Yearly Archives: 2013

My presentation to the UK Government Digital Service

I’m going to do a full post on my visit to the UK Government Digital Service (the GDS), but thought I’d lead with the presentation I gave to them regarding the state of Government 2.0 and open government in Australia, and how we’ve reached the point we’re at. Note this is purely my view ofRead… Read more »

How to shut down or redirect an official Ministerial or agency social media account

With the change in Australia’s Prime Minister last week, the resignation of a large handful of Ministers, and the announcement of new Ministers this week, we’ve seen some interesting approaches to shutting down Ministerial Twitter accounts. Senator Jacinta Collins closed her Ministerial account with two very-matter-of-fact tweets, redirecting people to the new Ministers: This accountRead… Read more »

Federal Government Marks Independence Day on Social Media

As America celebrates the Fourth of July this year, several federal agencies and the White House have released commemorative information via Twitter and other social media, including: USA.gov & OPM: “The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is a federal holiday that celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. FindRead… Read more »

Educating the Public about Bed Bugs

As if we don’t have enough problems in the world to worry about, now we are facing a resurgence of bed bugs in our communities. And while people may not agree on the cause of their rise from obscurity, they do seem to agree we need to find ways to control their spread. Part ofRead… Read more »

Link roundup

I find this stuff so you don’t have to: Lockdown – Marco.org (thoughts on RSS etc) Doug Engelbart, visionary David Wilcox » Realising the knowledge assets of research for the rest of us – how about a set of recipe cards? LEGO Cultures of Creativity report launched today – David Gauntlett Mozilla and Partners PrepareRead… Read more »

We all have our defining moments

Mine happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I was in university at the time, working as a front desk agent for a hotel here in Ottawa. I spent a number of years with the company and during that time I was fortunate enough to have met thousands of people fromRead… Read more »

Read the Declaration of Independence

An Act of Treason; Not a Law The Declaration of Independence was more a process than a moment in history. This act of treason against an empire sparked the Revolutionary War and, eventually, the United States of America. It is not, and has never been, a law, but it is worth reading. This week, AmericansRead… Read more »

How to Organize a Hack Night

Last Thursday, the Code for America Brigade hosted a Hangout to discuss best practices for starting up and running a hack night. Panelists included: Mark Headd, chief data officer for the City of Philadelphia; Juan-Pablo Velez, organizer of weekly open government hack night in Chicago; and Brigade Captains Michelle Koeth (Code for NoVA), Chris AlfanoRead… Read more »