Rock Creek Roundup (July 15 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Jul 15, 2011 0 Comments

Utah.gov wins a marketing campaign award, the IRS launches a social media campaign, FEMA takes its messages to digital billboards, the White House wants an app that helps fight abuse and violence, and the Department of Labor launches two app contests, all in this week’s version of the Rock Creek Roundup!

—In June, Utah unveiled its newly redesigned website impressing visitors with its design and interactive features. Thursday, the GovMark Council, a nonprofit forum focused on government information and technology, presented Utah.gov and the Utah Broadband Project with its award for Outstanding State and Local Marketing Campaign. The Broadband Project has been working to identify locations underserved by broadband statewide and create a plan to increase adoption and infrastructure. With a number of awards under its belt, Utah.gov continues to push the boundaries and innovate within its domain to better serve citizens and visitors.

—It’s no easy task to implement social media in the government, but the Internal Revenue Services has taken it on to help taxpayers. Though working with a small budget and limited staff resources, the IRS is using YouTube and Twitter to get targeted information out to its audiences. At BlogWell in May, the IRS’s Jan Deneroff spoke of using social media tools to direct users to its website, targeting specific audiences with specific channels, and catering to its diverse audiences. While the IRS is a highly-regulated government agency, it is finding innovative ways to interact with audiences and provide them with important and relevant information.

—With social media playing a big role in disaster preparedness and awareness, FEMA is taking it to the next level by utilizing digital billboards for emergency bulletins. Already a leader in using social media to get the word out about catastrophes and safety, FEMA has turned to digital billboards for their large reach and timeliness. While using outdoor advertising space is not a new move for government, digital billboards offer quick transmission of time sensitive material to affected areas.

—With many government apps aimed at empowering the public, the White House has just launched an app challenge that asks developers to create software that provides young adults with tools to help prevent sexual
assault and dating violence. The Apps Against Abuse challenge is sponsored by VP Joe Biden, the Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Nineteen percent of young women having reported experiencing sexual assault while in college. The winning application will help this demographic to prevent violence through check-ins, ways to connect with trusted friends, and tracking to let friends know your whereabouts. The challenge will run until Oct. 17, and winners will be announced Oct. 31.

—With app contests all the rage, the Department of Labor is jumping on board challenging developers to create two apps with prizes totaling $70,000. The first app challenge is the Occupational Employment Statistics Challenge which focuses on helping job seekers access employment and wage data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The second, DOL informACTION App Challenge, aims to increase public awareness of safety in the workplace through compliance and inspection data collected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Wage and Hour Division. The challenges will be open until September 14, 2011 with winners announced October 17, 2011.

Meagen Ryan

Director of Strategy

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