August 21, 2012 •
Gov 2.0 News
Keeping up with the intersection of social media, government, and the political campaigns:
“New Online Game Puts Players in the Lawmaker’s Chair” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
“Study Examines Influence of Social Media on Interaction Between People and their Governments” by Lisa Goldman in TechPresident.
“Federal Mobile App Provides Real-Time Economic Stats” by Brian Heaton in Government Technology.
“Republicans plan a tech-heavy convention” by Steve Friess in Politico.
“Tweets Surrounding Paul Ryan Pick May Have Violated Electioneering Rules” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.
“Social Media and Politics: An Interview with George Scoville” by Bianca Sciotti in the Independent Voter Network.
July 18, 2012 •
Gov 2.0 News
Here is the latest news about government technology and social media:
“Wash. to unveil voter registration on Facebook” by Rachel La Corte (Associated Press) in the Seattle Times.
“How the New iPhone Will Expose Cities Lagging on Open Data” by Emily Badger in The Atlantic Cities.
“Political Ad Database Debuted by FCC” by Brian Heaton in Government Technology.
“Legislating Social Media in the States” by Dylan Scott in Governing.
June 29, 2012 •
Government and Campaigns Technology News Update
We are always following news about the interplay between government, political campaigns, social media, and technology:
“David All Shares Ideas on Emerging Trends for Campaigns and Elections” by Matt Williams and Matt Pittman in Government Technology.
“Apps Challenge Aims to Improve Detroit Through Technology” by Brian Peteritas in Governing.
“How 3 Startups Are Improving Urban Life Through Tech” by Jennifer Diamond in Mashable.
“States, Cities Use Social Networks to Test Open Records Laws and Transparency Goals” by Dylan Scott in Governing.
“Reps. Delete Tweets Celebrating Overturning of Affordable Care Act” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
“Heavy Twitter Traffic for Scotus Ruling” by Rubina Madan Fillion and Brian Aguilar in The Wall Street Journal.
May 16, 2012 •
Speaker.gov is Back and More Gov 2.0 News
We are always intrigued by the interplay between government, political campaigns, social media, and technology.
“House Republicans Relaunch Speaker.gov” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
Having a good social media policy in place is crucial: “Think before You Tweet” by Joseph Marks in Nextgov.
Social-media style journalism and the Obama campaign: “We’re All Journalists, Indeed: Obama Campaign Guests Checked Mobile Phones at the Door” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.
Do-it-youself ROI for government websites: “Free Tool Gauges Website Engagement Effectiveness” by Brian Heaton in Government Technology.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
December 29, 2011 •
Republicans Turn to Social Media as Primaries Approach
Campaigns Utilize Social Media Now More Than Ever
Even something as small as following a candidate on Twitter or liking a candidate’s Facebook page could make someone feel more connected to that candidate and sway them to cast a vote in their direction. While a large portion of voters still claim to be undecided about who they are voting for in the upcoming Republican primaries, this is what Republican candidates are hoping to accomplish by dedicating so many resources to keeping their social media outlets up to date and engaging.
As the Iowa and other early caucuses are coming ever closer, GOP presidential hopefuls are turning more and more to their Twitter, Facebook, and other social media tools to get their messages out to voters and to gather volunteers.
After the success of President Obama’s grassroots social media based campaign back in 2008, social media has been an increasingly important tool that many consider necessary for the success of a political campaign, a fact which nearly all Republican presidential hopefuls have grasped and acted upon.
Read about all the ways the Republican presidential candidates have been utilizing social media in “Republicans Shake More Hands Using Social Media” from the New York Times.
December 27, 2011 •
Gov 2.0 Round-Up
News at the crossroads of government and social media.
The rise of the digital age has transformed the meaning of open government – Open Government: A New Window on the World- As demands for transparency and amount of data grow for government agencies, budgets shrink – What’s in Store for Government IT in 2012?
- How much is a Twitter follower worth? Man sued for $340,000 for company’s 17,000 Twitter followers – Lawsuit May Determine Who Owns a Twitter Account
December 22, 2011 •
Gov 2.0 Round-Up
News at the crossroads of government and social media.
“In the latest act of online political sabotage, individuals who type newtgingrich.com into their browsers will be directed to one of a number of sites that are embarrassing to Republican primary candidate Newt Gingrich” – Newt Gingrich Attacked By Digital Vandals
“The White House is taking its fight over payroll tax to Twitter with a campaign using the hashtag #40dollars that asks what you can buy with that amount” – White House Uses #40dollars Twitter Campaign to Influence Payroll Tax Debate
“Using cloud technology for elections reporting and results can also save governments money” – Elections Results Websites Heading to Cloud
“The federal government is on pace to close at least 1,200 of its 3,100 data centers by the end of 2015” – Federal CIO: 1,200 Data Centers to Close by 2015
“Proceedings in the Iowa House will be streamed live over the Internet when lawmakers begin the legislative session next month” – Iowa House Action Will be Streamed on Internet
Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and President Obama are especially successful at utilizing Facebook – Campaigns Capitalize on Facebook
Enjoy!
December 20, 2011 •
Contact Politicians Through Online News Articles
“Raise Your Voice” Can Instantly Link Readers to Politicians
Does reading about the issues make you want to voice your opinion and take action? Boston.com and some other news organizations are testing a new feature called “Raise Your Voice” on their website that will allow readers to contact their representatives directly from news articles on political subjects.
Congressional Management Foundation research noted that seeing “a compelling news feature” was one of the top motivators for Internet users to contact Congress.
With this new tool, readers only have to enter their home address, and the tool will provide a list of federal and state elected officials as well as presidential candidates whom readers can contact to express their opinion while it is still fresh on their minds.
This feature is just one of many that have recently emerged that help to connect a large number of citizens with their political representatives and increase the chance that their opinion will be heard.
This article by Miranda Neubauer on techPresident.com offers more information on this feature.
December 9, 2011 •
Twitter, Politics, and Civic Engagement with Government
Twitter has a team of people monitoring political and government related tweets on its @gov handle, so you can keep up with how people are using the social network to interact with government.
Their profile and first tweet say “Updates from the Twitter Government & Politics team, tracking creative & effective uses of Twitter for civic engagement…Welcome to @gov! Stay tuned for best practices, case studies and other updates from the Twitter Government & Politics team…”
With a big presidential election year ahead of us, I wonder if they intend to keep track of the use of Twitter in political campaigns. We should keep an eye on the official Twitter blog for more information.
Governing broke this news in “Twitter Launches @Gov Account for Tracking Civic Engagement” by Dylan Scott.
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.
