Artificial Intelligence
Study: Customers Increasingly Turn to Self-Support Amid Pandemic
Customers have increased their reliance on chatbots and self-support sessions since the coronavirus began.
Digital Government
Federal Register Tech Issue Caused by Oversized Document
The site directed users to a temporary rundown of regulatory notices for April 30 while two federal offices worked to resolve the issue.
Cybersecurity
Pentagon Launches Coronavirus Mythbuster Site
The Defense Department created a web portal to fact-check bad information circulating about the coronavirus and the military’s response.
Modernization
COVID-19 Forces a New Approach to Public Health Communications
No one likes to wait for answers to questions regarding health issues, especially when there is a lot of uncertainty and conflicting information.
Modernization
OMB to Agencies: Time to Finish IPv6 Transition
Before the end of fiscal 2021, agencies will need to have a plan in place to hit 80% IPv6-only systems by 2025.
Digital Government
Census Advocates Spread the Word on New Online Forms
March letters will kick off the decennial count.
Ideas
Where Everyone Goes When the Internet Breaks
Downdetector is a simple, ugly utility, which becomes a weird little life raft for displaced communities when their websites crash.
Digital Government
Data Center Issue Prompts GAO to Revert Redesigned Website Back to an Old Version
The new site’s host company, Contegix, is still working to resolve the technical difficulties, a GAO official said.
Modernization
GAO Launches Upgraded, Mobile-Friendly Website
Agency officials hope it’ll increase users’ access to the watchdog’s work.
Modernization
Federal Contracting Community Shreds FBO Replacement Site in Letter to GSA
“If this had the same notoriety as Healthcare.gov, people would have been fired.”
Ideas
Astroturfing Is Bad But It's Not the Whole Problem
The shift to a digital process has made commenting easier yet also inadvertently opened the floodgates to voluminous, duplicative and, yes, even “fake” comments.
Digital Government
Court Shuts Down Hundreds of Fake Government Sites After FTC Complaint
A court approved a preliminary injunction pending a full trial.
Modernization
Procurement Reporting Tool Is Moving to SAM But FPDS.gov Isn’t Going Anywhere
GSA is moving the central reporting function of the Federal Procurement Data System to beta.SAM while Treasury works to improve the quality of data reported through the site.
Ideas
Reimagining Citizen Services in the Government in 2025
As citizens change, so will their expectations.
Modernization
Federal Contract Award Data from FPDS Will Be on SAM Before Spring
With the FedBizOpps transition done, the Federal Procurement Data System reporting tool—one of the main functions of the website—will be the next to migrate to GSA’s central contracting site.
Modernization
GSA Publishes Web Standards for Year-Old Digital Services Law
The website design standards pull together existing guidance for complying with the 21st Century IDEA Act, which requires all digital services to have a base level of quality and accessibility.
Modernization
IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax
The changes come after ProPublica’s reporting showed how TurboTax maker Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax prep they could have gotten for free.
Emerging Tech
'Dark Patterns' Trick You into Spending More Online
There's a reason a website tells you how many other shoppers are looking at the same item you are.
Digital Government
New Functionality on the Way for FedBizOpps Replacement
The team managing the transition from FedBizOpps to SAM.gov says it plans to restore key capabilities, such as email alerts.
Digital Government
Report: Trump Administration Has Made Significant Changes to LGBTQ Content on Federal Websites
Language, resources and content have been changed since January 2017.
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