What does it mean to say that something is “transparent”?
That’s easy; you can see through it, like a window let you see through a wall and into — or out of — a room.
What does it mean for a government program to be “transparent”?
All in Policy
Is the Concept of a "National Manufacturing Technology Strategy" Dead in the Water?
Assuming that the immediate threat of a US Government financial default is at least temporarily postponed, can we now return to considering other issues of national strategic importance?
Why Do We Have to "Innovate"?
In Innovation Policy + Deficit Reduction = Politics As Usual? I described some of the policy debates concerning the appropriate role of the Federal government in promoting the types of innovation that can eventually simulate the U.S. economy and U.S. employment. There are many different practical, political, and philosophical issues involved in these debates that seem, to me, to boil down to basic and longstanding disagreements about the roles of the Federal government and the private sector.
Last year my favorite DC-based thinktank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), launched a blog titled Innovation Policy Blog, subtitled “Innovation is Not a Partisan Issue.”
Well, innovation may not be a partisan issue, but I learned today that innovation policy certainly can be.
According to Defpro.news, a recent analysis by the United States Government Accountability Office has found that many reports of recent contract awards by Defense Department contract officers to the DoD’s Office of Public Affairs are incomplete. Quoting from the report,
An MIT Course on How Writing and Media "Reports from the Front" Have Changed
Recently while checking my blog’s log of referring web sites I discovered that several of my old blog posts on privacy and data ownership have been listed as resources for this MIT OpenCourseWare Course:
Does Federal Personnel Management Policy Prohibit Social Networking Based Job Referrals?
The report focuses on a set of “prohibited personnel practices” in order to determine how well Federal personnel management is functioning in areas such as job discrimination and whistleblowing.
I attended a session about “net neutrality” called Preserving the Open Internet: Is a Consensus Emerging? convened on February 23, 2010 in Washington DC by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).
Challenges Facing Development of a DoD "Web 2.0 Policy"
A public website has been established to gather input in support of developing a U.S. Department of Defense “Web 2.0 Policy.” In a recent post titled The Responsible Way Ahead Jack Holt says this:
Take Some Social Media for Stress and Call Me In The Morning
I certainly don’t think the current Administration will try to use media either way, based on what I’ve seen so far. Plus, there’s a limit to the number of online videos President Obama can produce that can be distributed directly to the public; I would characterize his mediated social pronouncements so far as somberly constructive and realistic and neither pollyana-ish nor imperialistic.
A Panel Discussion, "Internet Technology in the Obama Age"
The main question addressed was, given the Obama campaign’s successful use of modern web and social technologies online, what will now be done with these technologies to actually improve government?
The Best Part of Obama's Inaugural Speech
This was my favorite part of President Obama’s inaugural speech; I’ve emphasized what I think is the best phrase:
In these heady days of transition, as we think about ways to improve government, it’s temping to over-sell the benefits of “Web 2.0.”
Questions of control and responsibility inevitably arise when strategizing about the role of social media and social networking in the enterprise.
Craig Thomler’s Make government data freely available neatly lays out, from an Australian’s perspective, a discussion of how the public can benefit if government agencies make raw data available for access by individuals and organizations who then analyze or present that data in a useful way. These points are from Thomler’s conclusions:
School Communications & Emergency Response: What are the Implications for Social Media?
I’ve been reading documents from a page of links relevant to emergency planning for schools that is maintained by the Texas A&M University’s Integrative Center for Homeland Security. According to the Center’s blog, the list was started in response to the Virginia Tech shooting.
I’m looking for information on the implications of using social media and social networking systems as part of the “mix” of communication tools that are relevant in an emergency.
Dow Chemical CEO's Speech on National Manufacturing Policy
On C-SPAN Radio over the weekend I heard an interesting speech given by the CEO of Dow Chemical titled Energy, Manufacturing and the Future of the American Economy.