Social media

Last week, I wrote about Corridor, the State Department's new internal social networking portal.  This week, I want to examine some ways that its administrators can illustrate to their leadership that their investment in Corridor is returning results.  Here are the top four metrics I think they should look at:

Everyone who’s ears have been assaulted with talk of “paradigm shifts” can thank Thomas Kuhn, author of “The She Structure of Scientific Revolutions.”  I’ve often wondered why that phrase beguiles so many consultants and technology cheerleaders, and it’s a shame that it has, because in the glare of that overexposure, we may have blinded ourselves to some true paradigm shifts.

Report card day: Agencies remain average or below on IT reforms. House lawmakers are set to release the second scorecard grading agencies’ implementation of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) and the progress across all four categories is limited.

The imperative to improve the business operations of the U.S. Department of Defense has never been greater. Secretary of Defense Gates and Deputy Secretary Lynn have clearly articulated the pressing need for reform, driving action across all business areas such as acquisition and logistics, finance, and personnel. Transforming these business processes and systems is motivated by the need to make better use of resources, improve stewardship, and provide the best support possible to the warfighters.

The Federal Records Act of 1950 creates a framework to manage agency records.  It puts the National Archives and Records Administration in charge of oversight of the system and NARA determines the historical value of federal records and operates Federal Records Centers around the country.

Open Gov:  Keeping up with what’s going on, on Twitter.  A new on-line “daily paper” has been created and dedicated to OpenGov issues.  Basically it’s an aggregated news source on paper.li

In February, Rasmussen Reports released a poll that found that only 21% of Americans feel that their government has their consent.  This is despite the fact that we have more communications channels with our government than any time in American History.  So how do we fix this?

The one that caught my attention was the new Social Media Hub created by Defense to help provide internal-to-Defense education, policy, and the ability for groups in Defense to "register" their social media initiatives in a central location. 

• Determining how the Privacy Act of 1974 applies to government use of social

President Obama issued a memorandum on Transparency and Open Government following his inauguration in early 2009. The memo outlined his commitment to greater transparency, increased citizen participation, and more collaboration. This commitment acknowledges that government cannot solve by itself the challenges facing our nation.