We’re in public service and that means getting the word out about the goings-on in government to the broadest reach possible. A few years ago we were webmasters. Today, we’re webmasters, digital media providers, social media managers, content managers, information architects, editors, and more. Today, we have to put information everywhere: on the web andRead… Read more »
Michele Flournoy, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, had an interesting opinion piece in the Washington Post on Reforming an Outmoded Government. Federal agencies typically lack the expertise and experience to transform themselves into more effective and affordable enterprises With rising budgets (like the past decade), the focus tends to be on growth, notRead… Read more »
Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: As part of Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel’s digital strategy to make application programming interfaces “the new default in government,” U.S. foreign assistance payments, nuclear reactors’ daily event reports and a national sex offender registry will soon be released with API’s to allow automatically updated streamingRead… Read more »
Out & Equal is hosting a one-day Federal Leadership Seminar on Monday, October 29, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The goals of the seminar are to: bring together agencies to share best practices; provide training on how to implement best practices; create an opportunity to learn from government contractors; and incorporate globalRead… Read more »
I gave a brief talk recently on how to effectively build teams. These are the main lessons I shared: 1. Build trust. No one will follow someone they don’t trust. I cited Steven M.R. Covey’s The Speed of Trust as my guidebook for doing so. Covey cites 13 principles for earning and keeping trust. IRead… Read more »
The term “no comment” is conventionally viewed among government communicators and media relations professionals as leaving a negative perception with the interviewer and the audience. This is because “no comment” often implies there’s something sinister going on – whether that’s true or not. Why “No Comment”? “It seems obvious after the fact, but ‘no comment’Read… Read more »
Twitter has been taking a bit of a pasting in the technology media world recently. Could this mean it is facing a bleak future, and could become the new MySpace, or Friendster? Or even – the horror! – FriendsReunited? The biggest furore came when they recently changed the terms of use for their API orRead… Read more »
DCLG have today announced that residents, bloggers, tweeters, community activists and hyperlocal sites should have the same access and facilities to council meetings as traditional newspaper journalists. This is important because it means Government recognises the valuable contribute the wider community makes to accountability in local government. It’s a very timely announcement. For a whileRead… Read more »
Congressional approval ratings have matched the all-time low of just 12 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. That means that fewer than 1 of every 8 Americans thinks Congress is doing a good job. Much of this dissatisfaction is surely deserved, but far too many people have the wrong idea about whatRead… Read more »
Well, well, well folks. It seems I’ve hit a hot button here: customer service. I cross-posted a post titled “Get to Know Your Customers on a Personal Level” to the NCMA group on LinkedIn. There strong feelings on both sides. Some think that contracting officers absolutely need customer service training. Some think that customer serviceRead… Read more »