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
Obama Launches Global Tech Fund
The White House on Friday invited private equity fund managers to <a href="http://www.opic.gov/investment-funds/calls-for-proposals/global-technology-innovation-fund/">submit proposals</a> for the establishment of a fund that will invest in technology access in countries with large Muslim populations.
Ideas
Who's Gonna Win a Webby?
Early-bird entries for the Webbies, an international contest often called the Emmys of the Internet, are being <a href="http://www.webbyawards.com/index.php">accepted until Oct. 30,</a> and I am really hoping a number of federal Web managers are planning on entering their sites.
Ideas
The Hoping it Fails Syndrome
Something you hear quite often when covering government is the concern among top managers that some, or sometimes many, federal employees want executives who are trying to change government to fail. Most often, it's not politically driven. The change involves business processes and strategic shifts, ideas that are not ideologically spawned or driven. Mangers I have talked to say these employees just don't want to change the way they have worked for years, or they see the change as a threat to their control over a specific detailed process or policy, or they fear the change threatens their livelihood.
Ideas
GovLoop Expands
Last month I <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090928_8720.php">reported</a> that GovLoop, the unofficial "Facebook to the Feds," was acquired by GovDelivery, partly so founder Steve Ressler could devote all his time to nurturing and expanding his pet project. Yesterday Steve sent me some news: He's made the first addition to the GovLoop team and it's someone who should be familiar to the Gov 2.0 crowd. <a href="http://twitter.com/krazykriz">Andrew Krzmarzick</a>, formerly senior project coordinator at the USDA Graduate School.
Ideas
'Used Gov' and Social Messaging
Usability guru Jakob Nielsen and his team at the Nielsen Norman Group recently released a research report on the design and usability of social messaging and RSS feeds. In the <a href="http://www.useit.com/alertbox/streams-feeds.html">outline of the findings</a> Nielsen posted on his <a href="http://www.useit.com">Web site</a>, he bluntly states, "we have a long way to go to improve the usability of social network messaging and RSS feeds."
Ideas
No Need for IT in Cabinet
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano shot down the prospect of a cabinet-level information technology position during an online video address on Tuesday.
Ideas
Feds Offer 38,484 Budget Cuts
Federal employees conceived 38,484 ways to cut the federal budget during a month-long contest that ended last week, Office of Management and Budget officials said on Monday.
Ideas
Be an Analysis Ninja
Google Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik detailed how to measure the success of a government Web site on Google's <a href="http://googlepublicsector.blogspot.com/">Public Sector Blog</a> last week. And his first instruction was <em>not</em> to turn to any of the tools Google offers in its analytics toolset.
Ideas
Recovery.gov Enhances Downloads
The board overseeing stimulus spending has provided Internet users with a bulk download of all federal contract results, after transparency activists griped that Recovery.gov's data was hard to analyze. The new <a href="http://www.recovery.gov/FAQ/Pages/DLCenter.aspx">data set</a>, labeled "AllNationwideContracts.zip," is a single spreadsheet listing the status, location, funds awarded and jobs created for projects across all 50 states.
Ideas