not be highly utilized if the private sector makes available better sites that are easier to use and more open for sharing ideas.

Here is a comment we received from Erich Darr over at FCW:

DISA has been doing “cloud” computing on on the mainframes it maintains for DoD for some time. It’s a secure environment and it works within DoD. Having private companies or governemnt and private companies share a mid-tier server creates security issues that I don’t believe either are…[Read more]

Here is a good comment posted on this topic at FCW.com:

That’s nonsense! We have over 2500-3000 teleworkers a day. We can provide more accountability for teleworkers than ANY manager can for a worker in a cubicle. This idea that they need to have control is absurd. How often do managers actually make sure their users are at their desks and…[Read more]