Microloans and macro effects (Join me?)

[Update Feb 4, 2009: I’ve created a GovLoop group and kiva lending team.] Have you heard of the microfinancing concept? The basic idea is that by making very small loans to entrepeneurs in developing areas, you help them help themselves and contribute to the local economy. Thanks to Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist,com, I learnedRead… Read more »

The Hokie Guru! Matthew Stephen Worner – GovLoop Member of the Week

The interview below is with Matthew Stephen Worner (GovLoop’s Bureaucrat on Sports, the Hokie Guru). Matthew was one of the inaugural bloggers on GovLoop. My appreciation is great and sincere for Matthew taking the time to do this interview. Where were you born and raised? I’m from Mayville, North Dakota, which is about 60 minutesRead… Read more »

Slumdog Millionaire is the Movie of the Year and the Super Bowl Pick

The Hokie Guru hasn’t posted much as of late because he’s back in another accounting class (and his last one). The Hokie Guru is trying to convert to the auditor job series (Office of Personnel Management qualifications right here) in the federal government. Let’s get right to it… the Hokie Guru’s favorite movie this yearRead… Read more »

Making progress…

A lot of things are starting to fall into place with our Web 2.0 initiative. We have a draft of our questions for a survey of our employees, we have Moodle up and running, we have two departments that have agreed to incorporate Twitter into their existing practices, we have SharePoint running and our ITRead… Read more »

Federal Eye: TARP Creates Staffing Headaches for Treasury

TARP Creates Staffing Headaches for Treasury The Government Accountability Office has released its latest progress report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Treasury Department’s new Office of Financial Stability (OFS). The Eye will not even attempt to assess TARP’s economic impact, but will instead focus on how it’s altered the federal food chain.Read… Read more »

Old Friends and Facebook

In the past few days, several old friends have popped out of nowhere on Facebook. Unlike some stories about uncomfortable relationships and not really wanting to hear from people you thought you’d left behind, these were all people I was extremely happy to hear from. That’s an amazing feeling. But it got even better whenRead… Read more »

Networking & Disability

Good day everyone. I am a newbie to the group. My name is Dave Churney and I am currently trying to look for a job in federal government and/or just a job in this economy. I have two questions for everyone and they deal with networking and disability. It is great to find groups likeRead… Read more »

Federal Eye: Blaming the Post Office’s Problems on the Media

It appears that the news media is partially to blame for the continuing decline of the U.S. Postal Service. The bad news about its future came yesterday during a Senate subcommittee hearing on the financial future of the Postal Service. There’s an interesting nugget in the prepared testimony of Phillip Herr, the Government Accountability Office’sRead… Read more »