January 29, 2009
I had the priviledge to speak at the first annual FPPOA – National IT Conference & Expo yesterday in Universal City. They had very good attendence and the atmosphere was brimming with interest on a topic I am passionate about, the use of technology to transform how we do things.
Even now, as I peck at the keyboard, I know that once I click on the “publish” button, you will have the opportunity almost instantly to read my ramblings. I still remember the days when I would put printed articles ready to be laid out through a waxing process and roll it onto a large newsprint template and wait half a day until the story was printed and delivered.
Information used to, and still travels on paper. Words and photos are gently laid down on bleached, pressed wood pulp. When we want to archive these words of wisdom, much of it is still stored as paper filling large rooms in dark building basements and other scary places.
January 26, 2009
With coffee in hand this morning at 8 am, I snapped out of my weekend mode quickly as I dialed into a conference call that our PR team had set up. The familiar mechanic voice prompted me for my name. I quickly cleared my throat and stated, “Loni”.
The meeting had already began and I recognized the familiar voice of Adrian from Vangent and Dominic from Southwark Council in the UK crackling over my phone. It was late on a Monday across the ocean and I was grateful that we were on a level playing field; early for me, late for them.
The first time I had met the two gentlemen was in San Francisco, at the Adobe MAX conference. We all had a good chuckle over the fact that Dominic couldn’t walk two blocks in San Francisco without giving money to a homeless soul, such the heart of a public servant.
If you missed it, last week’s eSeminar featuring Loni Kao is now available OnDemand. From business services in Australia to temporary assistance for needy families in Illinois, Loni shares how government agencies worldwide are using technology solutions to increase interaction with constituents and deliver services to those who need them most.
During the eSeminar, Loni references a research report from the Economist titled “Meeting the Challenge of Engagement in the Public Sector.” The report is available here.
I was reading this article earlier today and it sparked a few thoughts about netbooks. I’ve been in the tech industry for over 25 years now and I’ve witnessed so many innovations. Today, we have a very interesting combination of powerful, yet flexible ‘servers’ or services (feel free to substitute your favorite term here), powerful yet highly mobile devices, relatively stable (at least in the more populated areas) and affordable wireless networks and access to ubiquitous ‘client-side’ technologies (Yes, I’m referring to Reader, Flash and AIR!) that enable the creation of sophisticated, yet easy to use applications.
January 25, 2009
With the world-wide economic downturn, government is caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the issue of helping businesses and citizens with tax cuts.
No one disagrees that the public could benefit from tax cuts in these challenging times. Shrinking tax revenues from decreased property values, sales and incomes on one end, and rising demand on social services and benefits at the other end, make tax cuts difficult to conjure up. Some regions, such as California, are even talking about tax hikes in order to control deficits and debt.
However, there are other ways to help which would achieve the same impact as tax cuts; that of lessening the burden of government on citizens and businesses. Where government cannot lend a hand by extending a dollar, it can by lessening time burden of dealing with government.
January 24, 2009
In my last post, I shared some of the statistics around paper waste in both private and public sector.
Sometimes, meaning gets lost in abstract statistics. They provide a great way to keep pulse of trends, but what can agencies and departments do to reduce paper waste? And what does it really mean in terms of cost savings?
Just asking these questions is a start to a potential goldmine in green. Both the Mother Nature and the Las Vegas type green.
January 23, 2009
As I was cruising the news this morning, I came across an article on nextgov.com referring to the quality of federal web sites. (http://tinyurl.com/d7uq93) In the article, Allan Holmes discusses a few of the challenges that face government agencies as they take services and information online. Mr. Holmes also presents somewhat opposing views from other bloggers on the topic. Rather than debate or comment on the views presented, I’d like to make an additional point, specifically regarding experience, user experience to be precise.
Looking back on 2008, one of the big issues world-wide was Green IT across both private and public sector.
As we head into 2009 with challenging budgetary times for all, I think this issue will continue to dominate, having traded all it’s Kermit the frog cuteness for the pragmatic mantra of “saving green by being green”.
So what does this translate to for government agencies?
January 22, 2009
I was asked by a reporter last week to offer considerations for the Obama administration with regards to updating publicly facing federal Web sites. Here’s what I told her:
1.) Assess Web sites based on audience orientation not agency orientation. Many Government agencies immediately provide information about the agency leader, recent press releases, organizational structure. As I’ve written here before, imagine if you went to Amazon.com and were greeted with a picture of Jeff Bezos, his press releases and links to marketing and finance departments. You wouldn’t buy books. In government, the audience likewise won’t pursue service. Think about modifying these sites to suit your audience needs.
2.) Look for opportunities to consolidate web entry points around services. People who want to use a government Web site want to solve a problem, they don’t want to learn the agency. A good example is Australia with their business to government Web site – http://business.gov.au/Business+Entry+Point/ – they consolidate the services a business needs into one system and effectively do more with less.
3.) Assess if a Web site is a static information source or designed to initiate an interaction. Many government agencies treat web sites like a bulletin board rather than a strategic communications channel and don’t attract traffic or ongoing interaction. But some create a dialogue with the audience. The former type of Web site is one to change. The latter, you don’t want to give up on the brand and existing audience – you can see great examples at NASA.gov – www.nasa.gov/50years & www.nasa.gov/externalflash/ISSRG/ – they are amazing.
January 18, 2009
Since the election last fall, there’s been a deluge of information, opinions and speculation regarding the priorities of our new administration. As a citizen of the United States, I have my own thoughts and opinions on what the administration should concentrate on first, the areas of the agenda that I personally think will have the greatest positive impact on our society and, well, me and my family in particular. At the end of the day, it will be folks with much larger voices than mine that truly dictate the priorities, however, that will not prevent me from sharing my thoughts.
As a technologist, in particular, a solutions architect, I am generally predisposed to looking for common use cases, patterns, and the ability to reuse anything of value that currently exists. Why recreate the wheel, right? So, from this perspective I dove into the wide array of potential initiatives that have been discussed in the past months. I cruised back through magazine articles, blogs, forums, Change.gov, anyplace that could offer ideas to toss into the mix. If you’ve been following the various discussions, you will not be too terribly surprised with what I pulled out. Here are a few of the ideas and challenges that seem to getting the most press:
* Heathcare – Electronic Medical Records
* The Economy – address the credit crisis, help for homeowners
* Veterans needs – faster benefits delivery
* Work/Life balance – more time with family
* Homeland Security – information collection and sharing
* Technology – cybersecurity, social networking
* Green – telework, environment
* Increased Efficiencies AND Increased Effectiveness – more with less, lower cost
