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Rock Creek Roundup (September 3 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Sep 02, 2010 0 Comments

GCN discusses ways that social media has an impact on emergency management, the Center for Digital Government gives kudos for stellar sites, NARA gives agencies the green light to dump unnecessary data, and OhMyGov debunks social media myth number 4, all in this pre-Labor Day issue of the Rock Creek Roundup. Enjoy your long weekend!

—As we discussed in a previous blog post, respondents to a Red Cross survey indicate that emergency response agencies should monitor their social media channels in order to respond to requests for help, with the majority believing that help should arrive within an hour. And in an insightful article on Government Computer News, author Rutress Yasin explores the main ways in which social media is having an impact on emergency management. Yasin cites San Francisco’s emergency management agency, one that issues public alerts through Twitter and a text-messaging system among other channels, as a prime example of an organization that is taking advantage of the extended reach that social media can provide. He also points out how the U.S. Geological Survey is developing a tool that will allow them to monitor Twitter in real time for mentions of earthquakes so that confirmation and damage assessment can begin more quickly. A great article with interesting case studies, even if you aren’t in emergency management.

—The Center for Digital Government’s Best of the Web awards were announced earlier this week, and top honor were given to California, Boston, and Chesterfield County, West Virginia. California’s government portal won in the best state category, with judges calling it a “very innovative and excellent use of Web 2.0 technologies.” {encode=“http://www.cityofboston.gov/” title=“Boston received the best city website nod”}, likely due to the priority it put in making its web offerings more accessible through mobile devices. County honors went to Chesterfield County, West Virginia, where the site’s consistent navigation and clean design helped earn the site kudos. A full list of winners and finalists is available on the Center for Digital Government’s website.

—Should we keep or or should we get rid of it? Government agencies looking for guidance in ensuring their social media presence complies with federal record-keeping requirements got some guidance this week, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. According to the newly released report (PDF), much of the information that appears on federal agencies’ social media sites does not need to be archived, including some public comments and statements that are a mere duplication of a statement posted elsewhere. The report suggests that instead of making platform-wide decisions about content to archive, agencies instead make the decision based on how the data is used and what the value of it is.

—Still think social media is only for sharing weekend plans with friends, family photos with distant relatives, and checking to see what your old high school sweetheart is up to now? Think again. Social media is serious business for many businesses, agencies, and organizations, according to part four of OhMyGov’s five-part series on debunking social media myths. The reality is that while social media’s initial pull was the fact that it could allow you to make those personal connections, it has since evolved in such a way that it’s a platform for just about any kind of communication, including that between businesses, government employees, and individuals. This is a great article to send to those few remaining social media holdouts in your organization who claim that only teens use Facebook.

Rock Creek Roundup (August 27 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Aug 27, 2010 0 Comments

Health and Human Services debuts a new health insurance widget, the Office of Special Counsel sets guidelines for political activity by federal employees, the government URL shortener go.USA.gov receives rave reviews, and Power It Down suggests we conserve energy by turning off our computers when we finish work today, all in this week’s edition of the Rock Creek Roundup.

—Following on the heels of the recent Healthcare.gov website launch, the Department of Health and Human Services this week launched an interactive online widget that will allow people to search for affordable health insurance options. The widget, available for use on the Healthcare.gov homepage, allows users to select their state and provides other answers about their specific situation; then, the widget presents a menu of health insurance options available. The department is also making the widget code available for download so that it may be easily embedded on other websites.

—In advance of the upcoming political season, the Office of Special Counsel issued guidelines urging federal employees to be careful not to mix their work, their politics, and their social media presences. In a nine-page PDF document, OSP outlines how federal agencies and employees will be able to comply with the Hatch Act, which insists federal employees not participate in partisan political activities. According to the guidelines, federal employees can “fan” political candidates or political parties on Facebook as long as they do not do so during work time or while in a federal workspace. The policy also addresses how employees who are managing other employees should interact when it comes to political conversation and campaign and social media.

—The government-created and government-approved URL shortener appears to be a smashing success. The go.USA.gov shortener, created by GSA’s Center for New Media and Citizen Engagement, has already processed more than 18,000 government links and was key to helping the Library of Congress better manage its collection, including the entire Twitter archive it accepted this past April. Matt Raymond, the library’s director of communications, likes the fact that go.USA.gov won’t be a passing Internet fad. “We’re confident that because this is an entity of the government, that it’s here for the long haul, and because of the popularity of Web 2.0, and the .coms, we see some of them come and go, and we don’t want to have to rely on a third-party of commercial service,” Raymond said.

—Are you one of those folks who never (or rarely) turns off your desktop computer when you leave for the day? You’re exactly the audience that the Power It Down initiative is trying to reach. On Friday, August 27, employees at federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as private businesses, nonprofit agencies, and even individual household users are pledging to power down their computers at the end of the day as a way to save energy and money. One local government is promoting the initiative not only to its own employees but also to its citizens, using its Facebook presence to announce the initiative and publicly recognize companies that are participating.

Rock Creek Roundup (August 20 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Aug 20, 2010 0 Comments

NASA employees get the green light in iPhones, the Department of the Treasury launches a new kid-friendly website, one NY city government finds an innovative (and, to some, privacy-invading) use for Google Earth, and federal employees embrace geo-social service Foursquare, all in this week’s version of the Rock Creek Roundup.

—NASA is leading the charge among federal agencies in the adoption of smartphones for its employees, recently participating in Apple’s pilot program for the 3G version of its iPhone before adding the phone to the list of approved devises on the agency’s ODIN schedule. NASA’s Emerging Technology and Desktop Standards division is also currently evaluating the 4G iPhone, the Google Android, the iPad, and a Microsoft Windows-based touch screen tablet to determine their suitability for NASA’s enterprise environment. Feedback to the move has been positive, with a “non-scientific” poll showing that 100% of respondents assert that the iPhone has increased their productivity. “In my 25 years of doing IT, I never had everyone agree that the new technology increased productivity,” said the division’s IT project manager, Tony Facca.

—The Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Public Debt is betting on the ability of a cartoon pig to help teach children about fiscal responsibility. Earlier this week, Perry the Pig made his debut in “Save Perry’s Pennies,” an interactive game hosted on the newly launched Treasury Department site TreasuryDirectKIDS. The new site provides games, quizzes, and age-appropriate information aimed at helping youngsters learn more about debt, saving, spending, and treasury bonds. I can see this site serving as a resource for parents wanting to help explain somewhat abstract financial ideas to their children, as well as to teachers who want to add information and interactive elements on financial responsibility to their lesson plans. Nice work!

—City government officials in Riverhead, NY, recently collected about $75,000 in fees from citizens who had installed swimming pools on their property without a permit—and they never had to leave their city offices to locate the offenders. Using Google Earth, the Google service that provides detailed satellite images of many cities, neighborhoods, and streets throughout the United States, Riverhead officials were able to identify about 250 swimming pools that did not have the proper paperwork filed with the city. Privacy advocates complained to the city, and officials have since decided to stop using the Google Earth service, now relying on its admittedly “more clumsy” GIS tool to identify non-permitted pools. Government officials don’t understand the backlash. “Anybody can access Google Earth. It’s free. It’s not like we’re spying; we’re just verifying,” said Riverhead’s Chief Building Inspector Leroy Barnes, Jr.

—Geographic social media site Foursquare has been gaining in popularity as people use the service to check into specific locations and businesses, and federal employees are joining in the fun. At least 17 federal departments and agencies have been designated at Foursquare “venues” where Foursquare users can check in and report on their whereabouts, as well as share tips (like the fact that the USDA has some very tasty kettle corn in the cafeteria on Wednesdays!) and information about the venue with other Foursquare users. According to an article in Government Computer News, the Transportation Department has the highest number of Foursquare check-ins, with the State and Energy Departments following close behind.

—And finally, a little Rock Creek Strategic Marketing trivia. Here’s a great article on the history of the Dumbarton Bridge that joins Georgetown to the city of Washington. More than 20 years ago, one of the bridge’s beautiful architectural details—a stone bust of Sioux Chief Kicking Bear—was chosen as our company’s logo. Here’s hoping we look as good as the bridge does when we get close to our 100th birthday!

Rock Creek Roundup (August 13 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Aug 12, 2010 0 Comments

A Facebook widget gets the FDA’s attention—in a bad way, a Red Cross survey highlights social media’s growing role in emergency situations, GovFresh offers a slew of interesting interviews, and state IT initiatives from across the nation get noticed, all in this week’s version of the Rock Creek Roundup.

—Even though businesses and government agencies have become more comfortable with social media, one thing is certain: there are still plenty of gray areas to discover along the social media path. For example, one pharmaceutical company is in trouble with the FDA for a Facebook widget created for a prescription medication. Novartis, makers of anti-leukemia drug Tasigna, apparently failed to meet strict FDA guidelines about drug marketing and advertising because the Facebook Share widget it created to spread the word about the drug failed to effectively communicate drug risks and also implied that its product was superior. I imagine we’ll see more of these missteps along the way as we continue to explore social media and experiment with ways to share information through it.

—It’s late at night, there’s an emergency situation at your house, and your calls to 911 aren’t going through—what do you do? If you’re like 18% of the people who responded to a recent survey by the Red Cross, you turn to social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter to issue a cry for help. In “Social Media in Disasters and Emergencies” (PDF), the Red Cross outlined Americans’ attitudes toward government response agencies, with 69% of respondents believing that emergency response agencies should keep an eye on their websites and social media outlets for help requests. Survey respondents also expect a quick response, with 74% indicating that they expect emergency responses to social media or online requests for help be handled within an hour. “The social web is creating a fundamental shift in disaster response,” said American Red Cross president Gail McGovern, “[and] We need to work together to better respond to that shift.”

—Imagine getting to sit down and listen to Gov 2.0 luminaries like the U.S. Navy’s Susan Hess, U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra, NASA CIO Linda Cureton, and U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra (among others) talk about the challenges and benefits of cloud computing and their thoughts about how it will have an impact on the future of government. Stop imagining—GovFresh and FedScoop have made it a reality! GovFresh author Luke Fretwell picks and shares his seven favorite videos from FedScoop’s “Minds in the Clouds” series. These insightful interviews are definitely worth a look.

—“And the nominees are…” Earlier this week, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) announced the finalists in their 2010 IT achievement awards. Among those vying for honors in 10 different categories are the Massachusetts Health Connector website, Pennsylvania’s Child Support Portal, and Florida’s MyFloridaMarketplace. Check out the NASCIO site for more info about the program and the nominees.

Rock Creek Roundup (August 6 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Aug 06, 2010 0 Comments

The DOT launches a collaboration station, one federal agency approaches IT challenges with an innovative meeting strategy, USA.gov’s redesign mastermind gives details on what’s new, and Google’s cloud gets the nod from GSA, all in this week’s edition of the Rock Creek Roundup.

—Ready for some transportation collaboration? Earlier this week, the Transportation Department launched IdeaHub, an online portal designed to give the department’s 55,000 employees a secure place to share ideas, vote on others’ ideas, and give feedback to department leaders about specific challenges the agency faces. Department officials believe that the new online community will encourage greater collaboration and information exchange between employees who are spread across the nation. “With IdeaHub, a Federal Aviation Administration employee in Alaska can offer suggestions about an idea by a Federal Transit Administration worker in Atlanta or vote on an idea by a Federal Highways Administration employee in Arizona,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a blog post announcing the launch.

—One federal agency is taking an innovative approach to traditional meetings. The General Services Administration recently held an intense one-day meeting where all stakeholders were represented and each team member left with a specific task that needed to be completed by an agreed upon deadline. The meeting, or “slam” as GSA calls it, allowed the agency to make significant headway and complete projects on five major initiatives that will pave the way toward more advanced IT capabilities for the organization. According to slam organizers, the key to success for this type of meeting is to “have a well-defined challenge and project timeline ahead of the event” so that when the time for the slam arrives, participants can quickly work through all of the issues at hand. Organizers also anticipate virtual slams in the future.

—If you’ve been to USA.gov in the past few weeks, you’ve probably noticed that it looks quite a bit different than it used to—the site underwent some major revamping and the new version was released in early July. The site’s new functionality is the topic of a recent NPR interview with Mr. David McClure, Associate Administrator for the Office of Citizen Services and Communications at the General Services Administration. In the insightful interview, McClure, who was responsible for the site’s redesign, shares information on what resources are available on the site and talks about how he hopes citizens will interact with those and future resources.

—Also this week, Google became the first provider to receive federal certification for its suite of cloud-based computing applications, including its email and calendar tools. The General Services Administration, the agency responsible for certifying software and hosted solutions under the Federal Information Security Management Act, determined that Google’s current offerings meet moderate-level federal security requirements. Analysts admit that Google’s head start on the certification process potentially gives them an advantage in selling into government agencies, but they don’t discount the fact that Microsoft (who’s developing its own cloud-computing suite) enjoys the benefits of a long legacy with the government. Time will tell…

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