Digital.gov /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/authors/rachel-mundstock/ Recent content on Digital.gov Hugo en-us Placeholder Text: Think Outside the Box /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/11/24/placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box/ Mon, 24 Nov 2014 10:00:43 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/11/24/placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box/ The verdict is in. Placeholder text is harmful in search boxes. Searchers are on your site to complete a task. Having placeholder text inside a search box distracts from the task and it reduces the usability and accessibility of the search box. Placeholders look simple, but are in fact very tricky to use. When people Recap of Social Digital Search Webinar /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/10/14/recap-of-social-digital-search-webinar/ Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:17:31 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/10/14/recap-of-social-digital-search-webinar/ Content is no longer limited to .gov sites. As mentioned in a recent blog post, Sharing is Caring, Adding Social Media Accounts to Search, DigitalGov Search uses Flickr, Instagram, and YouTube to populate image and video search results. On September 30, 2014, I presented with Justin Herman from the Social Media Community of Practice about: What The Federal Register: Improving Visitors’ Search Experience on Agency Websites /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/09/24/the-federal-register-improving-visitors-search-experience-on-agency-websites/ Wed, 24 Sep 2014 10:00:55 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/09/24/the-federal-register-improving-visitors-search-experience-on-agency-websites/ The Office of the Federal Register’s mission “informs citizens of their rights and obligations, documents the actions of Federal agencies, and provides a forum for public participation in the democratic process.” As the winner of the Bright Idea Award, FederalRegister.gov is clear and easy to use, but most citizens rarely frequent it. More frequently they Sharing is Caring, Adding Social Media Accounts to Search /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/09/05/sharing-is-caring-adding-social-media-accounts-to-search/ Fri, 05 Sep 2014 10:00:36 -0400 /preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/09/05/sharing-is-caring-adding-social-media-accounts-to-search/ Content is no longer limited to your .gov website. Social media accounts also contain a treasure trove of information relevant to your site’s visitors. Keeping that in mind, DigitalGov Search has worked to bring all your content, wherever it is, to your search results. Finding