Yearly Archives: 2012

Engagement on a shoestring

You could probably do more digital engagement around a series of stakeholder seminars, but it would be a tall order. For the last month or so, DCMS have been running a little site we helped build for them on our Read+Comment platform, to open up discussion around a series of seminars they’re running to informRead… Read more »

This week got me thinking

I spent last week in Richmond Virginia and Washington DC. I visited old friends and made new ones. I put in a couple days of probono work for the great city of Richmond, and spoke at the Next Generation of Government Summit in DC. It’s been a whirlwind week and I am completely exhausted butRead… Read more »

Do agencies unfairly assume that households have working printers?

While chatting with government folk in Victoria yesterday, the topic of printable PDFs in websites came up. Many agencies have them – large documents designed to be read on paper, rather than screen, and designed accordingly. It made me ask the question: How many households actually have working printers and are able (and willing) toRead… Read more »

3 Crowdsourcing Services for Translating Your Website

Despite popular belief, English is not the universal language of the Internet. The U.S. Government knows this better than anyone, which is why they look to NAICS code 54193 to acquire the services necessary to translate .gov sites into multiple languages. What form do these services typically take? Direct contract labor of course, which isn’tRead… Read more »

Panel: Leveraging Social Media Skills

Leveraging Social Media Skills Social media has come a long way within government agencies. Two years ago, 55 percent of agencies blocked social media sites and that is down to 19 percent today with some room for improvement. This session provided an overview of the value of digital media, its uses, trends, tips and aRead… Read more »

Pennsylvania Voter ID Law is a Republican Disgrace

And State Republicans Know It. In the 1960s, thousands of activists swarmed throughout the southern states to register poor and minority voters, butting heads with state and local authorities in the process. Many of those courageous people were beaten and jailed for their efforts; some of them were murdered, because they believed in America’s mostRead… Read more »

Top Officers Say Sequestration Threatens Cybersecurity, the VA Considers Mobile Contracts for All Employees, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: Top officers from each of the military branches warned a House Armed Services subcommittee that sequestration would be devastating to cybersecurity. More here. The Department of Homeland Security is standing up 13 portfolio governance boards to oversee information technology efforts. More here. A researcher at theRead… Read more »