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Are you ready to talk online media, digital trends, social media and innovation in government?

We are excited to bring you stories from around the world that can affect what you do and how you do it. Work focusing on customer service, citizen engagement and more.

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Mapping of a Twitter network via Ines Mergel author of "Working the Network".

Working the Network: Guide for Using Twitter in Government

Managing Twitter activity for a Federal agency is fast-paced and challenging. There’s a growing set of research, strategies, and tools to help you be effective in this rapidly changing Twitter environment.  The IBM Center for the Business of Government released a new study this week that outlines the benefits – and risks – of hosting a Twitter feed, as …

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Research reports.

Research Round-up: Mobile, Email and Video

I found several interesting research reports this past week on mobile government, mobile email, digital communication, and video that I wanted to share. We want to hear from you, so please read, comment, and share. Next Frontier for e-Government: Mobile (04/24/2012) – Mobile is the next frontier for eGov satisfaction, according to Foresee’s Q1 2012 …

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Free online learning reaches students across the globe via Creative Commons The Advocacy Project.

Universities Offer Free Online Education

A new trend is brewing that will change the shape of learning and teaching forever. Free, massively open online classes will allow anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world to have access to the best courses. Two of the country’s most prestigious universities announced this week that they are teaming up to put their classes online …

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Research Roundup: Tablets, Location Services, Smartphones

Research Round-up: Tablets, Location Services, Smartphones

Over the past week I found several interesting research reports covering a variety of areas including: Online media, digital trends, and social media.  We want to hear from you, so please read, comment and share. Citizens Want More Digital Government (04/26/2012) – Globally, citizens would like to see an increase in digital government services, according …

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screen shot of page, a simple system for entering official government accounts in the Social Media Registry.

Check & Register: Federal Social Media Accounts

Do you have an official government social media account? Have you ever wondered if one you’re following is legit? GSA has built a federal social media registry — a government-wide solution that gives the public a way to verify whether a social media account is official. It also provides a place for agencies to register their …

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Learn where your customers are on social media and meet them there via KEXINO on Creative Commons.

Know Your Customers’ Social Networks

Worldwide, two thirds of adults online are linked to at least one social media platform. Do you know where your customers are? To use social media effectively in your organization you need to know who your customers are and their preferences  for engagement. Questions to ask yourself include: What is the profile of my customer? What …

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Make the most out of failure and learn from it.

FailFaire: Learning from Failure

The post is written by guest expert, Richard Boly, Director of the Office of eDiplomacy, U.S. Department of State. Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray …

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Jumping across the digital divide can create rewards as well as some risk. Photo: Some Creative Commons rights reserved by Dru

Digital Divide Still Prevalent

The rapid adoption of mobile and mobile devices is providing Internet access to those who had little or no none before. With almost 90% of American twenty-somethings accessing the Internet through smartphones or tablets, the digital divide may narrow significantly by the end of the decade. Despite this sunny future, a PEW Internet report looks at differences …

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Creating an active, engaged community can lead to project success. Some Creative Commons rights reserved by Laurent Neyssensas

We’ve Got a Group for That!

Everyone has visited ESPN for scores, gone to WebMD to check symptoms, or used Consumer Reports when considering a major purchase. Why? We all want answers to our questions from people we can trust…The Experts. There are experts in government, too.  But how do you know where to find them?  Enter HowTo.gov’s community pages where you’ll …

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Trust in Government spelled out in Scrabble.

Trust in “People Like Me”

Trust in government fell dramatically around the globe, according to the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer. The good news: by putting employees out in front to connect with customers, government can quickly begin to rebuild trust. The bright spot of the survey this year is the rise of trust in a “person like me” and “regular employees.” People …

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Photo of the U.S. Capitol Building.

Engaging People to Solve Problems

The government of the future may look very different from the one today. Before he left office, Aneesh Chopra, first U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), laid the groundwork for government to move away from its traditional role of problem solver “extraordinaire” and service provider to government as convener and organizer. As convener, government’s job is …

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A man and his e-reader by bigyahu via Creative Commons.

A New Revolution: E-Reading

There are four times more people reading ebooks on a typical day now than was the case less than two years ago, according to a survey by the PEW Internet and American Life Project. Researchers found that people who own e-readers read more books than people who don’t own the devices and read only print. According …

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Three govies collaborating the old-fashioned way

Don’t Quit Your Yammering

Your office-mates may enjoy telling you to “quit your yammering,” but we at Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies challenge you to find out what Yammer can do for your internal collaboration. Yammer: The Power of Social Networking Inside Government Agencies, a Digital Gov University webinar, found Yammer can change the way we communicate …

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Man jumping out of bed

Make Work Days Grrreat!

Do you leap out of bed raring for work on Monday morning? The Department of Transportation and other agencies hope their employees do just that. To boost employee job satisfaction, get employees excited about coming to work,  and improve customer service DOT developed 10 tips for managers to build employee engagement, including: Put on the …

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