You may or may not have seen game designer Jane McGonigal’s TED talk, which lofts the idea that video games may actually be one of our paths to saving the world. Her argument is based in part on the feeling gamers typically experience–that is, confidence that they can succeed, patience when they don’t, and determinationRead… Read more »
Social media shifts marketing from controlled, one-way communications into collaborative, intimate dialogues with—and among—constituents. The strategies, tools, rules of engagement, and metrics present marketing and digital professionals with a series of challenges that are best distilled into one question: “What do I do now?” Well with GovLoop you can figure out the answer to thatRead… Read more »
Happy 2011, everyone! I hope this is a productive and prosperous year for all of you. I wanted to point out a couple of things on the NCDD site that I’m excited about, and that have the potential to help us spread the word about the critical work you’re all doing in this field. WeRead… Read more »
Note: I am on vacation this week, so I have the time to write blog entires (like this one) that are not reflective of the opinions of my employer. These thoughts and their form are entirely my own. Last October, I wrote “if agencies’ social media sites were like phone numbers, Josh [Shpayher] looked aroundRead… Read more »
There is no question that 2010 will go down as the year that social media became a normal part of the communications arsenal for the Department of Defense. The year began with a withering battle raging over embracing the medium at all and finished with its near wholesale adoption across the department. While still aRead… Read more »
Ah, a new calendar year! A fresh start! Time to look at the year ahead and figure out how we can make the best of it. So, what goals would I set as a government communicator? Three things jump to the top of my list. Develop and implement a governmentwide customer service strategy Most ofRead… Read more »
It can’t happen here, I have too much to do…Who took my desk and chair, my computer, too?They can’t replace me — the Branch Techno-fileWhat do you mean I’m still in denial? Reorg Rag, Reorg Rag,Why does it feel I’ve been fragged?Reorg Rag, Reorg Rag,Maybe I’m just on a jag.Reorg Rag, Reorg Rag,I’m still onRead… Read more »
Our footprints in the digital world are deep and they extend farther than we can readily comprehend. We have been told that this information is of tremendous value to marketers and that this value will only grow as tools and services create additional data (think foursquare, GoWalla, etc.) and further the translation of this informationRead… Read more »
I did my first advance praise copy for a mass market book in 2010 (Mark Amtower’s “Selling to the Government”). What that means is getting a review chapter and a table of context and coming up with something pithy about the author and why their book matters. I’ve also received a couple of books fromRead… Read more »
It appears that in addition to breaking background images (as I wrote about earlier) the “new Twitter” interface may not be working at all for some agencies which rely on Internet Explorer versions 7 or 8. The State Department’s Noel Dickover tweeted about the issue a couple of days ago, and a quick Google searchRead… Read more »