Monthly Archives: April 2012

What is Government’s Role in Community Events?

Once again I’ve been intrigued by the similarities between online and offline communities with the topic this time focusing on the handling of community events. And I wonder how much the “real” and “virtual” communities can learn from each other. If you work for a city, your experience is probably very similar to mine –Read… Read more »

Building a shared services model in local government

Declining local government budgets drive a need for innovative solutions to reduce operating costs Local government budgets for municipalities, cities and townships are shrinking at a staggering pace. Declining property and business tax revenues are impacting local governments ability to provide basic services to the public. As a result, budget planning directors and business analystsRead… Read more »

Help an agency out: spread the word that we want photos taken on Earth Day

Ok, here’s the deal. We at EPA are running several social media engagement projects around Earth Day (April 22), and most are off to a good start. But we’re doing one thing actually on Earth Day itself: trying to capture a moment in time. Specifically, we’re asking people to submit a photo they take onRead… Read more »

Red Sky Alliance and Collaborative Cyber Sharing: It’s good to give, but it’s better to receive!

Editor’s note: This guest post from JeffStutzman of the Red Sky Alliance provides context on a topic of tremendous interest in the community, collaborative cyber security information sharing. – bg Government sponsored hackers, advanced cyber criminals, and even unskilled hactivists operate with relative ease against our information systems because of the sophistication of new toolsRead… Read more »

The PRECISE Act, Law Enforcement Data Exchange, and More

Today’s federal cybersecurity and IT news: The Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act of 2011 (The PRECISE Act) passed the House Homeland Security Committee though members had concerns over whether it was sufficient. More here. The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice discussed information sharing through N-DEx, the FBI’s nationalRead… Read more »

Frequently Asked Questions for Gov 2.0: How do we handle negative comments from citizens?

One of the biggest concerns agencies have when considering social media engagement is how they handle negative comments from participants – ranging from abuse and bullying through to criticism of agencies and party politicking. Of course these kinds of conversations may already be going on about an organisation online – through forums, blogs, social networksRead… Read more »

Keen on Green: The US Forest Service Holds a Model Sustainability Conference

By Lance Simon and Judith Nielsen http://gov.icohere.com It was a conference with a conscience. The title: The Sustainable Operations Summit. The objectives: Highlight sustainable operations occurring throughout the Agency, integrate more of them into existing programs, and dialogue with other agencies and partners about how to collectively further sustainability goals. The topics: biodiesel infrastructures, theRead… Read more »

Be a Force of Nature

NOAA and FEMA are partnering on a public education campaign kicking off during the first National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, April 22-28. This is more than your routine public safety/awareness effort. Aimed at improving the way people respond to severe weather warnings, campaign planners are embracing social science principles to encourage people to take appropriateRead… Read more »