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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?
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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.
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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:
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The Outdated and Not So Bad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 worldwide, placing dozens of sites in one of its categories: Outdated, Poorly Coded, Poorly Designed, The Not So Bad, and A Few Good Sites.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.
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Cookie Opt-Out Conundrum
One civil liberties group that worked closely with the administration to develop privacy guidelines on the use of cookies says it is not satisfied with the final policy on such web-tracking tools that was released <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100625_3838.php">today</a>.
Ideas
GSA's Tech Team Keeps Busy
The General Services Administration's revamped <a href=http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2010/05/gsa_adds_tech_office.php>Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies</a> has its hands full with tech projects designed to engage the public, promote openness and improve government innovation and efficiency.
Ideas
A Stolen Government Laptop -- Ho Hum
Now it's just a dog-bites-man story. Journalists usually look for the man-bites-dog news -- the unusual, atypical stories. A stolen government laptop, which compromises government workers' personal identity, just no longer fits that bill. Still, here's another one.
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I'm a BARF Forum Member, Thank You
Government loves acronyms. So do technologists. But sometimes people don't think through the name of their organization, contract or program -- until it's too late. I'm not so sure the folks over at the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board were oblivious to what their group spelled out as an acronym. After all, their job is to rat out contractors or agencies that don't follow the rules. Someone over there had a sense of humor.
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War of the Smart Phones
The BlackBerry seems to be the accessory of choice in Washington. In bars, offices, the gym, you name it, you're likely to see more than a few of these gadgets. But could other smart phones catch up, even in the federal government?
Ideas
Data.gov To House New APIs
A series of new application programming interfaces - tools that facilitate interaction between datasets and other software programs - will make it easier for developers to play and interact with the content on <a href="http://www.data.gov/">Data.gov</a>, the online repository of federal information and a cornerstone of the open government initiative.
Ideas
Navigating the Do-Not-Pay List(s)
White House officials on Friday announced they will begin rolling out governmentwide a mashup device currently used to detect stimulus-spending fraud, but they also noted a technological weakness preventing agencies from quickly spotting potential improper payments.
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Ready For Telework?
Federal employees may want to telework, but only a small number have access to the resources and support necessary to do so, according to a new survey.
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Twitter Down
Twitter, the ever-growing popular microblogging social network, has experienced some trouble in the past few days. Users increasingly have seen periods during which the site is over capacity and it slows down as a result. Company execs have acknowledged the site isn't quite ready to handle the high traffic demands, but as these delays become more regular, it begs the question: What should Twitter really be used for, and does the federal government fit that model?
Ideas