Yearly Archives: 2012

Shared Values With Hackers, NGA Geo-Location Tool for Video and Imagine, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: General Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of US Cyber Command, will talk about “Shared Values, Shared Responsibilities” between the Intelligence Community and hackers at DEFCON 20. More here. The Army is looking for a a realistic Threat Computer Network Operations Team toRead… Read more »

Advice from the Public Conversations Project on having critical conversations on challenging issues

As our nation attempts to make sense of the tragic shooting in Tucson, it is easy to portion out blame and accountability. Even easier is avoiding conversations with those who hold views different from our own. These patterns shut down communication and, in a charged atmosphere, can quickly lead to polarized conflict, when what mostRead… Read more »

Lessons Learned: Crisis Communications Online

Over the years, I’ve had the honor of either directly running or managing the people running EPA websites responding to various crises: 9/11 (that happened one month after I joined public affairs) Columbia Shuttle Accident Hurricane Katrina BP Oil Spill Radiation coming to the U.S. from the release of material from Japanese nuclear reactors followingRead… Read more »

To Engage Citizens, Focus on Self Interest

Government agencies are always looking to engage with citizens. However, often when government agencies do reach out for engagement, they get little in return. So how do you truly engage citizens? I recently watched an old video from Tom Steinberg of mysociety (embed below) where he has a simple idea – “focus on self interest”Read… Read more »

Blizzards to Beaches

I’ve always been an inquisitive person. I’ve been known to purposely shake things up. I wouldn’t be labeled as someone who follows the status quo. I often purposely put myself into uncomfortable situations to test my instincts and challenge my insecurities. (If we have a chance to meet at the CfA Summit, I can tellRead… Read more »

Recovering from the Recovery Act (Part 5)

Congress is considering expanding the transparency provisions first developed for the Recovery Act to all federal spending. A new report looks back at states’ experiences in implementing the federal reporting requirements and offers insights for the potential of extending such requirements. Since 2009, the public has been able to track the outlay of more thanRead… Read more »

Using Technology to Respond to Climate Change

Feeling a little warmer than usual? It’s not your imagination. This summer has already been a scorcher, with most of the country seeing temperatures of over 100 degrees and breaking several records. The NOAA also recently reported that the first 6 months of 2012 were the warmest months on record ever in the history ofRead… Read more »

Live Blog from the Esri International User Conference

This week I am attending the Esri User International Conferencein the beautiful City of San Diego. Esri was founded in 1969 by current Esri President Jack Dangermond and his wife, Laura. Esri is an acronym for Environment Systems Research Institute. The Esri website states, “Esri’s early mission was to organize and analyze geographic information toRead… Read more »