White House

7 ideas to get more open government ideas

Someone secure the ideas.gov domain before a squatter does, because Uncle Sam is open for suggestions. While there are great ideas and engagement, there no doubt could be more activity. Whether it’s the White House or a major media firm wanting to do good, a solid PR effort would go a long way in getting more citizen interaction.

Here’s some ideas to get more open government ideas.

    5 government sites using Drupal effectively for open government initiatives

    By now, most people in the Gov 2.0 community have heard of Drupal, the popular open source social publishing system powering close to 500,000 websites ranging from big government to Britney Spears. Drupal has seen steady growth from its inception as a Belgian grad student’s experiment in 2001 to one of the most heavily used open source content management systems in the world, downloaded by a quarter million people per month. A growing trend the Drupal community is following closely this year is government interest in the platform to further open government initiatives and broaden adoption across government.

      New White House iPhone app parody commercial

      Everyday Banter created a parody video of the new White House iPhone app. (HT OhMyGov!)

      Best line: “Haven’t heard from Obama in the last six minutes and need to make sure he’s still in charge? There’s an app for that.”

        i1600PennsylvaniaAvenue: White House launches iPhone app

        The White House launched a free White House App for the iPhone. The app delivers livestream video from speeches and press briefings, blog updates and latest official White House photos. Citizens will be able to watch the upcoming State of the Union speech directly from their iPhones.

        You can download the White House app at iTunes. Details at the White House Blog.

          New GovFresh White House Open Government site

          You can now follow the latest news related to the White House Open Government Initiate (OGI) on GovFresh at whitehouse.govfresh.com.

          The new site includes:

          • Latest OGI GovFresh posts.
          • Links to OGI Twitter and official RSS feed.
          • OGI ‘Chatter’ from Twitter, the White House blog and elsewhere on the Web.

            White House announces ‘Open Government Directive’

            The White House today announced its Open Government Directive, instructing agencies to open their operations to the public and providing a framework for doing so. The directive was accompanied by a Open Government Progress Report to the American People.

            From the White House:

            The three principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration are at the heart of this directive. Transparency promotes accountability. Participation allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise to government initiatives. Collaboration improves the effectiveness of government by encouraging partnerships and cooperation within the federal government, across levels of government, and between the government and private institutions.

              White House ‘Connect with your government online’ video

              Just found this White House Blog post (Your Government: Open for Business in New Ways and New Places) and video from Bev Godwin (@BevUSA), White House New Media Director of Online Resources & Interagency Development.

              The video, featuring Macon Phillips, White House New Media Director, highlights how government is using new media as a resource for citizens.

                Manor reaches The White House

                The City of Manor’s open innovation platform, Manor Labs, is featured on the White House’s Open Government Initiative blog (Open Government Laboratories of Democracy).

                Innovation is possible even in small cities with very small budgets. I hope that we can work with more cities to innovate new solutions for the public-sector.

                Excerpt:

                Just as the federal government is using online brainstorming with government employees and the public to generate ideas for saving money or going green, state and local governments are also using new technology to tap people’s intelligence and expertise. The City of Manor, Texas (pop. 5800) has launched “Manor Labs,” an innovation marketplace for improving city services. A participant can sign up to suggest “ideas and solutions” for the police department, the municipal court, and everything in between. Each participant’s suggestion is ranked and rewarded with “innobucks.” These points can be redeemed for prizes: a million points wins “mayor for the day” while 400,000 points can be traded for a ride-along with the Chief of Police.

                  O’Reilly, Dorsey, Newmark and Noveck on C-SPAN’s ‘The Communicators’

                  Tim O’Reilly, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, and White House Open Government Initiative lead Beth Noveck are interviewed on C-SPAN’s “The Communicators.”