njacknis
New York
Recently, njacknis...
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uploaded a PDF file: Running A Political Campaign On A Technology Platform 12 months ago.
I was reading through the local weekly newspaper to see what was happening in the forthcoming September 15 primary elections and I noticed the attached political ad. As of now, don't let it be said again that no one ever ran on a platform promising better use of technology ;-) -
created Citizendium about 1 year ago.
I don't know if you've been following this, but the Wikipedia experiment has spawned something of a counter-reformation -- although that's probably an unfair designation -- with regard to the role of experts. Something more than a year ago, Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, went off and created Citizendium, of which he is now Editor-in-Chief. I find this alternative interesting because I view the wiki model as a useful one in public dialogues and also see Wikipedia as... -
created The LGA group is set to launch a new service that will help councillors to use social media to keep in touch with local residents about 1 year ago.
The established media have frequently complained that politicians use the Internet and Web 2.0 to get around the intelligent filter that these established media provide. But it seems more common for politicians to feel the need to use the Internet, not as a way to get around established media, but as a way to replace those media that have died (or are dying). Thoughts? ---------------------------------------------- URL: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/pa... -
created Professor Richard Thaler on Nudging as a tool of government about 1 year ago.
You might find this 23 March 2009 lecture interesting, especially as it tries to find a way for government to take a light hand, while recognizing that people are not rational choice decision makers of modern economic theory. Some of these ideas are made feasible by the use of the web. The lecture is at http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEPublicLecturesAndEvents/live/LSELive_previous.htm His web site for these ideas is at http://nudges.org/ -
edited Crowdsourcing Examples about 1 year ago.
I recently came across this website. It's a reasonably good compendium of crowdsourcing activities at many companies. I wonder how many of these have applicability to public service. -------------------------------- http://crowdsourcingexamples.pbwiki.com/ Crowdsourcing Examples This wiki is intended for the benefit of anyone who has ever wished they could see a comprehensive list of examples, either backed by a brand or not, that illustrate the power... -
edited Crowdsourcing Examples about 1 year ago.
I recently came across this website. It's a reasonably good compendium of crowdsourcing activities at many companies. I wonder how many of these have applicability to public service. -------------------------------- http://crowdsourcingexamples.pbwiki.com/ Crowdsourcing Examples This wiki is intended for the benefit of anyone who has ever wished they could see a comprehensive list of examples, either backed by a brand or not, that illustrate the power... -
created Crowdsourcing Examples about 1 year ago.
I recently came across this website. It's a reasonably good compendium of crowdsourcing activities at many companies. I wonder how many of these have applicability to public service. -------------------------------- http://crowdsourcingexamples.pbwiki.com/ Crowdsourcing Examples This wiki is intended for the benefit of anyone who has ever wished they could see a comprehensive list of examples, either backed by a brand or not, that illustrate the power... -
created Pushing Back Against Web-based Citizen Engagement about 1 year ago.
A recent blog on the Personal Democracy Forum -- http://personaldemocracy.com/node/7322 -- opened with a quote from Clay Shirky that “All the rhetoric, including - I'm embarrassed to say - some of mine, has assumed in the past that democratic legitimation is itself enough to regard aggregate public opinion [online] as being clearly binding on the government. I've changed my mind.” The author, Pete Peterson, then goes on to express considerable skepticism about the various ef... -
created Open for Questions: President Obama to Answer Your Questions on Thursday about 1 year ago.
Posted on the White House blog (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/24/Open-for-Questions-President-Obama-to-Answer-Your-Questions-on-Thursday/) on March 24th, 2009 at 6:45 pm Is this viable in a country of more than 300 million people? So far only several thousand have gone to the site. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Open for Questions: President Obama to Answer Your Questions on Thursday Today, the President... -
created HackingCongress about 1 year ago.
A newly created website -- http://www.hackingcongress.org/ -- of interest. Their self-description follows: HackingCongress is a new hub for projects at the intersection of civics & technology, fostering civic engagement and education, advancing government transparency, and supporting communication with government. ("Hacking" has a dual meaning in the computer world and in this case it is positive slang for creative programming.) The focus of this site is on projects related ... -
edited Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the Web about 1 year ago.
Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the WebW3C Working Draft 10 March 2009This version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-egov-improving-20090310/ Latest version: http://www.w3.org/TR/egov-improving/Editors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Kevin Novak (The American Institute of Architects) Authors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Oscar Azañón (Gobierno del ... -
edited Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the Web about 1 year ago.
Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the WebW3C Working Draft 10 March 2009This version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-egov-improving-20090310/ Latest version: http://www.w3.org/TR/egov-improving/Editors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Kevin Novak (The American Institute of Architects) Authors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Oscar Azañón (Gobierno del ... -
edited Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the Web about 1 year ago.
Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the WebW3C Working Draft 10 March 2009This version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-egov-improving-20090310/ Latest version: http://www.w3.org/TR/egov-improving/Editors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Kevin Novak (The American Institute of Architects) Authors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Oscar Azañón (Gobierno del ... -
created Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the Web about 1 year ago.
Improving Access to Government through Better Use of the WebW3C Working Draft 10 March 2009This version: http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-egov-improving-20090310/ Latest version: http://www.w3.org/TR/egov-improving/Editors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Kevin Novak (The American Institute of Architects) Authors: José M. Alonso (W3C/CTIC) Oscar Azañón (Gobierno del ... -
commented on The Age of Internet Politics about 1 year ago.
Your last point encompasses what is perhaps the greatest innovation (and a marked change in management philosophy) of the campaign. The data was made available to supporters, which implies a level of trust of field workers that has not been common in the past. It also implies that this innovation is worth so much that the campaign was willing to risk letting the opposition see the same data.
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created How And Why Public Officials Blog about 1 year ago.
Peter Orszag started blogging when he was the head of the Congressional Budget Office. Now working for the President, he has continued. You can see this on his latest blog about tax hikes, at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/blog/09/02/26/Clearingupamisconceptiontaxhikesduringarecession/. His general website, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ , provides great prominence to the blog as well. He has also provided an explanation of the value he sees in... -
created LittleSis -- The Sousveillance Website about 1 year ago.
Relatively new and still evolving, LittleSis has already garnered some publicity in the last couple of months. The website is http://littlesis.org/. It describes itself as "an involuntary facebook of powerful Americans, collaboratively edited and maintained by people like you." The creators go on to explain: "It's easier than ever to spot the symptoms of corruption and cronyism in our political process. Ordinary Americans have never felt more shut out from all levels of gov... -
created The Age of Internet Politics about 1 year ago.
This is a video of a panel discussion on the affect of the Internet on politics. It's over an hour, but of interest -- http://fora.tv/2009/01/26/The_Age_of_Internet_Politics -
uploaded a PDF file: President Obama's New Virtual Community Created to Shape his Open Government Directive about 1 year ago.
The Obama administration is starting to implement the idea of using collaborative tools internally as part of their management approach. (I have been discussing with the Federal website folks various ways to expand this approach.) Norm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On February 16th, a new government-wide community - the Open and Innovative Government Community - was created on the MAX Federal Community system to capture ... -
created Organizing for America about 1 year ago.
This is one way that President Obama intends to continue to use the Internet as a political tool. From: David Plouffe, BarackObama.com <info@barackobama.com>Date: Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 12:45 PMSubject: Organizing for America Friend --When Barack Obama was declared our 44th President, you didn't just revel in that victory -- you started asking what's next for this movement.How is this unprecedented group of volunteers, grassroots leaders, and dedicated supporters g... -
commented on Video of Philip Rosedale talking about the virtual society he founded, Second Life about 1 year ago.
Paul, I share your skepticism about Second Life, which is why I wrote that it or something better might arise. No doubt, Rosedale is a good salesman for his company. But the value of this talk, I guess, depends upon one's context. For me, two factors led me to find it interesting. First, I have been impressed by the widespread American interest in Second Life. Beyond mere interest, there have been real uses by governments (MuniGov), libraries (Amer...
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edited MuniGov 2.0 about 1 year ago.
Take at look at https://sites.google.com/site/munigov20/ is a coalition of local/municipal governments focused on exploring the use and principles of Web 2.0 in an effort to improve citizen services and communication via technology. We have created this site and its accompanying documents as resources, best practices and the start of a community of like-minded peers who have a common interest in the concepts of 2.0 as they could and do apply to local government. The pages of this site are de... -
edited MuniGov 2.0 about 1 year ago.
Take at look at https://sites.google.com/site/munigov20/ is a coalition of local/municipal governments focused on exploring the use and principles of Web 2.0 in an effort to improve citizen services and communication via technology. We have created this site and its accompanying documents as resources, best practices and the start of a community of like-minded peers who have a common interest in the concepts of 2.0 as they could and do apply to local government. The pages of this site are de... -
edited MuniGov 2.0 about 1 year ago.
Take at look at https://sites.google.com/site/munigov20/ is a coalition of local/municipal governments focused on exploring the use and principles of Web 2.0 in an effort to improve citizen services and communication via technology. We have created this site and its accompanying documents as resources, best practices and the start of a community of like-minded peers who have a common interest in the concepts of 2.0 as they could and do apply to local government. The pages of this site are de... -
edited MuniGov 2.0 about 1 year ago.
Take at look at https://sites.google.com/site/munigov20/ is a coalition of local/municipal governments focused on exploring the use and principles of Web 2.0 in an effort to improve citizen services and communication via technology. We have created this site and its accompanying documents as resources, best practices and the start of a community of like-minded peers who have a common interest in the concepts of 2.0 as they could and do apply to local government. The pages of this site are de... -
created MuniGov 2.0 about 1 year ago.
Take at look at https://sites.google.com/site/munigov20/ is a coalition of local/municipal governments focused on exploring the use and principles of Web 2.0 in an effort to improve citizen services and communication via technology. We have created this site and its accompanying documents as resources, best practices and the start of a community of like-minded peers who have a common interest in the concepts of 2.0 as they could and do apply to local government. The pages of this site are de... -
created MuniGov 2.0 about 1 year ago.
Take at look at https://sites.google.com/site/munigov20/ MuniGov 2.0 is a coalition of local/municipal governments focused on exploring the use and principles of Web 2.0 in an effort to improve citizen services and communication via technology. We have created this site and its accompanying documents as resources, best practices and the start of a community of like-minded peers who have a common interest in the concepts of 2.0 as they could and do apply to local government. The pages of t... -
commented on Us Now: On the Road to Self-Organised Government? about 1 year ago.
I do think that the Internet makes possible a degree of self-organizing that was not possible in the past. Having said that, the Internet does not automatically eliminate politics or the essential role of political leaders. Maybe this would be easier to understand for some of the libertarians in the audience if we used the term "public entrepreneur" (from the old public choice theories). This makes it clear that someone plays an entrepreneurial (i.e., leadership) role i...
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shared a video: Video of Philip Rosedale talking about the virtual society he founded, Second Life about 1 year ago.
Take a look at a presentation by Philip Rosedale about the virtual society he founded, Second Life. Whether Second Life or something like it, but better, is in our futures, it is currently an interesting experiment in building a society. And Rosedale seems to understand that and has some fascinating observations about the phenomenon. You can find it at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html Norm -
created Your Seat At The Table about 1 year ago.
The latest from the Obama Transition team's efforts at transparency -- a list of the groups visiting them, what is being proposed and a chance to comment. http://change.gov/open_government/yourseatatthetable "The Obama-Biden Transition Team will be hearing from many groups over the next several weeks. On this page, you can track these meetings, view documents provided to the Transition, and leave comments for the team." -
created Pachube facilitates interaction between remote environments, both physical and virtual about 1 year ago.
Take a look at Pachube at http://community.pachube.com/?q=node/1. Although it seems they are still in the early stages and have not yet achieved widespread acceptance, this is yet another example of how people can collaborate in an area of knowledge that government agencies have tended to dominate in the past. It also raises concerns about privacy and security. But, it seems, if something is possible, someone on the Internet will try it despite those concerns. Note: This was brought to ... -
edited a video: Mumbai hostage network about 1 year ago.
Following September 11, 2001, there was much discussion about how the Internet had empowered terrorists. This morning, NBC News in the US carried a report about the other side of the story. They interviewed a British hostage who helped to create a (Blackberry-based) network among the hostages in the Oberoi Hotel to coordinate information and also bring in objective information from outside the hotel. Fascinating aspect of a very grim situation. You can... -
shared a video: Mumbai hostage network about 1 year ago.
Following September 11, 2001, there was much discussion about how the Internet had empowered terrorists. This morning, NBC News in the US carried a report about the other side of the story. They interviewed a British hostage who helped to create a (Blackberry-based) network among the hostages in the Oberoi Hotel to coordinate information and also bring in objective information from outside the hotel. Fascinating aspect of a very grim situation. You can... -
uploaded a PDF file: When Technology Fails about 1 year ago.
When Technology Fails by John B. Horrigan, Associate Director & Sydney Jones, Research Assistant Pew Internet & American Life ProjectNovember 16, 2008 http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1036/when-technology-fails It is often the case that new technologies become popular well before the technology itself is understood by the general public. As these technologies gain traction, it is not always intuitive for new users to know how to use them, much less fix them when they break. And there ar... -
created Twitter Use By Government about 1 year ago.
A discussion group of American government webmasters (mostly from local governments) have recently focused on Twitter. Here are some of the more interesting observations: So, we had our first interesting Twitter situation today. Somebody signed up to follow our Twitter feed, and they replied to one of our news articles regarding speed patrols, commenting that there is speeding in her neighborhood. We have @replies turned off from showing up in our feed, but they're viewable on o... -
created Two small cities using Twitter about 1 year ago.
One of the wonderful things about Web 2.0 technologies is that they do not cost much to use. Here are examples of two relatively small American cities, which use Twitter: http://twitter.com/NapervilleIL (Naperville, Illinois) http://twitter.com/killeenweb (Killeen, Texas) Naperville is an affluent and somewhat high-tech suburb of Chicago with a great reputation, so their use of Web 2.0 is not all that surprising. On the other hand, Killeen is almost the... -
shared a video: It's 10 PM ... Do You Know Where Your Constituents Are? about 1 year ago.
I posted a 4 minute video/PowerPoint about some ways that the network can and is affecting government, especially at the local/regional level -- . It is aimed at US elected officials, especially those in executive positions. It starts off with the fairly conventional, but gets edgier as it moves along. It is intended to be provocative and unsettling -- with, hopefully, more punch than I could put into a white paper. PS. ... -
commented on Digital continuity - a hidden aspect of e-goverment about 1 year ago.
Maybe I'm missing the significance of the work in NZ, but there are plans and discussions of this kind in the US as well -- and in other countries, I would assume. In order to assure the "cradle to grave" handling of information/material, some governments have even placed the Archives within the department for ICT -- for example, the one I used to be CIO for ;-) Then responsibility is centralized for material that is "born digital" (often the source of forebod...
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created Interview with Marshall Ganz, Designer of Obama's Organization about 1 year ago.
The link and summary below is an interview with Marshall Ganz of Harvard's Kennedy School, who helped build the organization for Obama's election campaign. In a few minutes, it is one of the best presentations of what really happened organizationally. I found it interesting in the way he discusses themes we have emphasized and in the intention to take this approach inside the government of the new Obama administration. In my own presentations to public leaders, I ...