Many Americans are really stressed about one thing right now, and that’s back to school. With about 70 million students expected in kindergarten through college in Fall 2015, everyone’s paying attention to back-to-school messages. Now’s the time to talk to your audiences about how your agency can help them during this hectic period. School administrators and teachers are looking forRead… Read more »
If you somehow haven’t heard of Yelp, it’s a website and app where anyone can review just about anything. People mostly seem to head to Yelp when they’re busting to share their glowing praise or their boiling rage. Now, as announced by DigitalGov, Yelp has a terms of service for official government use. Agencies can claim orRead… Read more »
New logos are far from easy. Government agencies may feel like they have it easier than global brands are so closely tied with their logos. In our online, social, attention-strapped world, a strong, memorable logo can help an agency connect with constituents, gain credibility, and accomplish its goals. A well-conceived, beautiful logo and a thoughtful process that makesRead… Read more »
As if giving a compelling presentation isn’t challenge enough, what do you do in a situation that makes it even harder for your presentation to be a success? You might have to present first thing in the morning or at the end of a long day. You unexpectedly have a lot less time than you plannedRead… Read more »
Lauded as the “last honest newsman” by some and decried as a tool of the Obama administration by others, whether you like him or not, Jon Stewart has long been one of the country’s most influential political comedians. Over the last 16 years, Jon Stewart has welcomed many government agency big shots into the interview hot seat on The Daily Show. ThoughRead… Read more »
Did your last presentation leave your colleagues rubbing their eyes and chugging coffee? During your time at the front of the room, did your voice sound a lot like when an adult talked in the old Peanuts cartoons? Then your presentations are putting your audience to sleep—and your professional reputation is taking a hit in the process. The ability to communicate verbally,Read… Read more »
This week, the popular self-publishing platform Medium becomes officially available to federal agencies. Hold up. Medium is not just a publishing platform. It’s social media. It’s a community. It’s a writing tool. It’s a story distribution network. It’s a content management system, or CMS. It’s not a CMS. It’s journalism. It’s a blog. It’s a magazine. It’s a publication. It’s aRead… Read more »
In the wake of Katherine Archuleta’s departure as Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), it’s natural to think back on other high-profile federal leadership resignations. Some resigned from government because they did something wrong or poorly handled a key situation. Others left because, ultimately, they were the ones in charge. As Steve Huffman, co-founder and new CEORead… Read more »
Last week, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that “sensitive information” on 21.5 million personnel was stolen from their systems. Today, OPM announced additional information about the recent cyber incident Learn more: http://t.co/YrWkqJKyYO. pic.twitter.com/46pLmaWMxJ — Beth Cobert (@CobertFormerOPM) July 9, 2015 Soon after this “enormous breach” (so said FBI director James Comey) was announced, OPMRead… Read more »
A lot of advice you’ll hear about how to handle your last two weeks at a job focuses on surviving. As if giving your two weeks notice is the equivalent of a zombie apocalypse or a vacation with your in-laws. Rather than survive, wouldn’t it be better to thrive? Giving your two weeks notice isn’t an excuse to dial it in.Read… Read more »