Tech

Hack for Change & The Ingredients of a Successful Hackathon

We believe in bringing together smart and passionate people, and motivating them to take on hard problems with hard deadlines; that’s our fellowship — 20 fellows, spending the year tackling some interesting civic challenges. An upcoming event, however, aims to light a fire under that model: 50 people, just one day! That’s Hack for Change,Read… Read more »

Accordion Innovation – Harnessing the Cloud for Public Sector Innovation

I’m a one-trick pony on Government innovation in that I always go on about the need for more adoption of Cloud Computing. This is for good reason I believe. Canada has a renowned ‘Innovation Gap’, showing a decline in many aspects of national innovation while sustaining an economy through a dependence natural resource businesses, anRead… Read more »

IBM expands health analytics group

IBM is expanding its Health Analytics Solution Center. The center will be adding new technology and doubling the number of technologists focused on health analytics. The group works on IBM solutions for electronic medical records and remote patient monitoring through devices like smart phones. The center is located in Dallas and will be using someRead… Read more »

Amtrak launches video Q&A

Following the lead of U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood, Amtrak launched Ask Our Expert to answer rider questions via YouTube. For the inaugural segment, Amtrak vice president of high-speed rail Al Engel answered questions from Facebook fans, including “What’s being done in the immediate future to speed up the Acela?” and “When will this countryRead… Read more »

Watch My “Disruptive Hero” Video

Co-authors Bill Jensen and Josh Klein are interviewing people for a book they’re writing called 100 Disruptive Heroes. As they interview people, they stick the videos up on YouTube for anyone and everyone to see. Last week Bill interviewed me for the book, and here is the resulting video. Admission: I have not actually hadRead… Read more »

Hadoop for Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the application of computer science in the form of statistics and analytics to molecular biology. This exciting field is bringing about great breakthroughs, especially in genetics, where computers and algorithms are being used to map genomes. Advances in this field show promise in helping us understand life and advance science. The field isRead… Read more »

Road Map for the Digital City – Achieving New York City’s Digital Future

The Road Map for the Digital City – Achieving New York City’s Digital Future is a recently released report by Mayor Bloomberg’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the NYC Digital initiative. It’s outstanding and is a must read for anyone involved in government at any level, especially if your involved with web/gov 2.0 initiatives.Read… Read more »

Defense Intelligence Information Enterprise Conference 6-9 June 2011

The Defense Intelligence Information Enterprise (DI2E) is an overarching construct for integrating operational intelligence capabilities in support of DoD missions. This community is closely related to the DoD Intelligence Information System (DoDIIS) community, but the focus here is more on the operational military. Here is a bit from the DI2E conference site: The first DefenseRead… Read more »

The Review I want to Read of “What Technology Wants”

A few weeks ago I finished “What Technology Wants” by Kevin Kelly. For those unfamiliar with Kelly (as I was) he was one of the co-founders of Wired magazine and sits on the board of the Long Now Foundation. What Technology Wants is a fascinating read – both attracting and repulsing me on several occasions.Read… Read more »