Communications

It’s all gone a little bit quiet

Twitter is quite broken. It begs an interesting question, really. What on earth did we all do before it came along? People are messaging me and I can’t see the messages. I worry it makes me seem rude. I am missing all the retweets of all the interesting stuff that I would normally retweet onRead… Read more »

Don’t Confuse the Genre for the Medium

Neal Ungerleider wrote a a funny piece on Fast Company about the State Department’s new Tumblr blog this morning, including a few suggestions on how the State Department could be more Tumblry by jumping on some of Tumblr’s most popular trends. It’s a great piece of writing, and it also says exactly what I wasRead… Read more »

Open Government Links of the Past Week (or so) – April 8, 2011

Here’s some links related to open government for the past week or so. Enjoy! “Happy One Year Anniversary! A Year of Progress in Open Government“ “Though it’s being overshadowed by the budget discussions this week, it’s important to note (and celebrate!) that today (April 7th) is the one year anniversary of Agency Open Government Plans.”Read… Read more »

The Why of Social Media (part 2)

When thinking about citizen and employee engagement and how we can all work together to address complex issues such as climate change, homelessness and healthcare, to name a few, consider what motivates people and how we can enable them to do what they do best: contribute. Understanding human motivation is the foundation of improving citizenRead… Read more »

Government Shutdown—A Pain or A Crisis?

Government shutdown. It isn’t a natural disaster, but it surely could be considered a crisis. As a communications consultant I’ve heard stories from counterparts across the agencies talk about their approaches in dealing with the possible government shutdown. With each discussion the same question comes up, “How do you prepare for a specific event whenRead… Read more »

Friday Fab Five: Social Media Ninjas, Shutdown Rockstars, or National Champs- Which are you?

Shutdown Got You Down? It’s time to take a quick break for the… Friday Fab Five! Yes, it is a stressful day for many to say the least, but it’s also Friday, which means it’s time to take a look back at the week’s accomplishments. The Most Commented Blog of the Week goes to SteveRead… Read more »

Happy One Year Anniversary! A Year of Progress in Open Government

Though it’s being overshadowed by the budget discussions this week, it’s important to note (and celebrate!) that today (April 7th) is the one year anniversary of Agency Open Government Plans. Just one year ago, almost 30 plans were released from cabinet-level and independent Agencies that detailed how they would become more: Transparent in their work;Read… Read more »

Top Ten Strategies on Facilitating Career Conversations

This month’s “Top 10 Strategies” centers on the importance of managers having career conversations with employees. Surveys confirm that 4 out of 5 American workers are unsatisfied with their companies’ retention efforts and 3 out of 4 are not satisfied with future career growth opportunities at their company. Furthermore, half of all workers are unsatisfiedRead… Read more »

When Mother Nature Roars, Utilize GIS.

Recent geographical events like the earthquakes and tsunami that have hit Japan prove that we can’t stop Mother Nature. All we can do is know how to prepare, and how to react when doing battle with natural forces. GIS gathers and analyzes important geographical information. It tells a story and can better prepare us forRead… Read more »