April 26, 2012 •
Today’s Gov 2.0 News Summary
Here are news and discussions about how apps, social media, and the cloud are changing the way government and citizens interact:
“States Aim to Launch More Mobile Apps” by Hilton Collins on Government Technology.
“Twitter Chat Experiment Under Way in the Silicon Valley” by Brian Heaton on Government Technology.
“Salesforce Getting Social in New Government Cloud” by Matt Williams in Government Technology.
“Social Media Directors Increasing in Government” by Elaine Pittman in Governing.
April 23, 2012 •
Government Tech News
Here is the latest news about government technology and social media:
“This Week in Tech: House boots up ‘cyber week’” by Brendan Sasso and Andrew Feinberg in The Hill.
NCSL is hosting its “Social Media Policies for State Legislatures” webinar on April 27.
Nextgov gives us a sneak preview of their forthcoming new website!
Here is a link to The New York Times Election 2012 App for iPhone and Android. Their site gives this description:
“News, opinion, polls and live election night results. From The Times and other top sources around the Web. It’s the best campaign coverage anywhere, all in one app.”
District of Columbia: “Hackers Shut Down District of Columbia Government Website” by Nikita Stewart in The Washington Post.
Iowa: “Iowa lawmakers go on camera to deliver updates” by James Q. Lynch in the Quad-City Times.
April 9, 2012 •
Monday Government 2.0 Roundup
Here are the latest news and discussions covering government technology and use of social media:
“State Dept. competition expands horizons of social networking” by Jared Serbu on Federal News Radio.
“5 Best Practices for Open Local Government” by Noelle Knell in Government Technology.
“Study: Social Media Has Mixed Impact on Elections” by John P. Mello, Jr. in PC World.
“Government Dashboards – Measuring Performance” by Vivienne Kamphaus on Govloop.
“What the Feds are Twittering Right Now” from Nextgov.
New York City, NY: “City to Install ‘Smart Screens’ in Some Public Phone Booths” by Matt Flegenheimer in The New York Times.
April 5, 2012 •
Government Tech and Social Media Report
Stay on top of the latest news and discussions covering government technology and use of social media:
“Twitter, Facebook now tools for Big Brother” by David Saleh Rauf in Politico.
“Blending Governance and Twitter” by Chrystia Freeland in The New York Times.
“Social media as election predictor? Not so fast” by Puja Murgai on Politico.
“A Road Map Emerges for State Digital Preservation” by Noelle Knell in Government Technology.
“Louisville government rated among top 10 social media cities” by Thomas McAdam in the Louisville City Hall Examiner.
This articles talks about the trend toward tagging objects in the physical world in order to track it all with the internet and mobile devices: “Internet of Things Comes to Government” from Government Technology.
How does your state measure up in providing high speed internet access? “States Race to Improve Broadband Speeds” by Mike Maciag in Government Technology.
The State Department held a social media contest where the participants were given the task of finding fake jewel thieves. MIT’s Team Crowdscanner was the winner: “MIT team thinks outside the box to snag social media prize” by Andrew Lapin in Nextgov.
Here is a Govloop discussion “What Are Your Tech Needs for Teleworking?” posted by Pat Fiorenza.
March 29, 2012 •
Social Government News
NASA wins its third Shorty Award for government use of social media, President Obama is now using Pinterest, and find out if your city made the list of “Fastest Downloads in America” in today’s news:
“President Obama adds Pinterest to his social networks” by Dara Kerr in C|Net.
“The Fastest Downloads in America — Big Cities Ranked” from Government Technology.
“NASA Wins Third Shorty Award” by Ross Gianfortune on NextGov.
“NASA’s Twitter Wins Shorty Award for Social Media” on LiveScience.com.
“Report: Republicans Outpace Democrats in Twitterverse” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.
“White House to petitioners: We ARE listening” by Joseph Marks in Nextgov.
March 21, 2012 •
Government Tech and Social Media News
A new Facebook app for tracking legislation, government social media skeptics, and California gets a new Director of the Office of Technology Services:
Federal: “New Facebook Open Graph App Makes Lawmaking Social, Brings House Bills To The Crowds” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident. Here is the link to the new Citizen Cosponsor app.
Federal: “Social media challenges federal oversight of agency communications” by Alice Lipowicz in Federal Computer Week.
State and Local: “Social Media Still Has Skeptics in Government” by Matt Williams in Government Technology.
California: “Y2K Expert to Lead California’s Technology Services” by Ashley Nelson in Government Technology.
New Jersey: “Morris County named a best case example of e-government” by The Independent Press on NJ.com.
March 9, 2012 •
Ethics.gov Arrives
The much anticipated government ethics clearing house is here as the White House promised.
The Obama administration has unveiled Ethics.gov, the site that provides sets of data for those interested in White House visitors, data from Lobbying Disclosure Act reports, campaign finance data, travel records of elected officials, and much more.
As part of the larger Data.gov, the new site has a great deal of muscle: “Ethics.Data.gov brings records and data from across the federal government to one central location, making it easier for citizens to hold public officials accountable.”
According to the Ethics.gov site, this is what you’ll find:
“On www.Ethics.gov, the public will be able to find millions of White House Visitor records. You will be able to see agency reports of payments from non-Federal sources for travel to meetings and conferences.
You’ll find records for entities registered with the Federal Election Commission. This includes federal political action committees and party committees, campaign committees for presidential, House and Senate candidates, as well as groups or organizations who are spending money in connection with elections for federal office.
You’ll also find records for each candidate who has either registered with the Federal Election Commission or appeared on a ballot list prepared by a state elections office. This includes contributor information for each contribution of $200 or more from an individual to a federal committee.
Finally, you’ll be able to find lobbying registrations and reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.”
For a good summary, read “White House Launches Ethics.gov” by Samuel Rubenfeld in The Wall Street Journal.
February 29, 2012 •
Government Tech and Social Media News
Take a look at today’s government technology news: A list of the top government social media projects, social media and the GOP primary, an IT ethics violation that is rocking both the state of New York and the city of Baltimore, and New York City votes on open government legislation.
Social Media News
“Top 14 Government Social Media Initiatives” by J. Nicholas Hoover in Information Week.
“How Social Media Is Keeping the GOP Primary Going” by Micah Sifry in TechPresident.
IT News
“New York Officials Promise Reforms After Scathing IT Audit” by Matt Williams in Governing.
“Baltimore’s top IT official resigns after alleged ethical violations emerge in N.Y.” by Gus Sentementes in The Baltimore Sun.
Open Data
“In New York, Landmark Open Data Legislation Will Soon Be Up for a Vote” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
February 21, 2012 •
Gov 2.0 News
Here is a quick look at three news items where government and the internet meet:
Hawaii: “Tech-Savvy Leaders Push Honolulu Toward Gov 2.0” by Michael Levine in Honolulu Civil Beat.
Maryland: “NIC to Run Maryland’s Website” in Government Technology.
New York: “Mayor Bloomberg Puts N.Y. Government On Facebook” by Julie Andrews on All Facebook.
February 17, 2012 •
Alaska Legislature Makes iPhone App Available
Android app expected by April, before session ends
Good news iPhone owners! NCSL’s blog just noted the Alaska Legislature has come out with an app allowing you to keep up with legislative news on your phone. Best of all, it is free!
According to the blog, this is what you will find: “The app provides information on committee schedules, bill status, the house and senate calendars, and contact information of every legislator in both chambers. It also allows the user to stream committee hearings directly from your phone and watch the proceedings in real time.”
Be sure to take look at “New Alaska iPhone App” by Morgan Cullen on The Thicket.
Here is the iTunes App Store page with The Alaska Legislature App.
Thank you to Research Associate George Ticoras for pointing me in the direction of this news.
February 3, 2012 •
Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting in the News
Friday News Roundup
Lobbying
“A record year for lobbying industry” by Michael Shaw in the Sacramento Business Journal.
“Lobbying Money Hits New Record” by Jenny O’Mara on KBPS.org.
Campaign finance
“Michigan Democrats are taking 1st shot at corporate funding with proposed ethics, campaign finance reform” by Rob South in Michigan Live.
Gov 2.0 and Social Media
“Consumers Turn to Social Media for Presidential Campaign Info” in yesterday’s eMarketer.
“New York City Readies for a Website Overhaul” by Sarah Rich in Government Technology.
Redistricting
Iowa – “5 Iowa legislators resign following redistricting” by The Associated Press in the Muscatine Journal.
Massachusetts – “In redistricting’s wake, Rep. Paul Adams opts to run for state Senate” by Matt Murphy in the Boston Herald.
Ohio – “Only 3 of 16 districts competitive in new map” by William Hershey in the Dayton Daily News.
Pennsylvania – “Targeted lawmakers stuck in ‘political limbo’” by Rachel Weaver in today’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
January 19, 2012 •
Thursday News Roundup
Lobbying, Procurement, and Gov 2.0
Lobbying
“K Street headhunters enamored with upcoming class of retiring lawmakers” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
“Lobbyists get face time with House GOP at retreat” by Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer on Politico.
Procurement
“Cuomo Limits State Money for Salaries of Contractors” by John Eligon in The New York Times.
Government 2.0
“State Legislatures’ Mobile Websites” on the NCSL website.
January 19, 2012 •
Internet Companies Flex Muscles, Challenge to Traditional Lobbying?
However you may feel about SOPA and PIPA, one thing became clear in the last day or so – something new has happened in the realm of lobbying. Here are three articles that take a look at the implications of the internet blackout from a government relations perspective:
“Google Protest of Anti-Piracy Bills Upends Traditional Lobbying” by Eric Engleman in Bloomberg News.
“One early winner in SOPA protest: Wikipedia” by Charles Cooper on CBS News.
“Silicon Valley learns fast in game of lobbying” by April Dembosky in Financial Times.
January 11, 2012 •
Gov 2.0 News
Here are two recent articles that give us an inside look into a pair of government citizen-engagement projects.
The stories take a look at We the People, the White House online petition platform and Data.gov, the site that offers raw, readable government data sets for use by the public.
- “Fewer online petitions posted to We the People website” by Joseph Marks on Nextgov.com.
- “Most Data.gov apps are built by government, not the public” by Joseph Marks on Nextgov.com.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
