TECHNOLOGY AND THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT
08/31/09 02:16 pm ET
Rob O'Keefe writes at the TMP TalentBrew blog that the question, "How's work?" is no longer one brought up only in conversation among friends, but one that's happening everywhere, everyday -- through professional and social networks.>>
08/28/09 01:08 pm ET
The Social Security Administration announced Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to test the use of its HealthVault application in the process of determining disability benefits. The technology, which allows applicants to gather, store and manage their families' heath information and share that information with their physicians and health care providers, contains the same types of information that Social Security generally obtains from people applying for disability benefits.>>
08/28/09 11:45 am ET
Federal Times reports that the Obama administration is planning to seek ideas from the 18,000 employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration on how to reduce the backlog and more quickly get benefits to veterans. The effort will involve a Web-based survey that will test how the government uses the Web and new technologies as well as define new ways of how agencies listen to their employees.>>
08/27/09 12:02 pm ET
David Huber writes at Washington Technology that government contractors have become fertile ground for federal agencies looking to hire information technology professionals. While some believe recruiting IT contractors is a way to find the needed talent in government, many in the contracting community believe the practice crosses the line.>>
08/26/09 02:14 pm ET
The new Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations report shows that the demand for technology skills will increase significantly over the next 12 months, as companies look to restore positions affected by layoffs or hiring freezes and the pace of hiring begins to accelerate. The report, which is based on an annual survey of more than 500 hiring managers and 500 workers by staffing firm Robert Half International and CareerBuilder, shows that information technology, customer service and sales jobs will be the first to be filled as the economy improves.>>
08/26/09 01:36 pm ET
The New York Times has an interesting piece on the explosion of Twitter's popularity being attributed not to teenagers, but rather older generations.>>
08/25/09 01:35 pm ET
Zack Whittaker writes at ZDNet's iGeneration blog about an interesting set of statistics presented in a video by Socialnomics on the social media revolution. The statistics are from numerous sources, and they're a solid set to provide to social media non-believers.>>
08/25/09 01:27 pm ET
Attending an IT conference or planning other official travel this next fiscal year? The General Services Administration on Monday released fiscal 2010 per diem rates, which will go into effect on Oct. 1. Most rates will increase marginally, but in some of the 402 areas where rates exceed the nationwide standard of $70, per diems will decrease slightly. Per diem for meals and incidentals, however, will increase in fiscal 2010, ranging from $46 to $71, depending on location. The incidental expense rate will increase from $3 to $5.>>
08/24/09 01:00 pm ET
Pear Analytics, a San Antonio-based research firm, recently released a study examining what people are using Twitter for. Their initial hypothesis was intended to prove that Twitter was being used largely for senseless babble or self-promotion, and while babble made up more than 40 percent of tweets, the researchers found that more than 37 percent of tweets were conversational and almost 9 percent had pass-along value. Only 5.85 percent of tweets were for self-promotion, the study found. As Twitter continues to evolve, not only as a brand but from a user's perspective, it is likely that usage patterns will change, the study concluded.>>
08/21/09 12:09 pm ET
There are countless studies, articles and blog posts out on the differences among different generations in the workplace and their perceptions and uses of new technology. Steve Ressler, founder of Young Government Leaders and GovLoop, a social networking site for federal employees, told Wired Workplace on Tuesday that while there is a generational divide between older federal workers and younger ones who simply grew up digital, the Generation Content, or Generation C, concept, which characterizes people of any age who actively uses social media and engages others on the Internet, is taking hold.>>
08/20/09 11:53 am ET
The Senior Executive Service is outdated and fails to provide a unified, government-wide cadre of federal career executives with shared values, a broad perspective and solid leadership skills, according to a new report by the Partnership for Public Service.>>
08/19/09 12:32 pm ET
Robert Behn, a professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, makes a case in this month's issue of his public management report that effective management - which motivates people to creatively develop effective strategies for producing better results - cannot be achieved through e-mails, conference calls, or telecommuting in your pajamas, but rather through creating face-to-face buzz. Behn also contends that people are more productive, creative and effective when they work closely together.>>
08/18/09 11:28 am ET
Alyssa Rosenberg writes at Government Executive that officials overseeing the Thrift Savings Plan will launch a redesigned Web site during the first quarter of 2010.>>
08/17/09 03:45 pm ET
CIO.com provides some new tips on how to find out if hiring managers are checking you out on social networking Web sites, blogs, personal Web sites, etc. By monitoring the traffic to these personal Web sites, job applicants can determine if their resume has fallen into the "abyss of disinterest," the article states.>>
08/17/09 11:59 am ET
Federal employees who use Apple's iPhone can now download a new application that enables them to check the status of the various Thrift Savings Plan funds. The application, called F.R.U., is free of cost and provides a quick overview of the daily price changes for each TSP fund, a glance at weekly and monthly performance and a price graph.>>
08/14/09 11:35 am ET
Dan Schawbel advises on Mashable.com of the 10 best social media Web sites for résumé building. The Web sites allow users to create their own résumé-like profiles, edit résumés online, have experts review them, print them, share them on social networks, etc.>>
08/13/09 11:11 am ET
Federal agencies increased their spending on student loan repayments for employees by 22 percent in 2008, and the incentives were widely used for recruiting and retaining information technology workers, according to a new report by the Office of Personnel Management.>>
08/12/09 11:21 am ET
I spoke with Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.org, a bit last week about innovative Web 2.0 projects in the federal government and what projects have potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the workforce.>>
08/11/09 11:53 am ET
The Office of Personnel Management is withdrawing its plan to abolish the one-year time-in-grade requirement for federal employee promotions. OPM announced in the Federal Register on Tuesday that it would withdraw proposed regulations to abolish the time-in-grade rule after the agency determined that it would be more productive to consider the merits of the time-in-grade issue as part of a more comprehensive review of pay, performance and staffing issues.>>
08/11/09 11:21 am ET
Alex Parker over at Government Executive writes that lawmakers have renewed their push to pass the Roosevelt Scholars Act (H.R. 3510), which would create scholarships for graduate students in exchange for a federal service commitment. The increased attention to the effort comes amid new reports that the government needs a more robust workforce with a range of skills, particularly in the cybersecurity arena.>>
08/10/09 09:40 am ET
Computerworld has the goods on how organizations can offer their information technology workers valuable training, even when budgets are tight. While the article is aimed at the private sector, I think there's some valuable advice for training federal IT workers as well.>>
08/10/09 09:33 am ET
Examiner.com is running a series of debates about generational issues in the workplace. Over the next four weeks, James Hamilton and Dudley B. Dawson, both workplace reporters, will go head-to-head on issues such as Generation Y's impact on the workplace, employee loyalty, flexible work schedules and pay. The readers decide the winner of each topic. I plan to give my two cents, and I'm anxious to see which writer comes out on top.>>
08/07/09 05:14 pm ET
Wired Workplace sat down with Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.org, on Thursday in San Francisco to talk about Government 2.0, the generational divide and other federal IT workforce issues.>>
08/06/09 05:59 pm ET
Younger employees are leading the drive in the private sector to adopt new technologies to network, communicate and collaborate will colleagues.>>
08/05/09 02:15 pm ET
The Merit Systems Protection Board recently conducted a survey of career federal employees asking them what they believe are the top 10 career accelerators. In its July 2009 Issues of Merit newsletter, MSPB highlighted the results from its 2007 career advancement survey, which indicated that federal employees believe it's both "who you know" and "what you know" that moves you up the federal career ladder.>>
08/05/09 10:30 am ET
Young Government Leaders has a great article in this week's Fedmanager newsletter recapping a July 22 luncheon on why social media and innovation matter to the next generation of government leaders. The bottom line, YGL writes, is that while young federal workers may come across as a bit too casual, their authenticity enables them to establish trust quickly and work effectively in teams.>>
08/04/09 11:15 am ET
NASA has announced the selection of the first participants for its first Innovation Ambassadors program, which will enable some of NASA's most talented scientists and engineers to work at several of America's leading innovative external research and development organizations. During assignments of up to one year, the four ambassadors will share their own expertise while learning about innovative products, processes and business models, and upon returning to NASA, can share new ideas with co-workers and implement innovations within their own organizations.>>
08/03/09 10:41 am ET
A new survey from Anderson Analytics examines how different generations are using social networking Web sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn. For example, the survey found that the top reasons for joining a social network across all generations is to keep in touch with friends or for fun. But the study also found that the older a user, the more likely they are to be a Facebook or Twitter user.>>
