Yearly Archives: 2011

What’s next for OneBusAway?

OneBusAway has been telling Seattle-area residents when their bus was arriving since 2006. Developed by University of Washington graduate student Brian Ferris, the application allowed customers use any kind of cell phone to dial, punch in the stop number, and receive an arrival prediction. Smartphone apps followed, and today OneBusAway logs 27,000 unique weekly visitorsRead… Read more »

Washington gets $23m for health insurance exchange

Washington has received a $23 million federal grant to create a new health insurance exchange through the state’s Health Care Authority plan. The health insurance exchange is a key component of federal health care reform and builds on a series of recent legislative and funding moves designed to create a comprehensive response to health careRead… Read more »

Innovative ways of training

I’ve been thinking about using some new ways of providing training on digital engagement stuff to those working in public services – in tandem with the traditional approach that we are taking in our workshop tomorrow. Webinars are something I’m looking into, and I’ve written about my experiences of running them previously. What I amRead… Read more »

Drive Improved Results by Understanding Your Audience

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” When you’re looking to drive improved business results, one of the greatest joys can be truly understanding your target audience – their wants, their needs, and their motivations. In conjunction with the national effort by the same name, I recently organized aRead… Read more »

Five to Follow on Twitter

Need some suggestions about who to follow on Twitter? Here is a list of five you might consider: library_connectTwitter Bio: Partnering with Info Pros. http://www.elsevier.com/librarians INFOdocketTwitter Bio: Shirl Kennedy and Gary Price are now blogging at: http://fulltextreports.com & http://INFOdocket.com USMCLibrary Twitter Bio: Official Twitter account of the USMC Research Library, Quantico, VA. The appearance ofRead… Read more »

Elude: Gaming as the “Opposite of Play”

Last week at the Games for Health 2011 conference, Dr. Doris Rusch (MIT-Singapore GAMBIT Game Lab) presented her groundbreaking game, Elude. Elude is not like most games – its intention is not to “play” but just the opposite. A beautifully designed metaphor, Elude is a tool for people supporting others with depression. For people whoRead… Read more »

Why Implementing the Plain Writing Act Will Take Decades

“In just a few more years, the current homogenized voice of business—the sound of mission statements and brochures—will seem as contrived and artificial as the language of the 18th century French court.” – The Cluetrain Manifesto “In just a few more years” – if only that were true. Unfortunately, this quote was written more thanRead… Read more »

GSA’s Laura Godfrey, Manager of GobiernoUSA.gov, to Speak at June 9th Reaching Latinos Online Event

We are excited to have Laura Godfrey, Manager of GobiernoUSA.gov, joining us at out next Reaching Latinos Online event on June 9th at 6pm. Laura will discuss GobiernoUSA’s efforts to make the site more mobile-friendly. Among the issues she will address are: How Hispanics are using the mobile Internet Which segments of the Hispanic populationRead… Read more »

Digitizing the Big Apple

From ‘The Big Apple’ and ‘Empire City’ to ‘Gotham’ and ‘The City That Never Sleeps,’ New York City has worn many hats over the years. With the release of NYC Digital‘s roadmap, NYC hopes to add ‘The Digital City’ to its nickname collection. Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne announcedRead… Read more »