Real. Simple. Social. Enabling fellow public servants in a push for improved online presence and engagement.

Ironically my division at work used to have the acronym RSS. Confusing for a web management division. A change of acronyms later, and I am still holding onto my own RSS principle. Real. Simple. Social. More and more often I am being called upon to provide small groups in the policy and advocacy streams withRead… Read more »

The Open Government & Innovations Conference (OGI) Opens its Call for Participation

I attended eDemocracyCamp yesterday in DC. In his introductory remarks, Andrew Cohen tied recent Government 2.0 conferences back to President Obama’s January 2009 Transparency Memo nicely by saying: – TransparencyCamp was about transparency – Government 2.0 Camp was about collaboration – eDemocracyCamp is about participation OGI — the Open Government & Innovations conference — isRead… Read more »

Dandelions

Along with robins and pollen, another sure sign of Spring is dandelions. I wage my annual war against these weeds every year, but I think the dandelions are winning. When our children were younger, we use to pay them 25 cents per dandelion if they included at least two inches of root. Not only didRead… Read more »

Yo Ho Ho and Arggg, Matey!

Last week my blog was going to be about the pirate situation in east African waters but after I started writing, I opted to write a plug for the cruise industry instead. Yeah, I wimped out. As it turns out my younger son, the filmmaker, forced me to face my conscience on this one. HeRead… Read more »

Adam’s Belle an important historical and cultural work

Following is a review I wrote recently of a fascinating book, “Adam’s Belle: A Memoir of Love Without Bounds,” by Joyce Burnett in collaboration with the late Isabel Washington Powell, first wife of the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. This book can be obtained from DBM Press, LC . Adam’s Belle rings true AdamRead… Read more »

Obama gets his CTO

President Obama named his CTO on Saturday, April 18. With the addition of Aneesh Chopra to his team, does this mean IT is ready to roll to new heights in this administration? Hopefully, there are no remaining obstacles, and the first tech president in U.S. history will meet his goals of better tech, more transparencyRead… Read more »

Moving Toward Outcome-Oriented Performance Measurement Systems

Public managers in communities across the country are under increasing pressure by the public to report on the outcomes and results of their programs. With both internal and external demands for information, public managers not only need to provide an accounting of resources expended and services provided, but also report on performance and outcomes. TheRead… Read more »

Transforming Information Technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs

Jonathan Walters’ report chronicles the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) efforts to realign and centralize its information technology activities. Describing it as an “ambitious, audacious and arduous crusade,” Walters makes it very clear that this is still very much a work in progress. There are significant hurdles ahead and certain significant adjustments will no doubtRead… Read more »