e-gov transformation

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Back, with a request for your ideas on smart emergency communication tips!

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

Hi. Sorry I’ve been hors de combat for the past few weeks: my father-in-law’s quite ill, which has caused a lot of perturbations on the home front (prayers and good thoughts gratefully received!), while — on a more positive note — I’ve also been caught up in the early phases of planning what I […]

Northern Illinois U shooting: better, but authorities still don’t get it right

Friday, February 15th, 2008

Just heard CNN’s legal expert say that no one could fault Northern Illinois University’s handling of emergency communications during and after the shooting yesterday.
I can: they did better than VA Tech authorities, but still not enough.
According to this story, cell phones were jammed, and students couldn’t call out or their parents call in — […]

My Network World op-ed: business benefits of data visualization

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

Ooops! Got so caught up in politics and family stuff that I didn’t realize my op-ed on the business benefits of data visualization ran last week in Network World’s online edition.
As the title (”Data visualization: the under-appreciated Web 2.0 tool”) suggests with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer, I believe data visualization is both […]

Google Palimpsest: critical step toward transparent government!

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

Yikes! I’ve been Twittering and sending e-mails about Google Research’s new Palimpsest service (which hasn’t been formally announced, but which Wired wrote about recently, citing sources within Google), but just realized I hadn’t blogged about it!
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
IMHO, this could be the critical link in achieving the dream I discussed in my […]

More use of mobile social net apps predicted: implications for emergencies

Monday, January 28th, 2008

According to Fierce Wireless (citing a Forrester report), mobile social network applications will become much more widespread in Europe this year. Given our perennial lag time in adopting anything cell-phone wise, this probably means such expanded use will probably happen in the US in several years.
If so, it will give a real boost to the […]

Google.org funds emergency program that sounds very familiar…

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

Tip o’ the hat to David Jara of Motorola for tipping me off about this!

News today that Google.org, Google’s charitable wing (”Google.org aspires to use the power of information and technology to address the global challenges of our age: climate change, poverty and emerging disease”) will give grants totaling $5 million to fund Innovative […]

That’s kewl: Obama says he wants exec. branch transparency

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

OK — I’ll have to chat up the Obama issues folks: ran across a Wired piece about his visit to the Googleplex last fall, when, among other parts of his technology agenda, he told them he’s interested in “.. Implementation of new tools and processes to bring more transparency to the executive branch.” Better […]

Beefed up chemical security could be a win-win

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

With 85% of the United States’ critical infrastructure in private hands, public-private collaboration to protect that infrastructure is critical, yet the chemical industry, utilities and others have not been particularly enthused about these new responsibilities.
Now there’s another imposed on them.
This week, chemical companies and chemical users must file their first reports under
Appendix A of the […]

Bhutto / Google testimony on data accessibility

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

I’m going to hold off on comment about the implications of Bhutto’s assassination for right now, other than to repeat that the Bush Administration has failed to pursue a systems approach to foreign policy.
We’ve got a looong history in this region of steps we’ve taken at one point (i.e. arming the mujahadin in a proxy […]

Homie Awards! 10 homeland security technologies to watch in 2008

Friday, December 21st, 2007

The nominations are in; the 3 judges (me, myself, and the chairman: I) have voted; and here they are, the winners of the 2008 Homies for most promising homeland security technologies for the year to come. CONTINUED….

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