Ideas
Data.gov: Where's the Beef?
Considering the amount of resistance the White House has faced recently on everything from health care reform to the ballooning deficit, it would appear that President Obama's honeymoon is officially over. That means it may be time to start questioning how successful his administration has been in terms of delivering on promises to bring unprecedented transparency to the executive branch by publishing government data online.
Ideas
A Cold '11 Budget, But Warmth for IT
The Office of Management and Budget has <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091113_3188.php?oref=topnews">asked</a> civilian agencies to ready themselves for fiscal 2011 budgets to be frozen at fiscal 2010 levels or, even worse, to be cut by 5 percent because the Obama administration is facing record deficits, which could become a drag on Democrats in elections next year.
Ideas
Social Media Rx for Drug Safety
An industry group representing pharmaceutical companies is proposing that the Food and Drug Administration require a FDA-certified emblem - akin to a Good Housekeeping seal - on Web content that contains medication information.
Ideas
Y2K's Legacy: Not a Waste
Writer Farhad Manjoo has an <a href=http://www.slate.com/id/2235357/>article</a> on Slate about the government's victory over the Year 2000 computer bug. In brief, computers didn't crash as date fields clicked over from 99 (for 1999) to 00 (for 2000) as was widely feared because the federal government, working in concert with companies and other countries, worked to rewrite software code to show four digits for years instead of two.
Ideas
We Want Your Comments
You'll notice a new feature on Nextgov today. You now can submit a comment on a Nextgov article using the Disqus platform, which you will find at the bottom of each article. The application replaces the site's Forum section, with the expectation that if readers see comments at the bottom of an article it will encourage a dialogue.
Ideas
TSA Nominee Doesn't Check Out
My <em>Government Executive</em> colleague Alyssa Rosenberg has some <a href="http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2009/11/vetting_gone_wrong.php">harsh but fair words</a> about he Obama administration's vetting process:
Ideas
Cybersecurity Goes Mainstream
Sunday night, the CBS news program <em>60 Minutes</em> devoted its first <a href=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5578986n&tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel>15-minute (or so)</a> segment to cyber espionage, quoting such experts in the space as Jim Lewis, director of the technology and public policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Mike McConnell, former director of National Intelligence; and Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., co-founder and co-chair of the House Cybersecurity Caucus.
Ideas
FDA on Pharma Ads 2.0
This week the Food and Drug Administration is holding <a href="http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/centersoffices/cder/ucm184250.htm">hearings</a> on the promotional use of social media by the pharmaceutical industry. Consumers, advertisers and the health care industry are anxious to know how FDA will advise drug companies on harnessing the viral power of social networking while protecting consumers from bogus medical advice.
Ideas
(Mail)Man Vs. Machine
Federal auditors on Thursday reported that workforce costs at the U.S. Postal Service decreased only slightly this year, despite automation at USPS.
Ideas
A HIPAA Twist That Can Hurt
Today at the TechAmerica panel discussion on identity management, Rick Kam of ID Experts brought up an interesting anecdote that illustrates the importance of using precise language when crafting information security legislation. Kam said confusion over the wording of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIPAA">Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act</a> (HIPAA) has led to some victims of medical identity theft being locked out of their own medical records.
Ideas
Will Androids Land on Networx?
The trade press has been all abuzz about Google's Linux-based mobile operating system, dubbed Android: Which manufacturers will offer the application? Will it give the proprietary iPhone system a run for its money?
Ideas
Promoting Plain Language
You can have the most gorgeous Web site with the most amazing interactive functionality, but if the words on the site don't work for the site's users, you don't have a good Web site. That's why GSA's Office of Citizen Services decided to focus on plain language for <a href="http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/usability/world_usability_day2009.shtml">World Usability Day 2009,</a> according to Nicole Burton, a usability specialist at GSA.
Ideas
The Unreported White House Logs
The White House has been attracting attention recently for posting <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/disclosures/visitor-records">visitor logs</a> online in an attempt to demonstrate the unprecedented level of transparency that President Obama has promised since his campaign began. This is the first time such information has been posted online.
Ideas
Fed Faces Don't Satisfy the Public
When <a href="http://www.foreseeresults.com/">ForeSee Results</a> released its third-quarter e-government satisfaction scores this week, the big news was that public satisfaction with federal Web sites had <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091027_3610.php">reached a record high.</a>
Ideas
Lieberman previews cybersecurity bill
Another day, another cybersecurity bill. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., previewed the bullet points of a measure he plans to introduce later this year, which includes procurement reform that requires vendors to comply with security standards when selling technology solutions to federal agencies.
Ideas
Recovery.gov Missing Pieces
Recovery.gov on Friday will sport a few improvements and a lot more offerings, but perhaps one piece of valuable information will be missing: the demographics of the people receiving money.
Ideas
Google Gets Virginians to the Polls
With the Virginia general election only a week away, residents of the commonwealth looking for voting information might find one of Google's latest gadgets useful.
Ideas
Nothing on the Internet is Dead
A few weeks ago, the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> published a piece about <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203803904574431151489408372.html">how e-mail's reign</a> as the king of online communication is over. Author Jessica Vascellaro didn't decree the death of e-mail, she just argued the constant stream of updates social media services like Facebook and Twitter provide are more in sync with today's permanently plugged-in approach to the Web.
Ideas
O Gov Directive? Not This Month
While the administration had hoped to issue a long-awaited open government directive <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091002_5291.php">before the end of the month</a>, sources close to the process expect that it will be out within the next couple weeks.
Ideas