Welcome to GovLoop Insights Issue of the Week with Chris Dorobek… where each week, our goal is to find an issue — a person — an idea — then helped define the past 7-days… and we work to find an issue that will also will have an impact on the days, weeks and months ahead. And, as always, we focus on six words: helping you do your job better.
On the DorobekINSIDER this week:
- Is March the Armageddon for federal budgets? Sequestration, CR, 2014 and more: March may go down as one of the worst months ever for federal budgeting. And it’s not just because of sequestration, although that’s a huge part. But the continuing resolution and 2014 budgets are also in the mix. We got a timeline from Qorvis’ Stan Collender. And some tips for surviving.
- For young feds is the pace of government change too slow? Retaining and engaging young feds has been the drum beat in government for awhile now and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future. But one of the main stumbling blocks for agency leaders has been the pace of government change. Millennials are quick to adopt new technologies and programs. But the government is not. So how can managers deal with that in-balance?
- Pinning in Government: The Pinterest Revolution takes hold? GSA has approved terms of service for government to use Pinterest. But just because you can use it, doesn’t mean you should. We look at effective Pinterest uses for agencies.
- SuperTracker – USDA’s new app. brings together big data to help you get healthy: SuperTracker is a new app at USDA. It allows individuals to track their food intake in the dietary guidelines put out annually by the USDA. Figure out how they did it. And what they plan to do next with citizen engagement.
Issue of the Week:The rise of GooglePlus.
According to a new GlobalWebIndex report, Google+ has overtaken Twitter as the 2nd most used social media platform in the world after Facebook. That news may come as a shock to you and me, but Brett Peterson says is very misunderstood by the industry.
Peterson is the Director of Consulting at GlobalWebIndex. He told Chris Dorobek on the DorobekINSIDER program that GooglePlus is the next generation of social networking.
“GooglePlus is google’s version of Facebook and they are trying to compete directly with Facebook. We believe that this is the next generation of a social network where it is almost like a glue that glues all of googles services together rather than being just a destination,” said Peterson.
How it Works
“Google is taking the information people have on GooglePlus and using it in its search results. So for example if I like a brand say Tropicana on GooglePLus. Then in my search results if I ever search for orange juice those results from GooglePlus will start to be integrated into the main search,” said Peterson.
Power of the Platform
“All the google services that Google has were previously disparite. You had gmail, and google but they weren’t linked. GooglePlus makes then unified by layer. For example now before you can do a hangout, use gmail or operate an Android phone you have to have a GooglePlus account,” said Peterson. “That’s the key to their success in driving up the uptick in use.”
Weekend Reads
- FastCompany: The full list! #FCMostInnovative 2013: FastCompany’s annual list of the 50 most innovative companies — in an era where innovation is critical — these companies have made innovation a part of their culture.
- Infographic: Harvard Business Review: How do people really use mobile?
- TheAtlantic: Where ‘Snail Mail’ Beats the Electronic Alternatives
- Economist: Has the ideas machine broken down?
- TheAtlantic: Leadership lessons from the Royal Navy Reading
- TheAtlantic: What Twitter Really Looks Like
- This branch of the British armed services consciously fosters cheerfulness and nourishes its collective memory. Business executives should take note
- ABC: Mars Rover: 9 Years and Still Going
- BusinessInsider:Your Attitude Determines Whether Or Not You’ll Succeed