Ideas
GSA Ponders Prize Contract Vehicle
The General Services Administration may add a contract program that would allow agencies to buy from a menu of technology products, marketing services and technical assistance for running contests. An April <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-11.pdf">White House memo</a> required that GSA "as expeditiously as possible" craft a contract vehicle for purchasing such goods.
Ideas
Reform Forces Bailout Lending Online
The financial regulatory overhaul that Congress passed this week is missing a major data transparency measure the <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100701_1718.php">House wanted</a>, but the legislation still offers some Web-based windows into the financial system that previously were lacking.
Ideas
LOL, Man
Do you find yourself speaking in abbreves? Using emoticons in text messages? Or even in work-related emails? Everyday English is incorporating more and more Internet-speak, which is changing the way we communicate, accoring to <a href=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128356609>NPR</a>.
Ideas
Industry Seeks IT Acquisitions Reform
A major tech industry group is fighting back against the administration's threats to cancel information technology projects by forming a task force to suggest other options.
Ideas
FAS Gets Permanent Leader
The General Services Administration on Tuesday announced a permanent leader for its Federal Acquisition Service, which has seen a number of shifts in recent months.
Ideas
Budget Game: Making Debt Fun
With the national debt well over $13 trillion, it seems a tall order to fix U.S. finances. Think you're smart enough to make those tough decisions? The nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's <a href=http://crfb.org/stabilizethedebt/#>new online tool</a> lets users weigh different scenarios for reducing spending and stabilizing debt.
Ideas
Failure To Communicate
I have pretty bad luck when it comes to wireless cellphone service. I was covering a conference call last Friday but was out of the office, so I had to call in with my iPhone.
Ideas
Census Handhelds 'So 2010'
With its 2010 decennial count well underway, the Census Bureau already is looking forward to the next challenge: planning for 2020. According to the bureau's head, the next count will incorporate more technology than what currently is being used.
Ideas
Transparency is Your Friend
One of the key arguments for transparency is that it builds trust, as well as opening your organization to more and maybe better ideas from the public. After just more than a year of President Obama's open government initiative, some top federal executives are finding that out to be true.
Ideas
TSA Lifts 'Controversial Opinion' Block
CBS News ran a <a href=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20009642-10391695.html#addcomm>story</a> on July 3 about a Transportation Security Administration policy sent to employees informing them that officials there would ban their access to certain Web sites that offered chats and instant messaging, involved criminal activity, extreme violence (including cartoon violence) and gruesome content, and gaming. Also included in that list was anything deemed to be "controversial opinion." Who would decide what was controversial? What would be the criteria?
Ideas
NASA's Website Work
Government websites aren't exactly known for their sleek design or easy-to-use features, and more than a few tech-savvy individuals have picked up on that trend. But as the General Services Administration <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100702_5706.php?oref=mostread>rolls out</a> significant upgrades to <a href=http://usa.gov>USA.gov</a>, home to all things related to federal services and resources, others also are upping their online game.
Ideas
Transparency In Space
My colleague <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100629_1659.php">Bob Brewin notes</a> that President Obama has let up on the government's long held belief that America controls outer space in signing a new national space policy that contemplates relying on non-U.S. satellite navigation for backup and support.
Ideas
Fighting Federal Popups
Any federal employee or vendor who regularly visits .gov websites should be familiar with a popup message that reads something like this:
Ideas
The Outdated and Not So Bad
<em>Smashing Magazine</em>, a publication for Web designers and developers, recently published a <a href=http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/23/showcase-of-ugly-military-intelligence-and-defense-websites/>critique of military and intelligence agency websites</a> worldwide, placing dozens of sites in one of its categories: Outdated, Poorly Coded, Poorly Designed, The Not So Bad, and A Few Good Sites.
Ideas
National Social Media Day?
The social media revolution finally has reached the highest levels of government -- in Canada, that is. Mashable earlier this month designated June 30 as a day to celebrate all things social media, resulting in hundreds of meetups planned worldwide. But the city council in Victoria, British Columbia's capital, was the first government body to <a href=http://mashable.com/2010/06/28/social-media-day-victoria/>formally recognize</a> the event.
Ideas