I’ve been reading an article in the New York Times regarding the public competition Netflix has been holding. The competition, named the Netflix Prize, has a prize of US$1 million for the individual or group who can improve their movie/TV recommendations engine by 10%. The article, If you liked this, sure to like that, discusses…
While many governments around the world pursue the ‘one portal’ approach, a few commentators are arguing for a different type of model – many correct doors rather than one big door. This means reaching out to embed government content in the websites citizens choose to visit rather than simply attempting to encourage all web users…
Long-serving public servants are familiar with the challenge of balancing customer, agency and political wishes, with a clear understanding that the role of the public service is to implement the policies of the government of the day and not to be customer advocates or lobbyists. In the commercial sector similar challenges are often faced between…
In August I analysed traffic to our agency’s website in July 2008 using Hitwise’s data measurement service, comparing our share of web traffic against the total to Federal government websites, other government websites and the top websites visited by Australians. The results provided me with a view of how important government websites are in peoples’ online lives –…
Just as organisations are beginning to listen to the conversations about them on forums, in blogs and in online newspaper comments, Twitter has become a powerful and important mechanism for tracking US public opinion during the US Presidential election. In a custom-built application, Twitter has used its search and trending tools to build an updating…
One of the primary changes resulting from the growth of the internet has been to place professional media tools and distribution capabilities in the hands of individuals. Any individual with access to a computer and internet connection can create and distribute prose, poetry, commentary, software or services to millions at little cost. Add a microphone…
Over in California a controversy over the level of public access to public information flared up where the The Bee newspaper in Sacremento published a searchable online database of public sector officials and their salaries. The newspaper simply pulled publicly available information together into a single source – no information was assumed or obtained illegally. This has…
A-Space, an online collaborative space for US intelligence operatives, is planned for launch this month, giving all 16 US intelligence agencies a streamlined and effective tool for sharing information and collaborating – activities that have been criticised as previously lacking across US intelligence initiatives.As reported in FCW.com, in the article, A-Space set to launch this…
James Robertson of Step Two Designs has posted about a survey being conducted by Prescient Digital Media exploring intranet use and adoption plans for Web 2.0 technologies. To participate and receive a copy of the aggregate results (plus a chance to win a US$400 prize) complete the short (10 minute) survey.
Since the release of the report, The power of information (which I’m planning to blog about next week), the UK government has taken enormous steps towards using the internet in more empowering and collaborative ways to improve service offerings, communication and transparency. I’ve blogged previously about the principles for online participation developed for UK civil…
This archive mirrors the original eGov AU blog — Craig’s professional commentary on AI, digital government and technology in public life, running since 2006.
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