eGov Chatter: 15 UPA Convention Take-Aways from 2008

clutterPut about 100 eGov types in a room together, add a dash of international flavor, timely conversation and insider’s knowledge and stir. It’s a recipe for intrigue, intelligence and inspiration. My kind of magic.

When the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) met in Baltimore for their national conference in 2008, the eGov track proved to be a great locale to pick up the latest buzz about what’s on the horizon for this sector. I’ve found that the challenges large government website managers face put them on the cutting edge for topics touching every enterprise site.
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Congress Online: A Cautionary Tale for Enterprise Web Managers

East side of the US Capitol building. House of Representatives is in the lower-left.

I have just finished reading the Congressional Management Foundation June 2008 draft report “Communicating with Congress” and want to salute the organization and contributors for collaborating on stage-setting research to help lawmakers blaze the next trail in constituent communications.

While the findings related to grassroots advocacy and trust – showcasing a disconnect between the advocacy organizations, lawmakers and citizens — what struck me as the most important part of the study was classic disconnect between Congress’s reputation and the behavior of specific offices. The lessons here hold power for all large decentralized organizations hoping to up their game in web technology.
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12 Tips on Working with Bloggers

img_1As the public affairs units of most organizations are starting to dedicate staff resources to reaching out to bloggers, what are the rules of the road? In the world of PR, this is a new twist on the traditional job of working with the mainstream press and as a practice area it requires skills and tactics that can be quite different.
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