Yearly Archives: 2009

Does city living trim greenhouse gas emissions?

A recent study says that it does. The authors of this study, published in The Journal of Urban Planning and Development, quantified the emissions from building materials and construction, home heating and power demands, and transportation energy, in both urban suburban neighborhoods in the Toronto metro area. And they found that downtown residents use radicallyRead… Read more »

My introduction to Gov Loop

Hey Guys, My name is Ben Berkowitz and I am co-founder and CEO of SeeClickFix.com. We think we have created a tool that can revolutionize local governance through transparency and accountability while increasing citizen participation and pride in maintaining the public space. SeeClickFix allows for anyone to document and report non-emergency issues such as potholes,Read… Read more »

“Sweet GovTweets” Wed 16th April, 2009 edition

Apologies for errors in advance: @svenburg: Ask Secretary Clinton questions Digital Town Hall on April 17. http://townhall.america.gov/ #gov20 #opengov @maherltd: Bookmark & Share: #gov20boot camp presentations from today are on the conference website http://tinyurl.com/dxp3ok #gov20 RT @krazykriz … @artemgoncharuk: Politicians, prepare yourselves. Lobbyists, look out. http://bit.ly/zQaSP #gov20camp #gov20 #opengov @noeldickover: Definition of Transparency: making infomationRead… Read more »

Stimulus Projects – Advantage, GSA Schedule Holders

Stimulus Projects – Advantage, GSA Schedule Holders Selling to the government can be a lucrative long term investment. A company who has done their homework and understands the process and time frames, obstacles, paperwork and financial investment involved will be successful. Government sales should be evaluated to in the same way you would evaluate sellingRead… Read more »

The Price of Civilization?

Taxes play a large role in our national political dialogue. Yesterday’s “tea bag” parties got me thinking about our for-them-or-against-them ideology. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this too, so read on, no matter which side of this issue you’re on! Time and again I hear “Why should I pay taxes?” or “Why shouldRead… Read more »

The Accidental Following

I’m astounded at the number of people following me on Twitter, where I’m @levyj413. Truly. The count is currently at 3293. I’ve seen three large jumps in that number because of a few specific events, and I like giving credit where it’s due, so here they are: Quite randomly, I called into an NPR showRead… Read more »

A “Network Perspective”

“Build Community!” “Social Media” “Twitter!” “Facebook” – the battle cries of a new generation in business, government and media. But what do these demands mean? What practical impact do they have? Intuitively, we know that many people together are stronger than few people acting alone. Yet, in most walks of life we live in aRead… Read more »

Why Government should engage their community online

Republished from eGovAU. Crispin has published a post, Why (Government) Organisations Should be Engaging their Community Online, over at his Online Community Engagement blog providing eleven reasons why government should be engaging its community online. This is a nice piece and I thought I might add a few more that spring to my mind. GlobalRead… Read more »

Open Government on the Internet

The LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum are hosting a free conference on Open Government and the Internet. Featured speakers include: White House CIO, Vivek Kundra; Sunlight Foundation Director, Ellen Miller; and Former Senator Bill Bradly. For more information, please see theRead… Read more »

Federal Eye: Napolitano Comments on ‘Right Wing Extremist’ Report

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded today to widespread criticism of a leaked domestic intelligence report that warns local law enforcement agencies to be on guard for right-wing extremist groups seeking new recruits amid the nation’s economic troubles. “Let me be very clear: we monitor the risks of violent extremism taking root here in theRead… Read more »