Tech

FaceGov

I’ve read with interest the articles/blog posts (listed at the bottom of this post) about the interesting move by Takeo City in Japan, who have made the bold decision to move their entire council website to facebook. On face value it would be easy to argue that this is a very bold move and oneRead… Read more »

Muni buses to get security upgrade

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (CA) plans to upgrade security cameras on 358 buses to improve reliability and to add new features like real-time monitoring. Many of Muni’s existing surveillance cameras are over 10 years old and difficult to maintain. “What we currently have is very staff intensive,” said spokeswoman Kristen Holland. “There areRead… Read more »

Happy Birthday! GovSM.com turns 1

Wow, it’s been exactly one year since Ben Smith at Politico was kind enough to write a blog post about my website on his blog at Poltico. Clearly this has been a year full of social media firsts in politics, and I still disagree with Ben’s statement that “it’s not clear that many of theseRead… Read more »

Hampton Roads Tide debuts on Friday

Hampton Roads Transit’s The Tide, the first light-rail system in Virginia, will open to the public on Friday and begin carrying paying customers on Monday. To help inaugurate the new service, HRT employees and local residents will serve as Tide Guides, distributing schedules and showing customers how to use the ticket machines. Joining them willRead… Read more »

Carpooling for the masses

Zimride, which started as a carpooling network for college campuses in 2007, is ready to go mainstream. To attract new users, the company has set up what it calls “sponsored routes,” such as Los Angeles to San Francisco, and is offering a $20 bonus to drivers who sell seats in their vehicles at a predeterminedRead… Read more »

Department of Veterans Affairs publishes updated social media policy

The Department of Veterans Administration has recently published an updated social media policy (VA Directive 6515 – Use of Web-Based Collaboration Technologies). Prior to this release the Government Accountability Office has published a report for Congress titled “Federal Agencies Need Policies and Procedures for Managing and Protecting Information They Access and Disseminate” – highlighting thatRead… Read more »