Forty eight years ago,Dr. Martin Luther King Jr led approximately 250,000 men,women, and children to Washington DC for a March for Freedom and Jobs. In 1963 black unemployment was as high as 11%, while unemployments was only 6% for whites. A white family earned, on average about $6,500.00 a year while a black family earnedRead… Read more »
Search Results for: Debates
Can Rapper Nas and Dr. King teach us to be more civil?
In a recent discussion about civics and civil society, one of my colleagues referenced a line by Rap artist, Nasir Jones, a/k/a Nas from his song, “Hate Me Now” that states: People “fear what they don’t understand, hate what they can’t conquer.” On this day of national recognition for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., hisRead… Read more »
Is the Foreign Office too cool for Quora?
One of the joys of sudden web trends is the speed at which the too-cool-for-school types start to affect disdain and boredom for something that’s been popular for all of a week or so.Take Quora.com– a US-based site which styles itself as ‘a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized byRead… Read more »
For a View of 2011, Watch These People
FedinsiderTrying to change the government is like running up a hill that gradually gets steeper. The going gets more difficult and eventually you tire out. Two years since President Obama was inaugurated, his team managing the government itself has been stable. And it enters 2011 still having pretty good momentum. The one big change wasRead… Read more »
The best moment in Canadian democracy in 2010?: the census debate
Over at Samara, my friend Alison Loat is asking people to answer the question “What was the best moment in Canadian democracy in 2010?” In what I think was a good decision, they’ve defined the terms pretty broadly, stating: The moment could be one that took place inside or outside of Parliament or other legislativeRead… Read more »
Is the State Department Wiki Leaks the Beginning of a Nightmare For Open Government?
After three days of consuming the best of cuisine during Thanksgiving holiday, I have once again experienced my usual holiday epiphany to become inspired. It is usually around this time of year, that I personally and professionally aspire to take my goal setting to the next level. Honestly speaking, I am excited about expanded hopesRead… Read more »
CB2: Hey 311, Let’s ChaCha!
I have a new guilty pleasure: ChaCha. In a nutshell, text any question you have to ChaCha (242-242) and a human on the other end will Google it and text you back the answer at no charge. While it’s great for folks without smartphones, it’s also addictive for those who do – knowing a realRead… Read more »
Need more proof that open government data is creating jobs? Look at BrightScope
Alex Howard shared a good story today about BrightScope, a San-Diego based company that “quantitatively rates 401k plans and gives participants, plan sponsors, asset managers, and advisors tools to make their plans better”. BrightScope has used government data to create a profitable business. Now, as Alex notes: “Here’s the key point about the founders’ fascinatingRead… Read more »
You gotta wanna – making Fantasy Policy Leagues work for Gov2.0
Recently, Justin Herman suggested that we might create more excitement and involvement in Gov2.0 by developing “Fantasy Policy Leagues”. What’s intriguing to me about Justin’s idea is that Fantasy Football uses people’s excitement and attachment to local teams to transform passive viewers into active coaches, getting them more deeply involved in strategy. The challenge isRead… Read more »
Getting crowdsourcing right
Steph has a great post about crowdsourcing in government: It’s human nature to want to work on your own projects, rather than those imposed upon you. It’s human nature to want to earn recognition, intellectual satisfaction and a good living from your work. So instead of asking civil servants to sift thousands of ideas andRead… Read more »