Content strategy on Digital.gov

California wildfires guidance for U.S. government websites and social media

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Addressing web and digital communications related to the California wildfires.

Rebuilding CDC.gov

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Learn how the CDC.gov team used a bold “Clean Slate” approach to reimagine the site and meet real user needs.

Reduce, remove, remediate: PDFs and government websites

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

In a recent governmentwide community discussion, we shared tips to remediate the use of PDFs on government websites, focusing on balancing needs, choosing formats, starting fixes, and ensuring documents are accessible for everyone.

Designing a multilingual future: A conversation with Laura Godfrey

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

On the eve of her retirement, Laura Godfrey reflects on multilingualism and equitable access to government information.

An introduction to decommissioning sites

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to decommission a federal agency website when it no longer provides value or meets user needs.

Approaching language translations to provide a better user experience: A Login.gov case study

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Learn how the Login.gov team improved translations and added a new language to enhance their service.

18F project defaults

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

18F collaborated on 31 government digital service projects in 2024, including the IRS Direct File Pilot and Notify.gov. To streamline processes, they shared five default templates for other project teams to adopt and improve efficiency and transparency on their own projects.

Navigating digital acquisitions

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Learn the best practices for agile acquisitions—from building and buying solutions, to overcoming common roadblocks.

Publishing federal sales data: how we used design studios and user testing to develop a user-centered dataset

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The Open Data, Design, and Development team at the Office of Natural Resource and Revenue (ONRR) successfully added federal sales data to the Natural Resources Revenue Data (NRRD) platform using design studios and user testing to create a user-centered dataset. By involving subject matter experts and refining prototypes through feedback, the team delivered the project ahead of schedule while meeting user needs. Future plans included additional usability testing and expanding stakeholder engagement.

Crafting quality content throughout its lifecycle

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Learn about the life cycle of content, how content comes across to the user, and how to develop a content management strategy.

You've launched, now what? Planning for the future of your content

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Creating quality digital content is not a one-time endeavor. Explore these approaches to managing and improving excellent digital content over time.

Are social media influencers right for your digital media campaign?

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Learn how to work with social media influencers to achieve your goals, while accounting for different budgets.

Simplifying manual accessibility testing: How plain language instructions drive compliance

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Testing for accessibility ensures that digital services are usable for everyone. Explore how the Office of Natural Resources and Revenue (ONRR) streamlined their manual testing process with plain language instructions to create a more uniform testing methodology across their agency. By balancing detail with usability and continually updating resources, ONRR empowers both their small team and subject matter experts to meet Section 508 compliance.

An introduction to multilingual glossaries

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:12:00 -0500

Learn how to use multilingual glossaries to share common translations and contribute to consistent communication across government.

Hurricane Helene guidance for U.S. government websites and social media

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Addressing web and digital communications related to Hurricane Helene

Delivering a digital-first public experience: One agency's plan

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Learn how the U.S. General Services Administration is tackling the 100+ requirements of OMB memo M-23-22, Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience.

A journey of improvement: Creating a self-assessment for digital experience

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Memo M-23-22 from the Office of Management and Budget provides guidance to federal agencies on delivering a digital-first public experience. To quantify its compliance with the memo, the Open Data, Design, and Development team at the Department of the Interior created and conducted a self-assessment of its digital products. The team used a scoring spreadsheet to measure compliance across categories like accessibility, design consistency, and mobile responsiveness. The results helped the team develop a plan to prioritize improvements and engage with leadership for support on other initiatives.

Department of Justice recognizes anniversary of executive order to improve access for people with limited English profiency

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The Department of Justice recently marked the 24th anniversary of Executive Order 13166, which aims to improve access to federal services for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Its Civil Rights Division reviewed language access plans across federal agencies, emphasizing progress in hiring and staff training, improving language assistance services, and expanding multilingual content. The department is committed to eliminating language barriers in federal programs, improving communication and access for all communities.

Department of Labor, General Services Administration to centralize government benefits information on USA.gov and USAGov en Español

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In September 2024, Benefits.gov will be discontinued, with its services and information moved to USA.gov and USAGov en Español. This change, which aligns with Executive Order 14058: Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, aims to create a seamless, user-friendly experience for accessing government benefits in both English and Spanish. The new platform, with a focus on equitable access to information, will feature improved navigation and benefit-finding tools.

Reassessing priorities: Adapting to additional work without additional resources

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue’s Open Data, Design, and Development (ODD) team is taking on management of a fourth website, despite being short-staffed. As a result, they have revisited and reprioritized their yearly goals. To do so, they utilized a prioritization matrix, developed a structured impact assessment, and laid out a transition plan. Their process ensured realistic workload adjustments, improved team morale, and highlighted the importance of practical goal-setting, especially when teams are short-staffed.

Introducing the Department of Homeland Security customer experience toolkit

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The Department of Homeland Security’s Customer Experience Directorate developed a customer experience (CX) toolkit to help agencies implement CX strategies using a human-centered design approach. The toolkit offers resources to enhance service delivery, processes, and systems, following a “Ready, Set, Grow” framework for planning and implementation. It aims to serve as a reference for organizations bringing CX practices to their own agencies.

Designing for people with disabilities

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The User Experience (UX) team at USA.gov’s Public Experience Portfolio recently conducted a study to analyze the experiences of individuals who access USA.gov through assistive technology. The team partnered with a local organization to gather insights from a diverse group of participants, many of whom are blind or deaf. The study revealed various habits and challenges faced by these users, such as a preference for mobile sites, difficulty with website carousels, and a reliance on clear headings and action-oriented descriptions. These findings can guide improvements in accessibility, such as clever link labeling and better navigation aids for assistive technology users.

Bridge the gap between policy and implementation: Impactful solutions and strategies for success from Digital.gov's spring 2024 summit

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 10:55:00 -0500

The summit highlighted digital transformation, emphasizing the significance of recent OMB memos for improving accessibility and customer experience.

Digital front door: Expanding access to VA

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

More Veterans are turning to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for healthcare and benefits, accessing these services online through tools like the VA Health and Benefits mobile app and VA.gov. With over 2.28 million app downloads and 17.8 million monthly visitors on VA.gov, these digital tools provide faster, easier, and more inclusive access to VA services. Learn more about how these technologies are often Veterans’ first interaction with VA by watching their latest video, Digital Front Door: Expanding Access to VA.

Case study: Removing barriers to applying for a presidential pardon

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

At the Department of Justice, Access DOJ and the Office of the Pardon Attorney (PARDON) partnered to simplify and streamline the presidential pardon application process. By conducting usability testing and gathering feedback, they identified key issues with the existing application, such as its complexity and length. See how redesigning the forms to be more accessible and understandable led to a more efficient process for both applicants and staff.

Three tips for using meta descriptions

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

At USA.gov and USAGov en Español, the goal is to make content more useful to the public, and meta descriptions are one way to help people quickly find the government information they’re looking for. These brief summaries of webpage content appear in search engine results to entice users to click through, attracting visitors to agency websites. Regularly updating these descriptions based on user data can enhance their effectiveness. Read in more detail about their three tips to create effective meta descriptions: identify commonly searched keywords, write engaging and actionable descriptions, and ensure each one is unique.

One year with the new USAGov

Tue, 14 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

It has been a year since USA.gov and USAGov en Español were relaunched using human-centered design principles. Using task backlog, the USAGov team has addressed content gaps, improved discoverability, and implemented technical updates. Through usability tests, visitor comments, and click behavior the team was able to unravel and respond to user feedback and unmet needs, leading to noticeable increases in visitor satisfaction and task accomplishment. Moving forward, the focus will shift to enhancing public engagement with the government, improving the search for benefits-related content, and exploring interactive and personalized user experiences.

Progress towards delivering a digital-first public experience

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Each year, more than 400 million individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and local governments get information and services from about 430 federal agencies and sub-agencies. The Biden-Harris administration is driving a bold vision for how government agencies serve their customers digitally with OMB’s ten-year roadmap for a modern digital experience. Agencies have already made significant strides. Learn about recent successes by the IRS, CDC, NASA, and FEMA, and how OMB will continue to collaborate with agencies to ensure ongoing improvement in digital government services.

How USAGov uses data to improve content

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Each month, USAGov’s content designers spend many hours ensuring that the content on USA.gov and USAGov en Español is up-to-date, accurate, and meets user needs. Learn how their team does holistic reviews of each topic section based on a rolling calendar with the goal of updating all content at least every 6 months.

Optimizing the federal digital experience: aligning content governance, coordination, and database development

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0500

This blog post dives into the details of building a dynamic content database and audit for onrr.gov. Learn how effective subject matter expert (SME) coordination, strategic content planning, and application of visualization tools contribute to enhancing content governance and user experience on a federal website.

Timeless top 10 best practices for great government websites

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0500

While the field of federal web management continues to evolve, the core best practices have remained essentially unchanged for two decades.

An introduction to working with social media influencers

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 13:12:00 -0500

Learn how to partner with social media influencers and design, implement, and measure an influencer program.

The CDC Clear Communication Index

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 15:59:00 -0500

The CDC Clear Communication Index is a research-based tool to help you develop and assess public communication materials.

FY 23 Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 14:56:00 -0500

Report: Assessment of compliance with Section 508 requirements.

GSA Issues Report to Congress Highlighting Need for Improvement in Federal Government Section 508 Compliance

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 14:33:00 -0500

The report, the FY23 Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment, evaluates reporting entities’ adherence to the criteria established by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in coordination with GSA, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the U.S. Access Board (USAB). It provides a baseline and recommendations for strengthening compliance initiatives and enhancing Section 508 activities across the federal government.

An introduction to content

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 15:44:00 -0500

Best practices for creating clear, useful, digital content for federal websites and digital services.

Delivering on 21st Century IDEA: A case study from the GSA SmartPay team (Part 3)

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 08:04:00 -0500

A GSA SmartPay product owner shares her experience designing user-centered, accessible content for multiple audiences.

Delivering on 21st Century IDEA: A case study from the GSA SmartPay team (Part 2)

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 08:02:00 -0500

A GSA SmartPay product owner shares his experiences as a first-time product owner in a government agile development project.

Delivering on 21st Century IDEA: A case study from the GSA SmartPay team (Part 1)

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:52:00 -0500

The GSA SmartPay program, the largest government charge card and commercial payment solutions program in the world, celebrated their 25th anniversary by launching three new websites with a user-centered, agile approach.

Moving to .gov

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:13:00 -0500

If you’re moving to .gov from another top-level domain, like .com, .org, or .us, here are some best practices to help you plan that transition.

Defining benchmarks and targets for intranet KPIs

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 16:41:00 -0500

Discover the keys to intranet success by harmonizing objectives, metrics, benchmarks, and targets. Elevate your organization’s intranet to new heights!

PlainLanguage.gov

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 12:14:00 -0500

A resource to help federal employees write in plain language and comply with the Plain Writing Act of 2010.

An introduction to structured content

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 13:38:00 -0500

Publishing content as modular pieces of information that are tagged with machine-readable descriptions can transform how people find, understand, share, use, and reuse government information.

Celebrating 20 years of USAGov en Español

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:08:00 -0500

USAGov en Español is excited to celebrate their 20th anniversary this month! Since 2003, the website has been a trusted guide to government information and services for Spanish speakers. Explore this timeline of USAGov en Español’s milestones, name changes, and accomplishments as they’ve served Spanish speakers and federal partners over the past two decades.

An introduction to trust

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 12:29:00 -0500

Guidance on how to build government websites that people can trust.

Why the American People Deserve a Digital Government

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:26:00 -0500

OMB recently released new policy guidance for government that includes a variety of actions and standards to help federal agencies design, develop, and deliver modern websites and digital services. Memo M-23-22, Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience, will make it seamless for the public to obtain government information and services online, and help agencies fully implement the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (21st Century IDEA).

Creating a functional inventory database for website content audits

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 08:06:00 -0500

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue recently completed a site-wide content inventory and audit. Here is how they modified an existing content inventory spreadsheet to act as a functional database for enhancing content throughout the site.

NASA Releases First Season of Spanish-language Podcast

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 19:56:00 -0500

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, NASA is releasing new content for Universo curioso de la NASA, the agency’s first Spanish-language podcast. A five-episode season will start Tuesday, September 19, with new episodes released weekly. In each episode, Universo curioso will highlight the contributions of NASA’s Hispanic and Latino workforce to the agency’s groundbreaking work in Earth and space exploration. The season features interviews with NASA experts, including an astronaut, a space weather scientist, an astrochemist, and oceanographers. Episodes focus on some of NASA’s top missions, bringing the wonder of exploration, space technology, and scientific discoveries to Spanish-speaking audiences around the world.

From pageviews to progress

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 15:05:00 -0500

A 10-year recap of GSA’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP) highlights its impact on federal government agencies and the public, high-level observations using government-wide website analytics and trends, and new goals set for the next decade to help generate useful answers to meaningful questions to make government websites better.

A conversation about content audits

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 10:12:00 -0500

Content audits can be tedious. Two content designers discuss why we do them anyway, and how to get started.

Making the case for sentence case on USAGov’s websites

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 09:53:00 -0500

What is the best case style to use for titles and headings? For the new USAGov websites, we discuss the decision to use sentence case on USAGov products.

4 steps writers and editors can take to demonstrate value

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 21:00:00 -0500

As plain language writers and editors, we need to demonstrate the value we bring to projects. This writeup explains how to calculate the costs of our work and articulate its value.

How to choose the right metrics for your intranet

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 15:25:00 -0500

Explore key metrics to optimize your agency’s intranet to foster improved user engagement, experience, and overall satisfaction.

Making the big move: Search in support of federal web modernization

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 16:51:00 -0500

In this special report, we discuss a website redesign’s nine phases and their impact on search.

Making the big move - Special report: Search in support of federal web modernization

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 12:43:00 -0500

For the past several years Search.gov has reported each year on the top public needs based on the search terms they used. This special report will take a different approach. It still offers a high level view of the public experience of seeking services and information from the government. But it also tells the story of change, and how these changes affect search and findability.

Why vote.gov supports multiple languages

Tue, 16 May 2023 10:48:00 -0500

summary

A digital accessibility catalyst for your next policy refresh

Mon, 15 May 2023 14:51:00 -0500

Use GSA’s IT Accessibility Policy Framework to update digital accessibility language in your agency’s policies.

Introduction to translation technology

Thu, 11 May 2023 15:28:00 -0500

What is translation technology? This introductory resource will help you understand how and when to use translation technology to provide meaningful access for people with limited English proficiency.

The art of storytelling in a hybrid world

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 09:52:00 -0500

Combined with technology and audience awareness, our increasingly digital, hybrid world can still leverage that in-person charm through the art of storytelling.

Introducing the new USA.gov

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 09:34:00 -0500

We’re excited to share that the new USA.gov and USAGov en Español are live. However, we’re not finished. See what we’ll be working on in the future.

Who's your website manager?

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:29:00 -0500

The importance of HR and accountability to improving digital service delivery at federal agencies.

Plain language on onrr.gov: coordination and implementation with web content owners

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:28:00 -0500

Strategies, examples, and lessons learned from coordinating with content owners to enhance plain language on onrr.gov.

A happy compromise between people-first and plain language

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 12:31:00 -0500

Find out how the National Institute of Corrections is using people-first plain language in its communications. See what words and phrases they’re changing.

Building Beta: The Foundation

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 10:41:00 -0500

The USAGov program has been developing a new iteration of our bilingual sites, USA.gov and USAGov en Español. In the process of building beta.USA.gov and beta.USA.gov en Español, we’ve been rethinking our work style and priorities. Follow the “Building Beta” series to learn how we’re reimagining the way we approach product management, usability, accessibility, content creation, analytics, and outreach.

Understanding design in 10 questions

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 10:08:00 -0500

How the discipline of design can help your agency improve customer experience.

Digital governance at GSA

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 17:31:00 -0500

A peek into GSA’s internal processes for managing their websites and improving digital experience.

Three Tips for Using Facebook and Instagram Stories

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 10:57:00 -0500

At USA.gov and USAGov en Español, we’re always looking for better ways to connect people to government information through social media. Using stories has helped us increase our engagement rate and our number of followers as we deliver helpful information to people. Stories may be a good addition to your agency’s social media strategy, too. These three tips can help you get started.

Strengthening information accessibility for consumers with limited English proficiency

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 14:44:00 -0500

We listened to feedback from people who use our materials in various languages to make sure people could find the information they need most, in the language they prefer. Now we’re relaunching our pages in multiple languages.

How to manage a federal website

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 09:13:00 -0500

Managing government websites is a targeted exercise. Here are 5 steps to help you build and maintain a successful one.

Revisiting who uses ONRR.gov: refining personas

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 11:45:00 -0500

We’ve conducted several studies where we’ve noticed gaps in our onrr.gov personas, so we decided to revisit them.

Accessibility Testing for onrr.gov

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 15:27:00 -0500

How do you make sure a website is accessible? This blog post outlines the four steps the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR - pronounced like "honor") at the U.S. Department of the Interior took to verify accessibility.

Sunsetting Go.USA.gov: Final User Statistics

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:05:00 -0500

The digital landscape has changed significantly since we launched the Go.USA.gov service in 2009. Over the last two years the team looked carefully at the program holistically, taking into consideration the future of the program, the current landscape related to using shortened URLs and alignment with strategic business goals. In early 2022 we made the difficult decision to initiate steps to sunset the service.

GSA Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) Program

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 18:11:00 -0500

Since 2012, over 200 Presidential Innovation Fellows have supported initiatives at more than 50 agencies, providing expert advice in specialized disciplines such as artificial intelligence, data strategy, product management, human-centered design, software development, and digital strategy. These efforts have enhanced agencies’ abilities to provide the best customer experience for their stakeholders and the public. The PIF program plans to celebrate the anniversary over the next year with activities to highlight the program’s impact and community since it launched.

Community Research Explores Ways To Improve Access To Multilingual Content

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 11:31:00 -0500

A group from the Multilingual Community noticed inconsistencies in access to languages other than English across government websites, and have started working on a solution.

Content Design for beta.ADA.gov: Writing for Action and Flexibility

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 18:00:00 -0500

Sunsetting Go.USA.gov: Frequently Asked Questions

Tue, 24 May 2022 08:08:00 -0500

Technology-boosting TMF Investments Deliver Benefits for the American Public

Mon, 23 May 2022 11:00:00 -0500

The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) is working to transform the way the government uses technology to deliver for the American public in an equitable, secure and user-friendly way. It strategically invests in priority IT modernization projects that are aligned with the fast pace of changing technology and agency needs. Here are a few examples of how the TMF has invested in multiple projects that are helping many agencies deliver what people need when they need.

10 Tips to Create, Maintain, and Present Non-English Digital Content: A Q&A with Michael Mulé

Mon, 23 May 2022 08:30:00 -0500

This question and answer session for our webinar, Language Connections: Tips to Create, Maintain, and Present Non-English Digital Content, can help you improve access to your multilingual digital content.

Sunshine Week: How GSA Supports Open Government Principles

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 18:49:00 -0500

Sunshine Week (March 13-19, 2022) celebrates the Government in the Sunshine Act, which promotes greater transparency in government activities. Our mission at GSA is to deliver effective and efficient government services for the American people. To do so, we have to be transparent and accessible—by opening meetings to the public, ensuring that federal buildings and facilities are fully accessible to all people, and making information on documents or pages (web pages, PDFs, newsletters, etc.) open and accessible. Learn about some of our initiatives that best display these principles.

Creating a New Way for People To Discover Government Benefits

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 19:47:00 -0500

summ

Lessons from the 2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 21:17:00 -0500

Lessons from the 2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:26:00 -0500

This event recap highlights best practices, a short case study video, and examples of federal web content that received both high and low scores in the 2021 Plain Language Report Card.

Webinar Recap: How To Best Connect With Your Spanish-speaking Audience During an Emergency

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 10:44:00 -0500

In this panel discussion, experts from different agencies shared how they’ve used social media to reach Hispanic audiences during emergencies and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Customer Experience (CX) Symposium Series: A Thought Incubator for Federal CX Practitioners

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 11:21:00 -0500

What is the past, present, and future of public sector customer experience practice? The CX Symposium series gathers practitioners to map our way.

Three Ways USAGov Outreach Can Help with Your Agency's Next Campaign

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 16:56:00 -0500

Webinar Recap: U.S. Web Design System October 2021 Monthly Call

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 10:26:00 -0500

In this recap of the October 2021 U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) Monthly Call, the USWDS team shares how their community can help teams solve problems together, and what tools and channels we can use to ask questions, get answers, and provide useful feedback.

The Weekly Ship: What It Is, Why Useful, and How To Create Your Own

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 12:52:00 -0500

summary

USAGov en Español Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 21:05:00 -0500

Since 2003, one program in GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) has been leading the way in which the government serves the Spanish-speaking community in the U.S. That program is USAGov en Español, the official guide to government information and services in Spanish.

Digital Meets Culture: Getting Your Culture in Line With Your Digital Strategy

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 09:40:00 -0500

Learn how digital service teams in government navigate through the currents of organizational culture and implement change at their agencies.

Building a Bureau-Wide Usability Collaboration Group: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Geological Survey

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 19:05:00 -0500

Learn about the U.S. Geological Survey’s Usability Collaboration Area in this short interview with the group’s organizer.

5 Tips for Implementing Citizen Development in Your RPA Program

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 13:44:00 -0500

The Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Community of Practice highlights five key points for implementing RPA citizen developers, as shared by federal subject matter experts James Gregory (General Services Administration), Frank Wood (Defense Logistics Agency), and Russ Kuehn (Social Security Administration) during their recent webinars with the Federal RPA Community of Practice.

6 Ways Translation Glossaries Help Agencies Succeed In Sharing Information

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 17:43:00 -0500

Learn how multilingual glossaries set your content translations up for success by maintaining consistency and lightening the workload for future translations.

GSA Launches New Innovation Adoption Community of Practice

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 15:55:00 -0500

GSA is launching the Innovation Adoption Community of Practice on Digital.gov to connect those who embrace innovative methods and practices that improve government service delivery.

Multilingual Huddle: Designing for Translation

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 12:19:00 -0500

In this webinar, Laura Godfrey and Fedora Braverman share tips for translating content in the digital context.

Developing a Data-Driven Roadmap

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 17:00:00 -0500

A Presidential Innovation Fellow working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs shares how complex organizations can create data-driven roadmaps.

Making It Easier for People to Find Federal Agencies

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 19:14:00 -0500

8 Ways Community of Practice (CoP) Managers Can Improve Member Engagement on Listservs

Fri, 21 May 2021 09:31:00 -0500

Are you a Digital.gov Community of Practice (CoP) lead? Find yourself participating in a CoP discussion and wondering what else you can do? We’ve got some suggestions.

Building a User-Centered Data Strategy

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 16:30:00 -0500

Building a User-Centered Data Strategy—Developing a data strategy is challenging, but 18F can help agencies with the process of creating an effective one. Our principles of user-centered design, agile, and iterative delivery can increase an agency’s chance for success in using data more effectively.

Next for the U.S. Web Design System

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 15:13:00 -0500

What’s Next for the U.S. Web Design System—In 2020, we brought together researchers, designers, engineers, and policymakers to conduct research across dozens of federal agencies to help support emergency response efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we released a new and exciting report and strategy that outlines what’s next for the design system and our community.

Five Insider Secrets to Engaging Emails

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 10:39:00 -0500

Engaging readers who receive hundreds of emails a day is not easy, but it starts with the most critical starting point—empathy for their time.

Join the Communicators

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 18:49:00 -0500

Improve written and verbal communication to make government more effective.

2 Lessons Tech Leaders Can Learn From Unprecedented Health Research

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 18:00:00 -0500

Presidential Innovation Fellows believe that representation, communication, and data fuel a strong product launch. Here’s how we put them to work at the National Institutes of Health.

When’s the best time to tweet? @USAGovEspanol experiments with Twitter

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 07:55:00 -0500

Transform Federal Business Operations: Join the RPA Community of Practice

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 16:00:00 -0500

Federal employees interested in robotic process automation should join the RPA Community of Practice as their agencies commence their RPA programs.

Giving Users the Information They Crave: Data and Analytics Tips From USAGov en Español

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Bringing Our Human(ity) to Work: 5 Ingredients for a Delightful Town Hall

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 10:00:00 -0500

How to design impactful and engaging Town Hall or large group meetings.

Building Trust in a Public Health Crisis

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 18:00:00 -0500

"Diga o marque 2": USAGov en Español’s New Approach to Interactive Voice Response

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Experimenting with SpecialAnnouncement Markup (Updated June 09, 2020)

Mon, 11 May 2020 12:00:00 -0500

What USA.gov learned during its pilot with SpecialAnnouncement markup to make COVID-19 information easier to find in search results, now updated to reflect changes by major search engines.

Section 508 IT Accessibility

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:00:00 -0500

To support people working to enhance access to federal information technology (IT), we identify and promote best practices for compliance with Section 508 law, and conformance to the Revised 508 Standards.

Revised 508 Standards Roadmap

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:27:00 -0500

Follow the Revised 508 Standards to ensure your information and communication technology (ICT) is accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Join the Plain Language

Wed, 03 Feb 2016 10:58:53 -0400

Promote the use of plain language to provide better service to the public.

Join the Multilingual

Fri, 21 Feb 2014 04:58:10 -0400

Expand and improve digital content in languages other than English.

Content Management Systems Used by Government Agencies

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:30:35 -0400

A list of Content Management Systems (CMS) used by government agencies.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

18F

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We help government agencies fix technical problems, build products, and improve how government serves the public through technology.

PlainLanguage.gov

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Guidance on the use of plain language for government communications and training for federal employees.

Presidential Innovation Fellows

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We help government agencies fix technical problems, build products, and improve how government serves the public through technology.

The Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Get help with the PRA, planning and submitting an information request, and finding your agency’s PRA contact.

U.S. Digital Service

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We deploy small, responsive groups of designers, engineers, product managers, and bureaucracy specialists to work with and empower civil servants.

An advanced approach to accessibility

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 08:00:00 -0500

A deeper look at accessibility: what to do, how to do it, and why it matters.

Bilingual Glossaries, Dictionaries, and Style Guides

Wed, 11 Jun 2014 09:55:00 -0500

Multilingual resources to standardize the use of various languages across government.

Join the Web Managers

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 02:31:00 -0500

Create a better online experience for the public alongside government web content managers.

Required web content and links

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:37:26 -0400

Various policies require you to have certain content—or provide links to content—from specific places on your website.

10x

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Provides funding for new technology projects or products across government, from the TTS office of investments.

DotGov Registry

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We make it easy to register and manage a .gov domain for US-based government organizations.

Human-Centered Design Guide Series

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A series of guides to help you understand and practice human-centered design.

Login.gov

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

An identity management service that provides secure and private online access to participating government programs.

Open Opportunities

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Discover opportunities across government that will help you build and make connections.

Pages

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A publishing platform that helps federal partners launch, maintain and manage Government websites.

The Lab at OPM

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A team of designers with diverse backgrounds that help agencies address complex challenges and build human-centered design capacity across the federal government.

Tips for Starting Your Customer Experience Journey

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Low-cost, low-lift actions that any federal employee can take to improve customer experience.

An introduction to federal website standards

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 10:12:00 -0500

The federal website standards help agencies provide high-quality, consistent digital experiences for everyone.

Requirements for delivering a digital-first public experience

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 15:00:00 -0500

Learn how to implement 21st Century IDEA to design and deliver better websites and digital services.

Spring 2024 Community Summit

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0500

Digital service experts across the federal government will share case studies and best practices on delivering a digital-first public experience.

USWDS Monthly Call - November 2023

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:00:00 -0500

The USWDS team will continue sharing our progress to improve ongoing research, publishing results and addressing recent findings.

USWDS Monthly Call - October 2023

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:00:00 -0500

This month, we’ll share progress and findings from our recent effort to improve our ongoing research practice.

USWDS Monthly Call - November 2022

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Continuing our look at user profile patterns

USWDS Monthly Call - October 2022

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 14:00:00 -0500

We’ll discuss our approach to developing User Profile design patterns, look at some specific guidance, and talk about why it’s so important.

Improve Your Website With User Testing

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Get tips and lessons learned from the Environmental Protection Agency on how to conduct user testing to improve customer experience.

USWDS Monthly Call - September 2022

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:00:00 -0500

How do we help users find content in their preferred language? Join us as we take a closer look at the language selection patterns we’re developing for USWDS.

2022 Federal Plain Language Summit

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 10:30:00 -0500

Join the best and brightest plain language practitioners from across the federal government.

Increase Your Impact With Plain Language

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Get tips and lessons learned from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on using plain language to increase their impact and influence.

Change the Way Digital Work Gets Done

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Learn about what a Digital End-to-End Efficiency (DEEE) Framework is and how you can get started digitizing and automating your digital processes.

Plain Language + Compassion Help People in Crisis

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Meet the content strategists who worked to transform FindTreatment.gov to connect people in crisis with the help that they need.

Language Connections: Tips to Create, Maintain, and Present Non-English Digital Content

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Tips to help you improve access to your non-English digital content.

Results of the 2021 Federal Report Card

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 14:00:00 -0500

David Lipscomb from the Center for PL will review the results of this year’s Federal Plain Language Report Card and answer questions.

Successful Strategies for Telework and Hybrid Work Environments

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Learn from and share with other federal colleagues from across the government strategies for succeeding at working, managing, supervising, collaborating, communicating, and more.

How To Best Connect With Your Spanish-speaking Audience During an Emergency

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 14:00:00 -0500

The Multilingual Community of Practice is hosting a panel to share some successful social media strategies that you can use to connect with your Spanish-speaking audience during emergencies.

2021 Federal Plain Language Summit

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 10:00:00 -0500

On 9/21/21, PLAIN’s Fourth Federal PL Summit showcases federal employees’ plain language projects. Topics include COVID-19 agency responses, accessibility, user experience, and career enhancement.

FedRAMP & DAP Case Study Part 2: Reporting and Decision-Making

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 14:00:00 -0500

In this second part of our analytics case study series, we’ll address how to pull reporting and conduct analysis through the lens of your analytics strategy.

SocialGov Summer Sessions 2021

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 14:00:00 -0500

If you’re a federal employee, join us to learn about both intellectual property (8/25) and rules of conduct (8/26) in your agency’s social media.

FedRAMP & DAP Case Study Part 1: Assessing Analytics Strategy

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 14:00:00 -0500

In this two-part Analytics Case Study, we’ll speak with the GSA’s FedRAMP team about their analytics strategy, data collection, reporting, and subsequent decision-making for a new site launch.

Digital Meets Culture: Getting Your Culture in Line With Your Digital Strategy

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Join Digital.gov’s Web Managers Community as they host a discussion with panelists from the Lab at OPM, National Institutes of Health, Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, and Presidential Innovation Fellows. The panel will discuss how to align culture and digital strategy to build better digital services.

Using Plain Language To Tell Our Stories

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Learn how to tell a story and figure out what role plain language plays in storytelling.

Digital Strategy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Q&A with Rob Flaherty, White House Director of Digital Strategy

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 11:00:00 -0500

Join us for a conversation with Robert Flaherty, a digital native leading digital strategy at the White House.

Accessible Digital Content: Tips and Tricks

Wed, 26 May 2021 14:00:00 -0500

This webinar will present and demonstrate tips and tricks to address several common accessibility errors and issues that occur during digital content creation.

How Testing Your Documents Can Improve Plain Language Compliance

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Usability testing isn’t only for websites. Come work with Dr. Ginny Redish and try out three techniques for quick and easy ways to test the usability of your documents.

Artificial Intelligence for Homeland Security: Developing the Strategy

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:00:00 -0500

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will present the work that led to the creation of the DHS AI Strategy to interagency partners.

Tag Managers Part 2: Configuration Framework

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 14:00:00 -0500

This session will help DAP users configure and use their tag manager, to augment their reporting on more advanced interactions with their websites.

Tag Managers Part 1: The Data Layer

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:00:00 -0500

This session will help the audience expand analysis capabilities by using the tag manager data layer!

Practical Tips for Accessible Content and Multilingual Websites

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 14:00:00 -0500

In this talk, we’ll focus on content creation and how accessibility supports multilingual work.

2020 Federal Plain Language Summit

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 10:00:00 -0500

Join us for discussion from government and private-sector leaders on how to advance plain language in government communications. Hear lessons learned and victories of every size.

USWDS Monthly Call - October 2020

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 14:30:00 -0500

In this talk, we will uncover some of these tricks, and show what we all can do to assure that deceptive design patterns stay out of the sites we build.

18F De-risking Guides

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 15:34:00 -0500

The Federal Field Guide to De-risk Government Technology offers guidance to federal agencies on how to structure software development teams, write contracts, and oversee agile software activities to reduce risks and improve outcomes for end-users.

Plain Language Basics: Online Workshop

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 13:00:00 -0500

Take this three-hour online workshop to learn how to write and edit in plain language.

Plain Language Basics: Online Workshop

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 14:00:00 -0500

Take this three-hour online workshop to learn how to write and edit in plain language.

How USAGov en Español Uses Quantitative and Qualitative Data to Meet the Needs of Its Audience

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 14:00:00 -0500

In this workshop, we will show how USAGov en Español collects and analyzes data from across several social media channels and the USAGov Contact Center to design and improve content and outreach strategies.

Tapping Into SEO: How Government Websites Can Improve Content Reach

Wed, 20 May 2020 15:00:00 -0500

Implementing a few easy steps for research and search engine optimization can help boost your content and get it in front of the right audience.

The Average American Reader Needs You to Write (Even More) Clearly

Wed, 13 May 2020 14:00:00 -0500

Learn about the skills and needs of American readers, how we are failing our audiences, and ways to do better.

Promote Continuity to Better Support Customer Journeys

Tue, 12 May 2020 17:00:00 -0500

This week, we’re exploring what it means to promote continuity, and we’re taking a look at ways to use service design to deliver a great experience.

Connecting Americans to Coronavirus Information Online

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 10:00:00 -0500

The American people need access to the most up-to-date public health guidance and information on coronavirus testing facilities. To help Americans find coronavirus information online, incorporate Schema.org’s new standard tags into all web pages related to COVID-19.

Let’s Talk Shop: How USAGov Outreach Connects With Agency Partners

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 15:00:00 -0500

USAGov Outreach connects with agency partners in a variety of ways—if you’re from a federal agency looking for new ways to reach your audience, learn about partnering with USAGov!

Listen to Customers by Asking the Right Questions

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 14:00:00 -0500

This week, we’re exploring what it means to listen, and we’re taking a look at ways to use feedback to drive continuous improvement.

The Intersection Between Plain Language and 508 Compliance

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 14:00:00 -0500

We’ll discuss how plain language intersects with 508 compliance requirements to make federal electronic documents and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

Spring Cleaning Tips for Web Content

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0500

This week, we’re providing a few tips for tidying up redundant, outdated, and trivial content.

Writing for the Accessible Web

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:00:00 -0500

Watch this special presentation featuring 18f Content Strategist, Ryan Johnson, where he discusses how you can effectively write accessible web content.

Learning Culture: 10 Personalized Employee Experiences

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 19:00:00 -0500

Employee experience solutions begin with exploring small changes with how we experience work on an everyday cadence.

Readability Audits of Government Websites with Katherine Spivey

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 14:00:00 -0500

In this meeting, we’ll talk about readability audits and formulas and how they work—and don’t work—to improve web content and the users’ experience.

Making a Mobile-Friendly Website Using the ADAPT Model

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 15:00:00 -0500

The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (21st Century IDEA) requires federal websites to be “fully functional and usable on common mobile devices.” Mobile-friendliness, however, can mean a variety of things, depending on the perspective of a user. David Fern, co-lead of the MobileGov Community and the Federal Crowdsource Mobile Testing Program, knows a lot about making websites and content mobile-friendly. This webinar gives you insights into his approach—the ADAPT Model—which looks to ensure that websites are mobile-friendly:

Improving the Experience of Federal Grant Reporting

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 15:00:00 -0500

The 10x Federal Grant Reporting project team at GSA is investigating opportunities to make the grant reporting process more efficient.

10 Employee Engagement Experiences to Foster Collaboration

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 09:00:00 -0500

How do we create an agile federal culture that’s more inclusive, insightful, and efficient? Explore 10 teamwork engagement experiences with your agency to foster collaboration.

Plain Language in 2020

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 14:00:00 -0500

A look ahead at the coming year, and what we’ll accomplish together.

U.S. Web Design System: November Monthly Call

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 14:30:00 -0500

Join Dan Williams, U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) product lead, in our monthly call as he walks through the design system and answers your questions.

Ginny Redish: How to Collaborate on Strategies

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:00:00 -0500

How does content strategy mesh with business, user experience (UX), and a marketing strategy?

The National Language Service Corps Can Fulfill Your Translation Needs

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 13:00:00 -0500

An increase in demand for multilingual digital content, shrinking budgets, and rising translation costs have impacted federal agencies trying to offer information and services in languages other than English. Learn how the National Service Language Corps (NLSC) can help.

SocialGov Talks: Tips for LinkedIn Content Strategy, with Matt Ross

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 15:00:00 -0500

Matt Ross, of LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions Government & Advocacy team, will share tips and best practices on how to improve your agency’s use of content to maximize engagement with your core audience.

Get Your Idea Funded Through 10x

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 09:00:00 -0500

Introducing a new investment fund for technology products in the federal government

Building Trust with Users Through Open Communication and Feedback

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 14:00:00 -0500

A look at how FEMA responds to user needs and bugs in their app development.

Making tough content choices

Mon, 20 May 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Making tough content choices is user-centered. Having no content for a certain subject is often better for the user than having outdated, misleading, or erroneous content.

18F Guide to Product Management

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 17:34:00 -0500

Best practices on doing product management well

18F Methods

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 17:25:00 -0500

A collection of tools that describe how teams can put human-centered design into practice.

Deep Dive: How a Health Tech Sprint Pioneered an AI Ecosystem

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 13:00:00 -0500

Seven teams created digital tools that help in finding experimental therapies for patients, and for clinical trials to recruit new patients.

Responding to the Federal Plain Language Report Card

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 14:00:00 -0500

We will discuss the Federal Plain Language Report Card and how to address the issues the report card brings up.

Mobile Development Strategies

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 12:30:00 -0500

The following is a list of the most common mobile development strategies.

A Guide to Creating Mobile-Friendly Websites

Sat, 29 Sep 2018 12:30:00 -0500

Based on a recent six-month study, this guide outlines the top five practices needed to improve the mobile-friendliness of federal websites: the optimization of JavaScript, CSS, and images, caching, and pop-ups.

How One Team is Making the Transition to Agile

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 11:36:00 -0500

A hybrid approach of waterfall and agile practices is helping the USGS make the transition to agile.

Creating Videos in Languages Other Than English

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 12:00:00 -0500

Join the Multilingual and Video Production Pros Communities of Practice for a talk about a video the CFPB created, for a Spanish speaking audience.

New USAGov Program Aims to Help Agencies Market Within the Federal Government

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 12:00:00 -0500

The Outreach and Marketing team from USAGov helps agencies amplify their key messages through a variety of channels.

Redesigning an Intranet Site: Final Stages, Launch, and Lessons Learned

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 12:00:00 -0500

Helpful lessons from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) on the redesign of an intranet.

Why Your Team Needs Its Own Style Guide and Where to Start

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 10:00:00 -0500

Learn how creating your own style guide can help facilitate development for agency websites. Review best practices, lessons learned, and examples from the U.S. Web Design System, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Using Journey Mapping to Streamline Processes Across Agencies

Mon, 05 Feb 2018 11:52:00 -0400

How one team used journey mapping to improve the customer experience for newly naturalized citizens attempting to travel abroad.

Learn About the Updated IT Accessibility Standards

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 09:32:00 -0400

Effective January 18, 2018, the revised 508 standards modernize the federal government’s IT accessibility standards and bring us into alignment with governments around the world.

Making Customer Satisfaction Data Actionable at the Peace Corps

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 09:30:00 -0400

Learn how measuring customer experience helped inform and guide website development at Peace Corps.

3 Ways to Manage Research Projects Remotely

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 16:28:00 -0400

Being a remote team doesn’t mean you should forgo any of your research rituals. It means finding different ways to do them.

The Data Briefing: How to Build a Chatbot in a Weekend

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 15:40:00 -0400

As chatbots have become more popular, some online sites will let you create a chatbot with little or no programming.

Slack AMA Connect Standards Team with Public

Mon, 25 Sep 2017 15:47:04 -0400

The Standards team hosted their first AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the public in August. Here’s a breakdown of the big topics discussed during the chat.

Managing Custom Software Development in Government When You're Not a Software Engineer

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 16:10:00 -0400

As custom software development becomes integral to accomplishing any program’s mission, many managers in government find themselves faced with handling the unfamiliar: overseeing the design and implementation of a digital product that is functional, user-friendly, and necessary for realizing your program’s mission.

A Conversation With ITIF About the State of Federal Government Websites

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 11:00:00 -0400

Since it’s been nearly six months since their report was released, we wanted to check in with ITIF and see what they’ve learned, what they’ve heard from agencies and what their future plans are to build on this research.

USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov Measure Content Efficiency With New KPI Metric

Tue, 12 Sep 2017 12:14:34 -0400

This post was originally published on the USA.gov blog.

CFPB Serves up Financial Tips to Seniors

Mon, 11 Sep 2017 10:00:44 -0400

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Meals on Wheels America have created multilingual educational resources about financial scams that target the elderly which can be easily distributed to seniors in the communities they serve, and downloaded or ordered in bulk for free by the general public. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Consumer Education &

USDA FoodKeeper App Update Expands Content Offerings

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 03:59:14 -0400

The USDA’s multilingual FoodKeeper app has been updated to include three options for receiving food recall updates and expands storage timelines to over 500 products. This post was originally published on the USDA blog. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced new updates to its popular FoodKeeper application that will provide users with new access to

HIV.gov’s 6 Ways to Stay Social Media Savvy

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 02:49:14 -0400

This post was originally published on the HIV.gov blog. Editor’s Note: At HIV.gov, our team calls include a weekly update on digital trends. These updates allow us to stay current and inform our work. We recently asked HIV.gov’s former digital strategist to suggest ways our HIV partners can stay up to date with social media trends.

NIST Publishes NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 12:00:51 -0400

Categorizing and Describing Cybersecurity Work for the Nation The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) is pleased to announce the release of Special Publication 800-181, the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework. This publication serves as a fundamental reference to support a workforce capable of meeting an organization’s cybersecurity needs. It provides organizations with a common, consistent

NIST Crafts Next-Generation Safeguards for Information Systems and the Internet of Things

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 02:00:13 -0400

Information systems—from communications platforms to internet-connected devices—require both security and privacy safeguards to work successfully and protect users in our increasingly complex and interconnected world. Toward these ends, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a new draft revision of its widely used Special Publication (SP) 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Information

By the Numbers: Why Video Is Effective

Mon, 07 Aug 2017 01:54:45 -0400

At HIV.gov, we’re often asked if videos are effective tools for communicating HIV prevention and treatment information. Our experience, the work of our partners, and current research continue to support the use of video for informing and empowering individuals.

The Cutting EDGE: New Virtual Training Prepares First Responders for Active Shooter Incidents

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:14:24 -0400

Amidst the chaos of an active shooter event, preparedness is key to a seamless, swift and effective response—and a new video game funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory just might do the trick.

Have You Critiqued Your Critique Process?

Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:00:00 -0400

DEMO Whenever I hear someone complain about the process of a design critique, I’m always a bit surprised. Blame it on the fact

Making World War I Relevant Today: Are WWI Propaganda Posters the Original Meme?

Wed, 05 Jul 2017 12:36:52 -0400

Merriam-Webster officially defines a meme as “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.” But these days, most of us think of memes as those viral posts online that convey a message using a photo with text. They range from funny to serious to offensive, and everything in

Webinar Recap: Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN) June Meeting

Fri, 30 Jun 2017 03:00:41 -0400

This June 2017 meeting featured the presentation, Plain Language Spectrum: Every Step Counts!

‘Cybersecuring’ the Internet of Things

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 02:00:47 -0400

I recently had the chance to talk with the legendary Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet. We had a wide-ranging discussion about the past, present and future of the internet, network security and what it would take to successfully, safely and reliably merge the digital and physical worlds, a concept known

Advice From Digital Thought Leaders

Thu, 22 Jun 2017 15:31:18 -0400

Many know that digital tools have become indispensable for connecting with many audiences—but we also know that what’s available in the digital realm is always changing. So how do you know what tools are best for your purpose? And how do you plan for your organization’s digital future when the pace of change is so

Improving Customer Experience with Digital Personas

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 10:55:09 -0400

Keeping the customer’s needs front and center is important when developing new digital tools. We recently developed a set of user personas as part of our work to establish a more robust—and data informed—understanding of the individuals that engage digitally with the National Archives (NARA). User personas are fictional, but realistic representations of key audience

Fostering Medical Innovation: A Plan for Digital Health Devices

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 15:07:18 -0400

It is incumbent upon FDA to ensure that we have the right policies in place to promote and encourage safe and effective innovation that can benefit consumers, and adopt regulatory approaches to enable the efficient development of these technologies. By taking an efficient, risk-based approach to our regulation, FDA can promote health through the creation

Hybrid Cloud: A Key to Phasing in New Technologies

Thu, 08 Jun 2017 11:00:38 -0400

Like any newer technology, cloud computing has faced adoption challenges. IT managers understand the huge potential efficiency improvements and savings that cloud computing can bring to their agencies, but also have questions about security, compatibility, and funding. With these concerns and without a clear path to cloud computing, many agencies continue to maintain on-premises solutions.

The Data Briefing: Design-Driven Enterprise Architecture Creating the New Federal Government Agency

Wed, 07 Jun 2017 12:00:19 -0400

It’s been a while since I’ve checked in on enterprise architecture (EA). My last in-depth work with EA was around 2011 when I was on detail to the Office of Personnel Management’s Open Government Team. The EA model I worked with was the top-down organizational design of information technology assets, data assets, and business processes.

Opening Public Services to Artificial Intelligence Assistants

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 14:02:20 -0400

“Hey, Computer, how do I access my public services?” Citizens will soon be able to ask their Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPA) this question through an Emerging Citizen Technology open-sourced pilot program. The purpose of the initiative is to guide dozens of federal programs make public service information available through automated, self-service platforms for the home

The New FEC.gov

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 10:25:09 -0400

Last week, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) unveiled their new website at FEC.gov. This new site is the result of a years-long collaboration with GSA’s 18F and features completely revamped tools for exploring campaign finance data. It provides user-centered content for understanding the reporting and compliance requirements for people participating in federal elections, redesigned tools

Federalist Is out of Beta and Open for Business

Mon, 05 Jun 2017 11:00:17 -0400

If you’re a program manager or a federal web developer you’ve probably been given a seemingly simple task: Create a basic website as part of a new initiative at your agency. The hardest part is often not crafting the content or designing the prototype, but getting the security and privacy compliance in order to launch

From Launch to Landing: How NASA Took Control of Its HTTPS Mission

Fri, 26 May 2017 12:00:50 -0400

18F Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Karim Said of NASA. Karim was instrumental in NASA’s successful HTTPS and HSTS migration, and we’re happy to help Karim share the lessons NASA learned from that process. In 2015, the White House Office of Management and Budget released M-15-13, a “Policy to Require Secure Connections

"Want to Expand Your Innovation Base? Dive In, Run a Challenge, and Listen to Your Customers"

Wed, 24 May 2017 14:00:58 -0400

The Office of the National Coordinator is a small agency in the Department of Health and Human Services whose mission is to increase the interoperability and use of electronic health records and health IT.

Style Guides by Government Agencies

Tue, 23 May 2017 03:43:08 -0400

This page is a collection of style guides created by government agencies.

How Facebook Live Increased Reach and Engagement of Scientific Lectures at NIH

Mon, 22 May 2017 13:00:34 -0400

Helping patients manage chronic pain has become an increasing challenge for health care providers, particularly in the face of an ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States. In response, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has made funding research on integrative health approaches to pain

The Next Step Towards a Bug Bounty Program for the Technology Transformation Service

Thu, 18 May 2017 02:00:07 -0400

We took a big step toward creating a bug bounty program for our agency by issuing an award to HackerOne for a Software-as-a-Service bug-reporting platform.

Becoming an Agile Content Team

Tue, 16 May 2017 14:00:16 -0400

In March, the team of writers and editors at USAGov adopted some agile principles in an attempt to streamline our content development process. We hoped operating in a more agile manner would help us address some of the challenges we were facing as a team:

My Q & A with the IT Industry – What’s Working and What Could be Improved in Federal Acquisition

Thu, 11 May 2017 12:00:53 -0400

I recently met with more than 50 representatives from the top IT services companies and talked about the good and the bad in federal acquisition. Some of the discussion was surprising … some not so much. The key takeaways include some changes that are fairly simple for government to implement, yet have big impacts. 1.

Cybersecurity: Protecting Manufacturing Technology and Innovation

Thu, 04 May 2017 15:00:45 -0400

Recently a segment on my favorite morning news program stopped me in my tracks. The young and attractive hosts (why are they always so young and attractive?) were demonstrating new appliances including a smart refrigerator. The fridge was equipped with all kinds of high-tech features including touch screen displays, a camera inside that allows you

DHS Study on Mobile Device Security

Thu, 04 May 2017 12:00:43 -0400

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has submitted a report to Congress that details current and emerging threats to the Federal government’s use of mobile devices and recommends security improvements to the mobile device ecosystem. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) led the study in coordination with the National Institute of Standards and Technology

FOIA Best Practices Workshop Continues This Summer

Wed, 03 May 2017 11:00:41 -0400

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce two new topics and dates for our Best Practices Workshop series as we continue this initiative this summer.

GetMyFuture.org: Essential Youth Resources, Now

Tue, 02 May 2017 14:00:39 -0400

They say that life can be summed up as the process of a series of doors closing. By that, they mean that opportunities for taking different paths start to disappear as you move through life. It’s a logical sentiment, but there’s an obverse to it. When you’re young, all those doors are open. Doors as far as you can see. It’s all about learning how to make informed decisions about what doors to wander through.

Build Your Audience by Hosting a Twitter Chat

Mon, 01 May 2017 15:00:08 -0400

Twitter is more than just a platform for sharing news and updates: it can be a tool for directly communicating with your community and understanding what is important to them. One way you can connect with your Twitter audience is by hosting a Twitter Chat. They can be a good way to discuss key topics,

A Deeper Look into the USDA.gov Website Redesign

Wed, 26 Apr 2017 11:00:11 -0400

We hope you are finding it easier to get the information you need on USDA.gov following the launch of our site redesign in March. We’ve already welcomed over 1 million visitors to the new site and we are pleased with the positive feedback we’ve received thus far. Our redesign makes it easier for you to

Congress.gov 2017 Spring Cleaning: Download Search Results and Advanced Search Enhancements

Tue, 25 Apr 2017 14:19:20 -0400

Spring is a beautiful time of year in Washington, D.C. The temperature warms up; the cherry blossoms are out; and we frequently have an update of Congress.gov to share. In 2015 we added treaties and web-friendly bill text, and in 2016 we expanded the quick search feature. Today there is another round of enhancements to the Library of Congress website for

OIP Seeks Your Participation in the Development of the National FOIA Portal

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 02:05:13 -0400

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce its collaboration with GSA’s 18F team on the development of a National FOIA Portal. This is the next step in a long line of OIP initiatives working towards a National FOIA Portal going back to 2010 with the launch of FOIA.gov. Most recently, the FOIA

Improving Stakeholder Collaboration Can Improve Software Development Performance

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:00:17 -0400

It’s important for software development organizations to make it as easy as possible to enable improved stakeholder behavior. Development stakeholders can include business development representatives, product managers, and senior project managers, and they are typically carrying the weight of the organization’s mission. They are concerned about the organization’s goals, and are usually focused on ensuring

Steps Towards SEO: Meta Descriptions on MedlinePlus

Fri, 14 Apr 2017 11:00:08 -0400

MedlinePlus is a consumer health website produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), available in both English and Spanish. As part of our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy, we recently added meta descriptions to our health topic pages.

DotGov Domain Registration Program to Provide HTTPS Preloading in May

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 14:19:47 -0400

Effective May 15, 2017, GSA’s DotGov Domain Registration Program will begin providing HSTS Preloading services for federal agencies. This new service helps ensure that visitor communication with .gov websites is not modified or compromised, and hostile networks cannot inject malware, tracking beacons, or otherwise monitor or change visitor interactions online.

To Get Things Done, You Need Great, Secure Tools

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 11:00:12 -0400

To folks new to government, one of the most surprising differences between our work and work in the private sector are the barriers in accessing commercially available software, and commercially available Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in particular. There are good reasons for these barriers: the government places premiums on considerations such as security, privacy, accessibility, license management,

HHS Offers Free Content Models and Drupal Features

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 11:00:20 -0400

Related Event: Create Once, Publish Everywhere Applied—HHS Content Models and Portability, Tuesday, April 18, 2017; register here. Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE) The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is sharing its content models and their related Drupal features for you to use on your sites. A content model is a representation of types of content

Color in Digital Design

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 11:00:46 -0400

How do we choose color in digital design? In print, we have the Pantone fan and what you see is what you get — as long as your printer is color calibrated. With computer monitors, one does not get such precision, even within one office. So how much time and effort do you spend on color selection?

Engineering the Chaski Relay: A Touchscreen Game at the National Museum of the American Indian

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 11:00:22 -0400

The interactive team at the National Museum of the American Indian saw the chaski story as as a candidate for interactivity and gamification, and an opportunity to bring additional engagement to the museum gallery. With a more focused idea and funding from the Electronic Software Association, the team set out on prototyping and development.

A Complete Redesign with You in Mind

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 01:00:36 -0400

We’re excited to launch a complete redesign of USDA.gov featuring stronger visual storytelling components, a more modern user-experience with easy to find services and resources, and to top it off, a completely mobile-friendly design. Through careful planning, thoughtful design, and a primary focus on user experience and usability, we’ve taken the best of government and industry

NASA’s Journey With the U.S. Web Design Standards

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:17:05 -0400

The U.S. Web Design Standards were created by the government, for the government. They’re currently implemented on hundreds of government sites, with an audience of more than 26 million monthly users.

New ITIF Report Inspires a Closer Look at Website Performance and Security—Here Is Where to Begin

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 11:02:04 -0400

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) recently published a report, Benchmarking U.S. Government Websites, that looks at the performance, security, and accessibility of the top 297 government websites.

Buzzwords for 2017

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 11:00:07 -0400

Along with the New Year comes new buzzwords. Here are some that you are certain to hear about and see this year.

Letting Go of 85 Percent of Our Email Subscribers

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 13:04:16 -0400

Late last year, Business.USA.gov (BUSA) began transitioning its web presence to USA.gov and with its content, came its social media and email accounts. While transferring ownership of a Twitter account is fairly easy to do from a technical standpoint, transferring email ownership and tools is not. We had to tackle

How to Tell the World War I Story: Make it Personal

Thu, 09 Mar 2017 02:00:08 -0400

We naturally gravitate towards story-telling. It’s part of our human nature that began thousands of years ago, well before the written word. We want to pass down our history and cultures, and we do this by telling stories because they resonate with us. Stories tap into our emotions. They make us feel. They move us

DigitalGov Readers and Subscribers: We Want to Talk to You (Again)

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 01:19:51 -0400

We at DigitalGov want to hear more about you – your job, your role, the challenges you face — all of it — as you work to deliver more secure, effective, and reliable digital services for the public.

Becoming an Influencer with Your Audience: Quality vs. Quantity of Content

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 14:30:52 -0400

Regardless of the platform, industry or niche, you became a social media influencer in one of two ways: adopting early, or promoting great content.

Webinar Recap: Better, Faster, and More Flexible—U.S. Web Design Standards Update

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 12:00:10 -0400

The Road to Launch Version 1.0 You may have noticed a new, cleaner, and more modern look to some government websites over the last year—these are the web properties that were early adopters of the Draft U.S. Web Design Standards from 18F, the digital services agency which is part of the General Services Administration (GSA).

Accessibility for teams

Wed, 01 Feb 2017 09:00:00 -0500

A ‘quick-start’ guide for embedding accessibility and inclusive design practices into your team’s workflow

Automatic HTTPS Enforcement for New Executive Branch .gov Domains

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 12:00:30 -0400

HTTPS is a necessary baseline for security on the modern web. Non-secure HTTP connections lack integrity protection, and can be used to attack citizens, foreign nationals, and government staff. HTTPS provides increased confidentiality, authenticity, and integrity that mitigate these attacks.

The Life-Changing Magic of Writing Release Notes

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 02:00:17 -0400

A key part of agile development is constantly shipping new features. The team behind the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) beta website ships new features at least once every two weeks. Sometimes the features are big, noticeable changes, such as the new home page we recently launched. And other times they’re small (a copy edit, an

DigitalGov University in Review: 2016 Training Trends

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 12:00:02 -0400

Thanks to your participation, DigitalGov University (DGU), the events platform for DigitalGov, hosted over 90 events with 6,648 attendees from over 100 agencies across federal, tribal, state, and local governments.

The Smithsonian’s IPOP Exhibition Framework: Lessons for a Human-Centered Content Approach

Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:30:40 -0400

The Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Policy and Analysis has another tool to consider for your UX toolbox: IPOP. Though created specifically for museums and physical exhibitions, IPOP is useful for anyone wanting to widen appeal and engagement.

Five Lessons Learned During a Content Audit

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 12:00:42 -0400

As part of USAGov’s efforts to provide our audience with the reliable and quality information that they need, this summer, the Health, Education & Benefits (HE&B) topic desk completed its first content audit. Methodology and Results Data informed every step we took. In order to determine which areas to focus on first, the desk gathered

In a Marketing Minute: Connecting Teams, Promotions, and Ideas

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 10:00:57 -0400

Every first week of every month, USAGov’s marketing team sends an office-wide email newsletter to give an update on past and current marketing efforts and campaigns. It’s how we try to help keep the rest of the office in the know. The monthly newsletter can spur a content idea, a future marketing endeavor, and act

FIPNet Digital Imaging Partner Guidance Now Available

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 14:00:55 -0400

Guidance for Contributing Digital Content to FDsys (govinfo) is now available on FDLP.gov. Federal Information Preservation Network (FIPNet) digital imaging partners now have guidance documentation for creating and contributing digitally-imaged U.S. Government content to Federal Digital System (FDsys)/govinfo*. The guidance specifications are based on current best practices from the Federal Agency Digitization Guidelines Initiative and

The Future of Technology at GSA

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 12:00:54 -0400

The potential to transform government and impact the lives of Americans is tremendous. Our country needs the government to work well, and technology is the key to that.

Lessons Learned: Evaluating Video Content

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 12:00:23 -0400

If you were to perform research on the value proposition of training videos, you would notice that opinions are split on their efficacy. Despite all the tools that are out there that can help you evaluate video quality, views, and drop-off, there are some things that should be considered in the analysis of your organization’s

Health IT Services SIN — Ready to Serve Agencies

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 12:00:35 -0400

This summer I announced the the release of our new Health IT Services Special Item Number (SIN 132–56) on IT Schedule 70. Now, I am happy to report that the SIN has been awarded to 65 highly qualified industry partners — with that number continuing to grow daily as new contracts are being awarded. With such a

Understanding Twitter Quality Filters for Content Strategy

Fri, 25 Nov 2016 14:00:46 -0400

In a move to win back users and improve the company’s image, Twitter introduced quality filters in August. They followed this move in November with an option to mute certain words. These changes will have larger ramifications for federal agencies, who will need to focus on quality of content in order to retain their audience

Digging Deep Using the Core Model

Fri, 18 Nov 2016 10:00:34 -0400

The core model is a thinking tool that can be used to get team members from different perspectives (stakeholders, developers, editors, etc.) to start thinking collaboratively. The end goal is that the group will have a common understanding of user needs, business goals, and how different pages should be connected.

Webinar Recap: Social Media + External Affairs = Outreach Success

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 14:00:46 -0400

Summary: How to leverage your resources to reach Spanish-dominant Hispanics online. A recent DigitalGov University (DGU) webinar provided an introduction to the intersection of two teams with different audiences reaching consensus on goals to maximize insight and outreach effectiveness. Social Media Outreach Goals What does social media outreach success look like? Success is when agencies

FEMA’S Syndicated Content: Digital Assists in Moments of Disaster

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 12:00:39 -0400

I recently interviewed Daniel Kuhns, Web Manager at FEMA, about the site widgets and the FEMA app his organization has been developing. The widgets currently available include: FEMA App, Preparedness, Severe Weather, Private Sector, Kids Fire Safety, and Are you a Disaster Survivor. The FEMA App offers

Are Chatbots the Next mHealth Frontier?

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 10:00:48 -0400

In April, Facebook made it possible for organizations to use chatbots to send and receive messages from users of Facebook Messenger. That’s a big deal. Facebook Messenger is now used by 900 million people every month. As the name implies, it’s a messaging platform that people use to send short messages to each other through

Meeting Patients Where They Are: Liberating Clinical Trials Data Under the Cancer Moonshot

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 13:00:23 -0400

Cancer clinical trials are a critically important step on the pathway for new or improved treatments to make their way to patients in clinics and hospitals in towns and cities across the country. Patients and their loved ones are relying on these rigorous studies to determine whether promising new therapies and approaches might extend how

Congress.gov Homepage Highlights, Alerts, and More Enhancements

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 11:00:37 -0400

This has been an exciting and successful year for Congress.gov. We accomplished a major milestone when we retired THOMAS in July. Over the course of 2016, we completed a number of enhancements to Congress.gov. In April we expanded quick search to include the Congressional Record, Committee Reports, Nominations, Treaty Documents, and Communications. In May we launched several new RSS feeds and

Hualapai Public Safety Meet Old and New Challenges Through Technology

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 11:00:06 -0400

How can a place be remote and virtually unpopulated, yet constantly full of thousands of people and teeming with activity? It certainly seems impossible, but that is exactly the situation at Grand Canyon West (GCW), home of the Hualapai indigenous Indian Tribe and the famous Skywalk.

“For Those Who Serve” App Collection Provides Mobile Resources for Veterans

Thu, 10 Nov 2016 12:00:47 -0400

In honor of Veterans Day, several VA mobile apps are featured this week in the Apple App Store. In the “For Those Who Serve” collection of resources, Veterans can find the latest military news, essential health and wellness information, and other valuable tools for everyday life. The highlighted VA apps are designed to help Veterans manage their

NASA Addresses OMB M-16-21 Federal Source Code Policy

Thu, 10 Nov 2016 03:00:22 -0400

In August 2016, OMB released M-16-21, which seeks to ensure that new custom-developed federal source code be made broadly available for reuse across the federal government.

The Data Briefing: Four Steps to Becoming a Data-Driven Organization

Wed, 09 Nov 2016 11:00:45 -0400

As the Federal government agencies begin the digital transformation journey, becoming a data-driven organization is even more vital. What does it mean to become a data-driven organization? According to one definition, “[a] data-driven company is an organization where every person who can use data to make better decisions, has access to the data they need

Why World War I Matters for Your Agency

Tue, 08 Nov 2016 11:00:32 -0400

I recently asked some friends—a group of intelligent, successful individuals—what they knew about World War I. The responses I received included, “Ummm…..it was in the 1910s?” or “Started in Europe when the archduke was killed?” Beyond this, it’s mostly blank stares and shoulder shrugs. People who consider themselves history geeks might mention President Woodrow Wilson’s

The People’s Code – Now on Code.gov

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 13:00:08 -0400

Summary: Today we’re launching Code.gov so that our Nation can continue to unlock the tremendous potential of the Federal Government’s software. Over the past few years, we’ve taken unprecedented action to help Americans engage with their Government in new and meaningful ways. Using Vote.gov, citizens can now quickly navigate their state’s voter registration process through

Writing for the Web Is Easy. Writing for Users Is Not.

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 11:00:25 -0400

We all do it. Whether on Twitter, Facebook, or the comment section on a news article, it’s easy to get our writing on the internet. Many of us have personal websites or contribute to blogs. We work at organizations with content management systems that allow us to publish pages with a single button click. The

New API Brings EPIC Earth Imagery to Developers

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 13:00:11 -0400

Daily imagery data taken by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera is now accessible via a RESTful API available from the NASA API Portal. The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) is an instrument aboard NOAA’s DSCOVR satellite, which orbits at Earth’s Lagrange point, the sweet spot in space where the gravitational tug of the Earth and

Celebrating Nanotechnology With a Day, a Dash, Some Nuggets, and a Plan

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 11:00:56 -0400

Summary: The release of an updated National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan caps a month of activities highlighting nanotechnology. The Federal government continues to play a key role in the success of the U.S. nanotechnology enterprise through the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)—as was

Applying Customer Service Metrics to Improve Customer Experience (CX)

Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:00:10 -0400

Lately, I’ve looked at how a government agency measures a customer’s experience. It’s such a complex topic that I would need more than one blog to discuss the nuances behind it. In my last blog, I examined and brokedown three types of customer service metrics: customer satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Customer Effort

The Digital Transition: How the Presidential Transition Works in the Social Media Age

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 12:00:25 -0400

Take a look at how we plan to preserve and pass on the digital history of the Obama administration. President Obama is the first “social media president”: the first to have @POTUS on Twitter, the first to go live on Facebook from the Oval Office, the first to answer questions from citizens on YouTube.

The Data Briefing: Learning from the U.S. Cities on How to Implement Big Data Initiatives

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 10:00:36 -0400

A recent study of big data initiatives in 65 cities has interesting guidance for Federal big data initiatives. The researchers studied how data is collected and then used for decision making in what they called “the framework for Big Data initiatives.” There are two major cycles in the framework: “The data cycle governs the tools

Trends on Tuesdays: Mobile Phone Camera Upgrades Offer Interesting Opportunities for Government Agencies

Tue, 01 Nov 2016 10:00:43 -0400

Professional photographer and early “iPhonography” pioneer, Chase Jarvis coined the phrase, “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” The recent jumps in mobile phone photo technology presents interesting opportunities for government agencies to consider as mobile phone cameras are starting to rival and surpass professional gear. When Google and Apple both announced their

Three Small Steps You Can Take to Reboot Agile in Your Organization

Mon, 31 Oct 2016 11:00:10 -0400

This past summer, 18F held an agile workshop for the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. An agency with roots going back to World War II, NTIS is facing a future that requires a strategic realignment towards open data and services. This strategic alignment will also require that NTIS

Social Media Data Deep Dive: Turning Findings into Action

Fri, 28 Oct 2016 11:00:55 -0400

GobiernoUSA, just like USA.gov, is part of a unique effort with a large mission—to guide people to the government information and services they seek. We cover a lot of topics in Spanish via our website, social media platforms, email sends, and contact center. One of the communication channels we focus a lot of attention on

Laying the Foundation for a More Secure, Modern Government

Fri, 28 Oct 2016 03:00:16 -0400

Summary: Building on efforts to boost Federal cybersecurity & as part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, today we’re releasing a proposed guidance to modernize Federal IT. America’s spirit of ingenuity and entrepreneurship created the world’s most innovative economy and keeps us dominant in today’s digital age. Indeed, in 1985 about 2,000 people used the Internet;

Federally Funded Research Results Are Becoming More Open and Accessible

Fri, 28 Oct 2016 01:00:53 -0400

Summary: Significant strides in improving public access to scholarly publications and digital data help usher in an era of open science. This week marks the 8th annual Open Access Week, when individuals and organizations around the world celebrate the value of opening up online access to the results of scholarly research. It is an opportune

9 Reasons Your Infographics Might Be Too Big

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 12:00:27 -0400

Infographics are a useful tool for communicators to share complex data and information in a quick, easy-to-read format. Infographics can be beautifully designed works of art, pulling in a reader through storytelling and visual entertainment. And like art, infographics can be large, epic works, or small treasures.

The Data Briefing: Help Predict the Future of Federal Government Data

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:00:55 -0400

In December, I plan to write two postings detailing a scenario analysis for the next ten years of the Federal government’s data technologies. Governments are on the cusp of amazing technological advances propelled by artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, and the Internet of Things. Also, governments will face new challenges such as the recent global cyber

DigitalGov Readers and Subscribers: We Want to Talk to You

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 15:00:21 -0400

As you know, over the last few years DigitalGov has surfaced the innovative advancements many are making across the government space while providing a platform for learning best practices and coming together as a community. Over the course of the next few weeks, a small team from

Expert Insight on Content Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:00:10 -0400

We recently interviewed Sara Wachter-Boettcher, author of Content Everywhere: Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content. Sara, a frequent conference speaker, runs a content strategy consultancy, and is the co-author of Design for Real Life. She has extensive experience consulting with major brands, universities, agencies, nonprofits, and others to make their content more memorable, manageable, and

Federal Cybersecurity Challenges

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 10:00:09 -0400

These days, when you turn on the news you almost always see another hack, leak, or breach putting sensitive information at risk. But we’ve been focusing on keeping federal agency information systems secure for a long time. For October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the WatchBlog takes a look at federal cybersecurity challenges. What is the threat?

Changing the Knowledge Management Tides and Why it Matters: The Federal HR Wiki

Mon, 24 Oct 2016 12:00:26 -0400

Imagine this – a go-to member of your organization just retired, a furlough is approaching, and now no one knows what to do. What communications need to go out? Who is considered ‘excepted’? Can the daycare center stay open? In the absence of mind-melds, how do you make expert knowledge easily accessible to newer team

The Essentials of an Editorial Calendar

Mon, 24 Oct 2016 10:00:37 -0400

Anyone engaged in content marketing or content production probably owns a robust editorial calendar. A calendar that is quickly updated, helps keep deadlines and is flexible can serve as a helpful blueprint of your content activities for the year. At USAGov we cover a lot of topics and partner with many agencies. Having an editorial

GAO to Congress: Federal Agencies Are Making a Difference Through Open Innovation

Fri, 21 Oct 2016 13:00:16 -0400

Federal agencies confront tough problems every day. In searching for solutions, agencies will want to attract different perspectives, test new products, build capacity and communities, and increase public awareness. How do they do it? The answer: open innovation. Federal agencies need to engage and collaborate with all sectors of society, a task made easier by

Announcing the Digital Acquisition Accelerator Playbook

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 11:00:41 -0400

Built on the lessons learned during the pilot phase of the Digital Acquisitions Accelerator, the accompanying playbook examines the current acquisition landscape and provides an approach to procuring custom software solutions.

The Data Briefing: Using Artificial Intelligence to Augment the Work of Frontline Government Employees

Wed, 19 Oct 2016 11:00:44 -0400

You have probably read about the recent release of the White House’s report on using artificial intelligence (AI). As with previous technologies, AI holds much promise in the areas of education, commerce, criminal justice, the environment—almost all aspects of the American public’s life. AI also poses a danger if it is not properly managed and

What Is Static Source Analysis?

Fri, 14 Oct 2016 11:00:40 -0400

In software development, we use a variety of techniques to help us understand the software we’ve written, whether it works as expected, and whether it will be easy to maintain over time. One of the techniques we use is called static source analysis, and it can tell us a lot about the maintenance requirements of

Progressive Web Applications, Part 2: Pros, Cons, and Looking Ahead

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 11:00:04 -0400

A few weeks ago, Progressive Web Applications, Part 1: the New Pack Mule of the Internet introduced PWAs and the technologies behind them. We shared that article to the MobileGov Community of Practice and asked about the pros and cons of this approach to winning mobile moments. What Are Some Benefits of PWAs? PWAs bring

The Data Briefing: Twenty Years of USAJOBS

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 13:00:42 -0400

I recently sat down with Michelle Earley, Program Manager, to discuss the new changes for the 20th anniversary of USAJOBS. 1) What are the three big lessons learned from 20 years of building and managing USAJOBS? I think one of the greatest benefits of being an Agile program is that we are constantly learning. In

Transforming the Federal Marketplace, Two Years In

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 11:00:16 -0400

Summary: It’s been two years since we laid out the Administration’s plan to transform the Federal marketplace. Here’s a look at what we’ve accomplished, and what’s next. Over the last two years, we’ve focused on our mission to implement the President’s vision for a modern government– one that leverages private-sector best practices to achieve a

CX Day In Government: How We All Shape The Customer Journey

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 11:00:21 -0400

During National Customer Service Week, it’s a great time for organizations across industry and government to celebrate putting customers at the center of our work and to think about what we can do to improve our customers’ end-to-end experiences. When you think this big, it can be a little daunting, but the good news is

Near… FAR… Wherever you are….

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 11:00:20 -0400

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) made history today by releasing the first ever iBook version of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). And while a tome about the complex rules governing the federal government’s purchasing process may not sound like a bestseller, the FAR is essential reading not just for federal contracting officers and federal

Ideas on How to Keep Your Citizens Informed

Mon, 03 Oct 2016 13:00:05 -0400

As localities struggle with issues such as the Zika virus and the Opioid epidemic, gathering and disseminating trustworthy information can be daunting. But one group of Federal agencies and offices have come together to create a free and easy way to incorporate public health web content, images, video, microsites, data, and infographics into other sites,

Further Enhancing the Federal Government’s Privacy Practices

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 11:30:06 -0400

Summary: The Office of Management and Budget is releasing updated guidance on the role and designation of Senior Agency Officials for Privacy. The digital economy has transformed how citizens interact with their Government. Government services related to immigration, student loans, health insurance, and veterans’ benefits are just a sample of the services now available online.

Vendors and Government Strengthen Partnership at Technology Industry Day

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 10:00:02 -0400

On September 8, 2016, the General Services Administration (GSA) held a Technology Industry Day. We’re thrilled that more than 300 members of the technology industry in person and via the live stream were able to join us for this first step towards a closer partnership and more open lines of communication about how we can work together to transform federal technology.

Creating Wall-Sized Interaction at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 01:00:59 -0400

As any experienced retailer will tell you, the customer experience begins at the store entrance. Note the friendly Walmart greeter, the approachable minimalism of an Apple Store, and the calculated whimsy of Anthropologie. Store designers understand that a customer’s decision to make a purchase is often made within seconds of entering. The same holds true

NASA: Open Gov Plan 2016 Outline

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 02:00:50 -0400

Here is the outline for our 2016 Open Government Plan. Let us know what you think.

The New Vote.gov: Leaner, Faster and Multi-Lingual

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:00:27 -0400

One year ago this week, we launched vote.gov (also known as vote.usa.gov). It’s a concise and simple site with a single mission: direct citizens through the voter registration process as quickly as possible. It was created by a joint team of USA.gov staffers and Presidential Innovation Fellows, all of whom work within the General Services

The Data Briefing: A New Perspective on the Digital Transformation of Government

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 02:00:23 -0400

One day, at an unnamed agency, the Outlook server crashed. The server stayed down for the rest of the afternoon. Deprived of email and meeting calendars, employees wandered around trying to remember what meetings they had to attend. Other employees went searching for people who they ordinarily would email. There was confusion that made people

Webinar Recap: Snaps and Stripes—Sharing Public Service Stories with Snapchat

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 11:00:50 -0400

Snapchat has quickly become an incredibly effective digital storytelling medium, and content creators across multiple government agencies have adopted it as an important part of their programs.

The Content Corner: Recapping Content Marketing Trends in 2016—How Have We Stacked Up?

Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:00:24 -0400

Earlier this year, it was predicted that content marketing would become even more important due to its ability to enhance not just visibility, but also increase engagement with customers—who could, in turn, become great promoters of your content.

GSA Hosts First-Ever Technology Industry Day in Washington, D.C.

Mon, 26 Sep 2016 10:00:53 -0400

On September 8, 2016 Administrator Denise Turner Roth of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) hosted the first-ever Technology Industry Day to provide a better understanding of GSA’s path to improve the government’s outdated technology systems. Private industry and government came together to find best ways to deliver 21st century technology to federal agencies.

Gettin' Giphy With It: NARA Shares Online Library of Animated Gifs

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 13:00:58 -0400

Have you looked in vain for quality animated GIFs from a reputable source? Come on over to the new Giphy channel from the National Archives and Records Administration.

Check Out Our New USCIS Instagram Account!

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 13:00:08 -0400

We are fortunate to meet amazing immigrants every day and share in their immigration journeys. Now we have a unique opportunity to share their stories with the world using Instagram. Today, we launched our Instagram account under the handle @USCIS and @USCIS_ES (Spanish version) and will share photos, graphics and videos to highlight our vital

The Data Briefing: Should U.S. Federal Employees Become Data Science Literate?

Wed, 21 Sep 2016 11:00:24 -0400

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Digital Service has researched ways to increase data science literacy among the UK public service. Data science literacy goes further than data literacy, in that civil servants will know how to apply data science concepts and methods in their everyday work. I thought it would be useful to share the UK

Progressive Web Applications, Part 1: the New Pack Mule of the Internet

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 11:00:19 -0400

A mule is the hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a horse. This new species is stronger and better equipped than the species from which it comes. Overall, mules tend to be healthier, more sound, and live longer than horses. They are favored over horses in mountainous terrain because the mule has a reputation for being more surefooted than their equine cousins.

Analytics Success Series: Health Resources & Services Administration

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 02:00:17 -0400

Health Resources and Services Administration’s Analytics Success: Using Analytics to Reduce Content and Improve User Experience Unlike out-of-town guests, you want your web visitors to stick around. So, if your site continues to see a bounce rate that stubbornly refuses to drop—it’s time to make some changes. That’s exactly what happened to the Health Resources

How Do You Redesign a ‘Dinosaur’? Redesigning an Intranet Site: the Beginning Stages

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 10:00:56 -0400

Many content managers in the digital world understand the irrepressible desire to improve, fix, edit, add, and move things around. Indeed, it’s our job to nurture this ongoing process to create, update, test, update again. And, repeat! But, what about those sites or pages that seem to never crawl up to the ‘high-priority’ list and

Building on 30 Years of Experience to Prepare for the Future of Biotechnology

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 01:00:45 -0400

Summary: EPA, FDA, and USDA unveil two documents as part of the Administration’s continuing effort to modernize the Federal regulatory system for biotechnology products. Today, the Federal government has taken an important step to ensure public confidence in the regulatory system for biotechnology products and to improve the transparency, predictability, coordination, and, ultimately, efficiency of that

Social Security Joins The Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 12:00:53 -0400

Social Security joins you and your family in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15. We know the contributions of Hispanics can be traced to before the origins of the United States with the discovery, exploration, and naming of many places in our nation, such as state names like California,

Updated FOIA Regulation Template and Guidance Now Available

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 10:00:24 -0400

On September 7th, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) released an updated version of its Guidance for Agency Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Regulations, along with an updated FOIA Regulation Template. These resources were first issued in March 2016. OIP has updated them to take into account changes made to the FOIA by the FOIA Improvement

No Longer an Idea of the Future, Artificial Intelligence Is Here and You Are Probably Already Using It

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 11:00:12 -0400

It might surprise some of you to know that artificial intelligence (AI) is already in use and a routine part of our daily lives, but we leverage this technology when we use our smartphones or other devices to ask Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Now, or Amazon’s Alexa a question to get the facts or data we

Kanban for Government

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 13:00:58 -0400

Some months ago, 18F started playing with kanban as a way to manage and improve our processes. (It turns out that “DO ALL THE THINGS!” was maybe not the best motto.) Kanban is a methodology that helps you to remove inefficiencies and reduce waste by visualizing workflow. It’s also used to balance capacity and demand

Webinar Recap: A Look At Google’s Media Tool and Platform Offerings

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:00:15 -0400

Suddenly, digital video is everywhere on your social timelines. As a government storyteller, you may be overwhelmed about all the tools available and all of the features each publishing platform has to offer.

DNSSEC vs. Elastic Load Balancers: the Zone Apex Problem

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 13:00:09 -0400

This is the final post in the 5-part series, The Right Tools for the Job: Re-Hosting DigitalGov Search to a Dynamic Infrastructure Environment. Federal websites are required to implement DNSSEC, which relies on knowing exactly what server is responding to a request. In Amazon Web Services (AWS), the problem of unreliable servers is solved by

The Content Corner: Using Social Media to Promote, Enhance Preparedness for the Public We Serve

Mon, 12 Sep 2016 10:00:18 -0400

September is National Preparedness Month. FEMA’s Ready.gov is encouraging everyone to plan how they would stay safe and communicate during disasters that can affect their communities. Additionally, Ready.gov is encouraging full participation in America’s PrepareAthon! and the national day of action, National PrepareAthon! Day, which culminates National Preparedness Month on September 30.

DATA Act Prototype: Simplicity Is Key

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 11:00:54 -0400

Last week we wrote about how we diffuse knowledge through shared interests and sharing best practices on the Micro-purchase Platform. This week, we’ll focus on some of the lessons learned during the (completed) DATA Act prototype. Importantly, though that project has finished, this post is not meant to be a full retrospective

Agency Mobile Resources at the Ready Following OMB Memo

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 01:00:59 -0400

Note: This is a guest blog post by Amando E. Gavino, Jr., Director, Office of Network Services, ITS/FAS/GSA. He is responsible for a portfolio of telecommunication acquisition solutions that provide government agencies the ability to meet their diverse set of telecommunication requirements. Acquisition solutions include Networx, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions – EIS (the future replacement for

A Domain by Any Other Name: CNAMES, Wildcard Records and Another Level of Indirection

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 13:00:05 -0400

This is post 3 in the 5-part series The Right Tools for the Job: Re-Hosting DigitalGov Search to a Dynamic Infrastructure Environment. “All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection, except of course for the problem of too many indirections.” – David Wheeler The simplest of our four requirements was

Quality, Speed, and Lower Costs: Yes, You Can Have It All

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 10:00:42 -0400

This is post 2 in the 5-part series The Right Tools for the Job: Re-Hosting DigitalGov Search to a Dynamic Infrastructure Environment. The last major infrastructure upgrade that DigitalGov Search had was in 2010. Not only has technology evolved significantly since then, but so have business models for right-sizing costs. Moving to Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Emma: Friendly Presence and Innovative USCIS Resource Available 24/7

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 10:00:40 -0400

We are working hard to serve you and continue to make improvements to Emma, our Spanish-speaking Interactive Virtual Assistant. Help us improve Emma’s knowledge by continuing to ask your immigration-related questions on USCIS.gov/es from any device. This blog will help you understand a little bit more about how Emma works and how you can help

Sign up for the Technology Industry Day

Wed, 31 Aug 2016 13:00:45 -0400

On September 8, 2016, the General Services Administration (GSA) is hosting its very first Technology Industry Day. Sign up to hear about how GSA is transforming technology in the federal government, see demos of products and solutions developed by technologists and, last but not least, provide feedback on how we can work better with industry.

Trends on Tuesday: Pokemon Go-es Away Slowly

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 12:00:27 -0400

According to a recent report in Bloomberg, the wildly popular augmented reality game we reported on a few weeks ago—and the focus of a piece about government agencies using it to engage citizens—appears to have hit a ceiling and is slowly losing active fans in August.

Smithsonian Learning Lab: Designing for the Classroom

Mon, 29 Aug 2016 10:00:53 -0400

The Smithsonian’s mission statement is wonderfully simple: “The increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The “increasing” is arguably the straightforward part – the Smithsonian has amassed a collection of over 138 million objects and specimens, and the Institution’s curators and scientists obsessively add to the world’s knowledge base, publishing papers, creating exhibitions, and sharing their expertise.

Rebooting the Social Media Strategy for the National Archives

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 10:00:19 -0400

In six years, you can get a lot done! If you are the International Space Station, you could have orbited the earth 35,040 times. If you are Apple, you could have released 10 new iPhones. If you are the National Archives, you have gone from zero social media accounts to over 100! It’s been six

How Creating On-The-Fly Digital Content Can Fill an Immediate Audience Need

Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:00:32 -0400

When some U.S. athletes at this month’s Olympic Games started showing up at their events with dark red circles on their torsos, sports commentators and the media hungrily sought answers to what the marks could be. In less than a day after the spots were…spotted, the story of the mysterious circles was becoming clearer: they

What Happens When the Whole Team Joins User Interviews

Mon, 22 Aug 2016 14:00:00 -0400

The CALC team is an agile team of four — six if you count the Scrummaster and the Product Owner — building a simple means to load price data into the original CALC tool. They’re an Agile team, which means everybody pitches in on everything to some degree, and here, in their own words, is

The Right Tools for the Job: Re-Hosting DigitalGov Search to a Dynamic Infrastructure Environment

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 10:00:29 -0400

This is the first post of a 5-part series. DigitalGov Search is a commercial-grade search engine provided as a shared-service by the United States General Services Administration. We power about 2,300 search configurations for hundreds of federal, state, and local government agencies. Using our platform, agencies can easily configure a search experience for the public that

Live Streamed Demos for Exponential Transparency and Information Sharing

Tue, 09 Aug 2016 10:00:36 -0400

This spring, the eRegulations Notice & Comment team began building out a new feature set for the platform — adding the ability for agencies with proposed regulations to show the public more precisely the changes being proposed and allow agencies to receive more granular, contextual, and better-organized comments.

The People’s Code

Tue, 09 Aug 2016 01:00:47 -0400

Summary: Today, we’re releasing the Federal Source Code policy to support improved access to custom software code developed by or for the Federal Government. “If we can reconceive of our government so that the interactions and the interplay between private sector, nonprofits, and government are opened up, and we use technology, data, social media in order

The Content Corner: On-The-Fly Content Strategies (Round-offs, Back Handsprings, & Double Twisting Layouts Not Required)

Mon, 08 Aug 2016 10:00:55 -0400

As effective marketers and communicators, we are constantly seeking new and improved ways to reach our audience or customer base. These days, our “online lives” intersect with every activity we are involved in, so timeliness is essential. With fresh ideas and engaging, perhaps interactive, content, we can literally make a difference in the lives of our

CSAT, NPS, and CES: 3 Easy Ways to Measure Customer Experience (CX)

Fri, 05 Aug 2016 14:00:45 -0400

Have you ever wondered how to measure a customer’s experience? I’ve thought about it, specifically about how to measure the experience with services from government agencies. This is a complex topic because government services can be vastly different from each other.

That Six-Letter Word: Change

Thu, 04 Aug 2016 11:00:58 -0400

One of the biggest challenges in implementing a new technology or process is change. Change creates a multitude of feelings; for some it is apprehension and uncertainty, while for others it is excitement and acceptance. Change management is defined as “a systematic approach to dealing with change, both from the perspective of an organization and

Promoting the Use of Green IT

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 13:00:55 -0400

Summary: We’re taking action to accelerate efforts to increase the efficiency of Federal data centers, reduce costs, and improve the government’s overall IT security posture. Today, the Administration is taking action to accelerate efforts to increase the efficiency of Federal data centers, reduce costs, and improve the overall information technology (IT) security posture of the Federal

Build Empathy With Stakeholder Interviews, Part 2: Conversation

Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:00:13 -0400

How to run user-interviews and synthesize and integrate the results into the teams shared understanding

Widgets, Mobile Apps, and SMS: Essential Agency Tools for Summer Heat Safety, Hurricane Season, and Emergency Preparedness

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 10:00:26 -0400

A review of mobile apps, tools, and websites from federal agencies created to help the public with weather and emergency preparedness– and how organizations can help share that information.

Managing Federal Information as a Strategic Resource

Wed, 27 Jul 2016 15:00:01 -0400

Summary: Today, OMB is releasing an update to Circular A-130, the Federal Government’s governing document for the management of Federal information resources. Today the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is releasing an update to the Federal Government’s governing document for the management of Federal information resources: Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource.

Summer Health and Safety: A New Resource Brought to You by CDC and NIH

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 13:00:44 -0400

We have previously written about microsites in the federal government. A microsite is a small collection of web pages—a subset of an organization’s full website. Partners can embed microsites that present curated information on a specific topic or campaign directly within their own websites. And perhaps best of all, microsites that are API-enabled are maintained and updated

The Content Corner: Quality Over Quantity—a Case for Long-Form Content

Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:00:38 -0400

Content can be categorized in many ways. While breaking down your website analytics, pay a bit of extra attention to the difference between your short- and long-form content; you may find some interesting discoveries. Let’s first define the two terms: Short – Content that is generally created quickly, and consumed just as fast; e.g., tweets,

The Data Briefing: “PreparedGo” – The Federal Emergency Management Agency Mobile App

Wed, 20 Jul 2016 10:00:54 -0400

While you are outside hunting Pokemon or helping your children hunt Pokemon, consider adding another mobile app to your smartphone or tablet. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mobile app alerts you about severe weather and other natural disasters. The app is also a great information resource on surviving disasters and connects you to FEMA

Joining Forces with BusinessUSA to Better Serve Our Nation’s Businesses

Tue, 19 Jul 2016 02:00:33 -0400

Four years ago, BusinessUSA launched with a mission to revolutionize the way government provides services to small businesses and exporters. Using technology to erase bureaucratic boundaries, BusinessUSA streamlined the way businesses find and get what they need from government. This “no wrong door” approach combined resources from over 800 websites and created a single point

Information Architecture vs Content Strategy—and Why YOU Need Both

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 02:16:19 -0400

The idea of portable content is nothing new. Content needs to be mobile ready, responsive, and readily consumed by tools such as the Internet of Things (IoT)—a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data. Developers need to stop creating fixed, single-purpose content and

Where Content and Marketing Meet: An email Case Study

Fri, 15 Jul 2016 10:00:28 -0400

Content marketing is everywhere and you’re hearing more about it every day—but how do you do it well? While content marketing can take many forms (articles, infographics, videos, and more), it shares a common purpose: providing useful content to attract new customers to your product or service. At USAGov, customized email messages to our subscribers

Enhancing our Nation’s Cybersecurity

Thu, 14 Jul 2016 14:00:04 -0400

The mission of U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)’s Integrated Technology Services (ITS) is to deliver best value technology solutions to the government and the American people, and one of the most critically important capabilities that our nation currently needs is strengthened cybersecurity. We have been working with numerous other federal agencies to ensure that the

Catch the Mall! With Pokemon and Public Services

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 15:58:53 -0400

“… I have never seen so many people of all ages walking around our civic spaces and small businesses interacting as I have this morning. Teens catching them. People catching them in line for coffee. Moms outsmarting their kids. Local youths teaching my toddler how to throw a ball. Full grown adults. Marines. Kids on

Trends on Tuesday: Adoption for Pokémon Go Mobile App Surges

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 10:00:37 -0400

Augmented Reality games have existed for years, but have mostly failed to catch a mainstream audience; Pokémon Go just changed all that this weekend. The game that launched early this month has exploded in popularity and is close to surpassing Twitter in daily active

The Content Corner: How to Leverage User-Generated Content to Resonate With Your Audience

Mon, 11 Jul 2016 13:30:29 -0400

User-Generated Content (UGC) is a buzzword as of late, popularized recently due to the ever increasing demand for new content.

Introducing the Digital Audio/Video Community of Practice

Fri, 08 Jul 2016 01:30:48 -0400

Tech giants have changed the world of broadcast forever. In a little more than a year, video on Facebook went from being a seldomly seen media type on a user’s timeline to a strategic priority for Mark Zuckerberg. The platform now serves over 8 billion video views a day and Facebook continues to roll out improvements

The Data Briefing: I, For One, Welcome Our New Chatbot Blockchain Digital Autonomous Organizations

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 11:00:56 -0400

It is at the intersections of fields where you find the most fascinating and innovative concepts. Recently, a conference on “Open Human Resources and the Cognitive Era” explored the use of chatbots and blockchain technologies in human resources. Human Resources (HR) is quietly undergoing a revolution as many HR practitioners are transforming HR by using

Build Empathy With Stakeholder Interviews, Part 1: Preparation

Fri, 01 Jul 2016 10:00:26 -0400

What stakeholder interviews are, why they’re valuable, and how to prepare for them.

WCMS and Custom APIs—Which One Is Right for You?

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 11:00:33 -0400

Gray Brooks of GSA gave us a great definition of APIs in the DigitalGov University (DGU) presentation, Introduction to APIs. He described APIs as “Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs, are web services that allow people to more easily consume content and data in multiple ways—via mobile devices, mobile apps, innovative mash-ups, and much more.” Simply put,

Using Plain Language to Bridge the Gap Between Government and Industry

Thu, 23 Jun 2016 13:30:02 -0400

Much of our work with government partners to deliver better digital services has resulted in full websites, applications, and embarking on large-scale transformation efforts. In addition to those types of projects, we also work on shorter, faster, smaller-scale projects designed to show our partners different points of view and different techniques to approach their most

The Data Briefing: NASA’s New Big Data Strategy

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 11:00:33 -0400

Few other federal agencies deal with as much data as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Big science creates big data, and NASA manages many of the biggest science projects in world history. Even in the early days of NASA’s history, NASA pioneered new ways to create and store data. So, in the world

How to Make Your Facebook Content ‘Pop’ with Images

Mon, 20 Jun 2016 03:02:38 -0400

Facebook is a highly visual medium. Studies show that Facebook posts featuring photos are the most noticed, liked, and shared. Posts featuring an image stand out in the news feeds of people who like your page. While a great image can cut through the clutter, you don’t need to fill your feed. Think “representative” and high-quality

Modernizing Federal IT Part 5: Modernizing Software Architecture

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 14:00:31 -0400

This is the fifth in a series describing how the Social Security Administration is working towards a more modern IT infrastructure. You can find part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here and part 4 here. In the next three posts we will consider the problem of modernizing old legacy software. In this post we will start a

The Great Pinterest Experiment: One Year In

Mon, 13 Jun 2016 14:00:49 -0400

Last summer, Kids.Gov revamped its presence on Pinterest in an attempt to find new ways to connect with its followers. The Marketing Team set out to learn more about our audiences and the kind of content they like. Despite being a difficult platform to navigate, we set lofty goals for ourselves and developed a timely

NIH Image Gallery Data Call Success

Mon, 13 Jun 2016 11:00:52 -0400

In early April, the National Institutes of Health put out a call for images highlighting NIH-funded scientific research. The image call was posted on the NIH image gallery website and advertised through the NIH Public Information Officers (PIO) Network. The NIH Image Gallery, which averages 6,000 views per day, features free-to-use images for the general

Taking an Agile Approach to Content

Fri, 10 Jun 2016 02:00:28 -0400

So, you’ve recently joined an agile team — congratulations! Here at 18F, we work in an agile way — in other words, we base our designs on user needs, conduct usability testing, iterate quickly, and release MVPs (minimum viable products) rather than highly finalized releases. We take an agile approach to content too. While there’s

Five Things DOE Learned from Making a Podcast

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 10:00:33 -0400

The Energy Department launched Direct Current, our first podcast, on May 9. The first episode—all about rooftop solar, as well as the history of our agency—has been well-received so far by press, stakeholders, and the general public. One review

Welcome to the New DHS.gov

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 02:00:26 -0400

Today, I am happy to announce the newly optimized DHS.gov website. Over the past year, DHS has worked behind the scenes to update and modernize our flagship website, making it faster and easier to use. Some of the specific differences you’ll see are: Compatibility for both desktop computers and mobile devices (phones and tablets) Cleaner,

Five Ways That Video Will Continue to Evolve on Facebook

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 02:43:06 -0400

The medium is the message. Marshall McLuhan In a little over a year, Facebook video went from simply being one of the content types that could be shared to the user timeline to a 8B video views per day powerhouse that’s also a huge priority for Mark Zuckerberg. We’ve heard about the big numbers from digital native

Help Search Engines Help You: How SEO-Friendly URL Structure Can Boost Your Rankings

Fri, 03 Jun 2016 11:00:41 -0400

Have you ever wished you could get inside the mind of Google? To figure out what makes its search engine tick? How great it would be if that were easy to do. Well, actually it is.

Open Data Democratizes Innovation

Thu, 02 Jun 2016 14:15:24 -0400

Americans Use Public Data to Improve the Lives of Fellow Citizens Data is one of our most important national assets. It informs our policy and our national priorities. But as we have seen time and time again, the most effective way to govern is to engage with the public directly. Thanks to the President’s Executive Order requiring

GSA Introduces New Web-Based Leasing Tool

Thu, 02 Jun 2016 12:00:21 -0400

Recently, Regional Administrator Sara Manzano-Díaz of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) introduced a web-based leasing tool, the Automated Advanced Acquisition Program (AAAP), to 60 lessors and/or brokers at the Dow Building in Philadelphia. The AAAP tool was designed to consolidate and streamline the leasing process, making for a more efficient, transparent process that also

The User-Centered Redesign of IdentityTheft.gov

Wed, 01 Jun 2016 14:30:14 -0400

I first came across the redesigned IdentityTheft.gov on Reddit, of all places. Someone had posted a link to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) newly redesigned site and wrote: I hope this never happens to any of you as the entire thing can be really stressful. The identitytheft.gov website is a true breath of fresh air…You

Grow Your Content Base with New Contributions to the HHS Syndication Storefront

Wed, 01 Jun 2016 10:00:39 -0400

We have written about syndication and its successes before. The content offerings of the HHS Syndication Storefront have recently grown. The National Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Diseases (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the latest to add content into the system.

A Look at Podcasting at CSOSA

Fri, 27 May 2016 11:45:25 -0400

Podcasting is growing significantly. Per Pew, the percentage of Americans who have listened to a podcast in the past month has almost doubled since 2008, from 9% to 17% by January of 2015.

The Content Corner: Is Scheduling Social Media Posts Truly Social?

Mon, 23 May 2016 11:10:49 -0400

Good communicators are always…well…evaluating the way they communicate. As we think of the “customer experience,” it is key to constantly consider your methods for engaging with your audience. Just as the platforms themselves continue to change to keep their audience, continuing to refine our ways of sending messages will assure that you don’t get left

Kids.Gov Reenvisioned

Mon, 23 May 2016 10:00:16 -0400

At USAGov, we always put our customers first. In the wake of our rebranding efforts, our desire to create a positive user experience across the organization has pushed us to turn a scrutinous eye toward Kids.gov; a site focused on providing information and resources to parents, teachers, and kids.

FDA’s “The Real Cost”: A Tumblr Success Story

Fri, 13 May 2016 10:00:25 -0400

FDA’s “The Real Cost” campaign aims to be edgy, just like its teen audience. Last month, the campaign won the 2016 Shorty Award for the Best Overall Tumblr Presence. “The Real Cost” educates youth ages 12 to 17 about the harmful effects of tobacco use.

The Content Corner: Using Content as a Tool for Improving Citizen Services

Mon, 09 May 2016 10:06:08 -0400

It is very refreshing to see the large contingent of government communicators who are always seeking to do their job better, with a well-founded desire to provide those they serve with an enhanced experience. Based on a few examples, such as the many listserv emails that are sent across agencies, DigitalGov’s constant content stream and

Storytelling in a Digital World

Fri, 06 May 2016 10:00:58 -0400

The art of storytelling has been around since the dawn of mankind. Storytelling remains relevant today, and a recent effort by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows how agencies can use storytelling to showcase great projects while also teaching employees new communication strategies. Over the past year, Chris Reed, an environmental protection specialist in EPA’s

How to Create Portable Content with Structured Content Models

Thu, 05 May 2016 11:28:07 -0400

Structuring your content for portability across media platforms gives your agency the ability to not only place your message on other properties, but gives you the assurance that your information will always be up-to-date across multiple platforms. This ability is never more important than during an emergency, whether it is a natural disaster or a

Redesigning We the People

Mon, 02 May 2016 11:32:09 -0400

Summary: Improving the way you engage with the White House through our online petitions platform In July 2015, we announced a big change in the way we would answer petitions on We the People. We committed to responding to you within a 60-day timeframe, whenever possible. We assembled a team of people dedicated to getting your policy questions and

The Content Corner: GIF? Meme? Embeds? Oh, My!

Mon, 25 Apr 2016 11:48:11 -0400

You probably have heard this before, or may even hear it all the time, “Content is King.” What that means is, that in today’s fast moving digital communications age, with social media as the driver—organizations (agencies) must have a content plan to stay relevant.

Microsites, They’re Bigger Than You Think

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 10:00:16 -0400

Lately, we have been hearing a lot about microsites—CDC’s Zika Virus microsite provides up-to-date information on the virus—but the big question is: What are they? A microsite is a single or small collections of pages that are meant to encourage user interaction while conveying information. A microsite has the power to educate consumers regarding a

The Content Corner: Branches—Stick to the Vine

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 11:00:03 -0400

A branch that does not stick to its source of nutrition will wither away and die. Just ask anyone who has received a bouquet of beautiful flowers about how long they really last. In the same way, as communicators we must stay connected to our audience, or we risk the chance of fading away into

How Gamification Can Break Down Bureaucracy and Address Real World Problems

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 10:00:06 -0400

The world’s toughest challenges require out-of-the-box thinking. But how can agencies facilitate intentional, structured collaboration that leads to this thinking? Gamification. To address issues ranging from maritime piracy to Naval energy use to 3D printing, the Navy uses gamification via MMOWGLI, the Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet. MMOWGLI is an online gaming platform that

The USAGov Bilingual Style Guide Is Now Online!

Thu, 14 Apr 2016 10:00:12 -0400

About a year and a half ago, the Federal Citizen Information Center—today called USAGov—embarked on a very ambitious task: integrating our content operations. We blurred lines that defined silos and adopted a bilingual content approach to offer a more consistent experience, regardless of language preference or point of access to our information. See more about

Law Library of Congress Implements Solution for Link and Reference Rot

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 10:00:12 -0400

Last fall, the Law Library of Congress implemented an external archiving solution for the problem of link and reference rot in its legal research reports. “Link rot” and “reference rot” (a.k.a. “content drift”) are the terms used to describe, respectively, the problem of non-working Web addresses and Web addresses that work but link to modified

Worth a Thousand Words? Announcing Ready-to-Go Interactive Graphics with BLS News Releases

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:00:16 -0400

Last spring I wrote about how we’ve been using more and better charts and maps to help you understand our statistics. Today I’m excited to tell you about a new set of graphical tools to make our news releases more illuminating at the moment of their posting.

The Content Corner: Will You Read This Entire Post?

Mon, 11 Apr 2016 11:00:29 -0400

Deep down we’ve always known that people only read a small portion of any content shared online. In many ways that can’t be fixed but there are ways to help people read more or at least scan better. There was a book I loved as a child that featured the Sesame Street character Grover, titled

How Agile’s Being Done in Government

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:30:44 -0400

The concepts of agile may not be new, but there is a renewed push across government to embrace this customer-feedback driven methodology, in everything from software development to project management. A government community has even sprung up to help feds learn from one another what it takes to incorporate agile into more efficient and effective

Transcreation: Why Do We Need It?

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 10:00:14 -0400

Transcreation is a relatively new term that blends the words translation and creation. In a nutshell, transcreation involves taking a concept in one language and completely recreating it in another language. A successfully transcreated message (either written or visual) evokes the same emotions and carries the same implications in the target language as it does

The Content Corner: Code is a Tool, Content is the Solution

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 10:00:50 -0400

It seems of late that the focus on coding and technology within the federal space has become out of balance with that of good, solid content. As I believe I have said before with regard to user experience, great technology with poor content is still worthless. Amazing code that delivers poorly written or designed content

The Content Corner: Social Media Metrics and the Challenge of Effective Measurement

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 11:18:21 -0400

I’ve recently been required to focus more attention on social media from a federal agency standpoint and this has directly led to a greater consideration of content. One of my first steps was to begin sharing various forms of content and gauge the success of each type. In today’s post, I’ll share what I have

The Content Corner: Feeding the Beast with Agile Content Development

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 10:59:54 -0400

I feel as though I have ignored the beast in the room lately, and since I began my tenure on The Content Corner introducing that concept, I felt I needed to wrestle with it one last time before I depart. Previously, I discussed the concept of pair writing. Today I want to investigate how another software

Quizzes: The Secret Weapon of the World’s Best Content Creators

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 11:00:44 -0400

Online quizzes have rapidly risen to the front of the social media revolution. “In 2014, 8 out of 10 of the most shared articles on the Web were quizzes,” states Owen Fuller of content company Movement Ventures. Content creators leverage quizzes to successfully drive customer engagement and increase customer website conversions (to take action such

The Content Corner: How Google Judges Your Content

Mon, 07 Mar 2016 11:09:58 -0400

Every week my main goal is to usually provide new ways to help you feed the content beast. However, today I am going to remind you of why feeding the beast is important, especially when it comes to your search engine rankings and helping users find your content. I’ve discussed key search engine optimization (SEO)

New FTC Website for Identity Theft Victims Offers Personal Recovery Plans

Thu, 03 Mar 2016 10:00:13 -0400

Identity theft is a big problem and it takes time and effort to deal with the issues that it causes. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has a new tool that makes it easier for identity theft victims to recover from identity theft by providing a personal recovery plan. No matter what the person’s specific identity

The Content Corner: Facebook Expands Access to Instant Articles

Mon, 29 Feb 2016 10:21:01 -0400

One of my biggest content concerns is digital sharecropping. The recent announcement from Facebook that they will soon open their Instant Articles publishing capability to everyone was reason enough for me to revisit the topic.

What do Mac & Cheese and Power of Attorneys Have in Common?

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 10:47:25 -0400

They ranked among our top three most popular emails in 2015. At USAGov, we know that email is often our #1 driver of traffic to our content, and nine out of 10 times it’s our go-to outreach tool for disseminating timely information. But doing email sends consistently and effectively isn’t always clear cut, especially when

Bringing Agile Inside

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 13:00:58 -0400

We hear a lot about agile software development being used in work with customers and end users. User stories are developed, coders and programmers turn them into prototypes, then testing is done to make sure the features work and do what is expected. But, agile is more than a way to develop software; it’s a

Touring Top Colleges with the Peace Corps

Wed, 24 Feb 2016 13:00:50 -0400

I wanted to share our first dabble with data storytelling, a visualization supporting the Peace Corps Top Colleges initiative led by our awesome press team. Our goal was to enhance and expand the experience of the Top Colleges campaign and use of the data beyond the usual suspects like infographics, and other assets to show

The Content Corner: Government as API

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 11:10:39 -0400

Here at DigitalGov, we generally focus on federal governmental digital efforts within the U.S. It is where we live and operate, so it makes sense, but many governments across the world struggle with the same issues and leverage technology as a common solution. When I came across an article where Australia announced its “government as

Designing User-Friendly, Educational and Engaging Mobile Gaming Apps

Fri, 19 Feb 2016 12:20:20 -0400

How do you reach audiences with important health information and leave users asking for more? Is it enough to create responsive websites written in plain language or to design apps with health tips optimized for handheld devices? While those ideas are a step in the right direction, we do not live in a world where,

Trends on Tuesday: Robot Messaging Goes Mainstream

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 10:00:10 -0400

John Connor can’t save you. Robots are here to take over the world. Two interesting new consumer mobile and digital content experiences were launched in the past week, signaling some of the first mainstream brands embracing this new paradigm of interactive, bot-driven content experiences: Quartz’s News App and The New York Times Election Slack Bot. Both

Putting Your Main Message First

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:00:31 -0400

Want to learn how to clearly communicate your message? Watch the new “Put Your Main Message First” video from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Created by USCIS’ Office of Communications, the video teaches you about the importance of organizing your information so that your audience understands your key messages. “It’s common in government writing

Microsites Keep Your Audience Updated on Outbreaks

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 10:00:55 -0400

You can now help your audience stay up-to-date on the Zika virus outbreak—and others—through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s microsite, which is an easily embeddable collection of virus information for your agency’s website.

What is Content?

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 04:06:01 -0400

In this age of content marketing that has led publications to call certain ads “paid content,” those of us in government need to broaden our ideas about what “content” is. Many of us get it, but some agencies may also be missing opportunities because they don’t even grasp that content is a broad and fluid

The Content Corner: Location-Aware Content

Mon, 08 Feb 2016 11:00:00 -0400

While January was about looking ahead, February is focused on content and many of the new possibilities and challenges that will face us as content creators over the next year and beyond. At the intersection of these two themes lies the genesis of my topic today: location-aware content. More than a Map One of the

Does Content Syndication Work?

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 10:00:04 -0400

You may have heard some chatter about syndication but thought to yourself—sounds good but does it really work? The answer is—Absolutely!! Here is your Proof NIH News in Health is a monthly newsletter that has recently been syndicated. Since syndication, the newsletter’s content can be found on multiple websites. These websites include state and local

The Content Corner: Four Ways to Help Your Content Stand Out

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 10:00:28 -0400

When discussing trends for 2016, I made some mention of the content overload that started in 2015 but will certainly increase in 2016. Contently recently found that organizations created 73% more content in 2015 than in 2014. I see no reason why that number will decline in 2016, especially as content becomes the beast of

State of Federal Blogging 2016

Fri, 15 Jan 2016 10:00:10 -0400

How government agencies blog has come a long way in the past decade. As we welcome 2016, here is a look at how the White House, NASA and the Department of the Interior run their blogs and share content. White House: Blog Less, Empower More When you go to WhiteHouse.gov, their blog is featured prominently

A 2016 Look Ahead: What’s on the Horizon for Digital Government?

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 16:58:52 -0400

With January, and the tearing off of the old calendar, comes the annual taking stock of where we’ve been in the last year and where we can go in the year ahead. So for this month’s editorial theme, we’re taking a closer look at what we think 2016 will bring for digital government—from mobile and

The Content Corner: Content Trends for 2016

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 14:00:53 -0400

The beginning of a new year is generally a time where people on a personal and professional level look ahead and prognosticate. When it comes to almost any digital media, the one thing we can be certain of is that the pace will quicken, the offerings will expand, and something totally unexpected will jump out

Content Models: As Simple as Pizza Pie!

Thu, 07 Jan 2016 13:07:04 -0400

Open and structured content models assist in the dissemination of information to various devices and media types. In the age of smartphones, tablets, social media tools, syndication and websites, the need for modular content is growing. How can you make your content adaptive to all of these mediums? Open and structured content models can help you create

Digging Into the Data of Our Customer Survey

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 09:00:06 -0400

As a follow-up to the recent post about our annual customer satisfaction survey, we wanted to dig into the data and share some of the overall results to give you some more insights into how we’re using your feedback to improve our programs and services.

Good Content Needs Plain Language

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:48:55 -0400

If good content is essential to good user experience, as Tyrus Manuel proposes in his November 23, 2015, DigitalGov post, then plain language is also part of good user experience. Plain language helps the public do what they need to do—find forms, apply for benefits, look up information and more—when they use federal websites and other

With Collaboration Comes Great Things

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 11:10:42 -0400

We are pleased to announce the beginnings of a new Syndication.Net/Sharepoint module for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Syndication Storefront. The collaborative effort between HHS and National Institutes of Health’s (NIH), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) teams will eventually enable .NET content management system users to publish

The Content Corner: Can You Leverage Cornerstone Content?

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 10:00:02 -0400

If you have a website, then you most likely have cornerstone content—though you may not think of it in that way or even considered it. Just as in architecture, a cornerstone is a basic and essential part of any online presence. Cornerstone content is also important to any new visitors to your agency site, even if you

The Content Corner: Is Pair Writing Right for You?

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 10:00:35 -0400

Fresh from last week’s article about workflows and their importance in the content creation process, I stumbled upon a new twist in content production known as pair writing. Many of you familiar with agile methodologies or software programming in general should know the term pair programming. Pair writing hopes to take some of the same

The Content Corner: Work Smarter with Workflows

Mon, 07 Dec 2015 10:00:55 -0400

I noticed recently that I have spent a decent amount of time discussing or referencing content workflow, but I haven’t spent much time on how to actually create or use workflows. Developing content workflows can be a fairly painless process that can make your regular content creation a much smoother and efficient process. Content workflows

Open Data Policy (M-13-13)

Tue, 01 Dec 2015 12:50:58 -0400

This Memorandum establishes a framework to help institutionalize the principles of effective information management at each stage of the information’s life cycle to promote interoperability and openness.

The Content Corner: The Balance Between SEO and the User

Mon, 30 Nov 2015 10:00:16 -0400

I always think of SEO like the dentist—no one really likes it, but you need to do it. Yet, despite my lack of excitement for the topic, this will be at a minimum my second post (here’s the first) about the relationship between creating good content and SEO practices. Today I want to dive a little

The Content Corner: Good UX Needs Good Content

Mon, 23 Nov 2015 11:00:13 -0400

As DigitalGov focuses on user experience this month it is good to remember one harsh truth: You cannot have a good user experience with bad content. It is important to keep a “content first” strategy in place during any website redesign or new site development. It is so easy for the various disciplines involved in

The Content Corner: User Research for Complex Systems

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 10:21:56 -0400

My office is preparing to embark on a complete redesign of a 10-year-old system that averages 20,000 users a month. The success and adoption of the new system design and the product as a whole will be heavily determined by how well our team translates users’ needs. Providing a good user experience will also play

The Content Corner: Structured Content and the Power of Syndication

Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:52:53 -0400

A recent DigitalGov webinar on syndicated content and the recent achievements of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helped open my eyes even wider to the possibilities of open and structured content. By offering critical health information via syndication, CDC and other Department of Health and Human Services agencies are helping resource-strapped local agencies share

The Content Corner: The Joys of the Content Template

Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:13:29 -0400

Many of us depend a great deal on subject matter experts (SMEs) to generate content that will eventually end up on our site. These are men and women that have critical knowledge to share with our audiences, and it is our job to make it match our various editorial and content guidelines. Using a simple

Welcome to BetaFEC: Campaign Finance for Everyone

Fri, 30 Oct 2015 10:00:38 -0400

As the 2016 presidential election heats up, here at 18F we’ve been working with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to make campaign finance data more accessible to the public. Today, we launched betaFEC, the first piece in a complete redesign of the FEC’s online

New Website. New Farmers.

Fri, 30 Oct 2015 02:55:47 -0400

USDA has been looking for ways to improve content delivery to our customers and making their first interaction with USDA and government a positive one. In 2014, USDA launched New Farmers, a website dedicated to helping new and beginning farmers and ranchers find the resources

The Content Corner: Twitter, Apple News and the Importance of Our Websites

Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:00:19 -0400

First, McDonald’s started serving breakfast all day. Now, Twitter announced it is dropping its 140 character limit for tweets. Black is white, up is down. Or is it really that big a deal? Is Twitter just keeping itself relevant in the battle for your content? LinkedIn and Facebook were first with their strong push for organizations to

National Customer Service Week Is Over, but Our Work Is Not!

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 10:00:56 -0400

Get your customer personas right, and you will improve the customer experience (CX) for the rest of your audience. That’s advice Rick Parrish from Forrester Research gave in response to an audience question during the September 29 DigitalGov University webinar on the state of CX in the federal government. Your key customers are those that are most important to the organization, and often most

The Content Corner: Helping Your Content Contributors

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 10:04:17 -0400

Recently, I shared some suggestions and personal lessons learned for agencies either shopping for a new CMS or preparing to revamp their content strategy and workflow. Let’s take things one step further and focus on arguably the most important parts of your CMS: the content creator or user. Arguments can be made that content is the most

Gov Analytics Breakdown #1 – Browsers: Chrome Takes the Cake

Thu, 15 Oct 2015 15:25:39 -0400

We wanted to take a look at overall browser usage now that DAP has a few years of data, and the changes tell an interesting story. Here’s a breakdown of the percent of total sessions of the top five browsers during the last three years.

Income Scams Are Subject of New FTC Fotonovela

Wed, 14 Oct 2015 10:00:28 -0400

The FTC’s second Spanish-language fotonovela is about scams that promise you can make money selling high-end products or brand-name merchandise. If the pitch sounds familiar, that’s because the story is based on facts from a recent [Federal Trade Commission] FTC lawsuit against a

The Content Corner: Content Management System Considerations

Mon, 05 Oct 2015 11:24:31 -0400

These days you couldn’t be faulted for thinking your content management system (CMS) choices are limited to two open source systems and maybe an enterprise-level offering that no one uses anymore. And while it’s true that for the public sector the popular open source options are extremely attractive from a cost standpoint, if nothing else,

How OSTP Crowdsourced A Crowdsourcing Toolkit

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 10:18:38 -0400

To promote crowdsourcing, one effective tool is, well, crowdsourcing. Today, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science (CCS) unveiled the Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Toolkit. The toolkit contains information, resources, and best practices federal agencies can use to harness the power

The Content Corner: Defining Your Core

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 01:30:53 -0400

Through the course of this blog, I have frequently mentioned the need to feed the content beast and have discussed tactics such as the content pillar and various other aspects of developing a solid content strategy. Recent research from the Content Marketing Institute found the average business-to-business (B2B) company uses 13 content marketing tactics or

USA.Gov Launches vote.USA.gov to Help Citizens Register and Connect with States

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 11:00:21 -0400

One of the most important rights of American citizens is the right to vote. It is the foundation of our democracy, and in many ways, the basis of our government. This is why the team at USA.gov is excited to announce the launch

Trends on Tuesday: Content is King for Mobile Apps

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 11:00:51 -0400

Yahoo’s mobile analytics service, Flurry, released a new and provocative report about mobile apps versus mobile browser usage, in which they found audiences are spending almost an hour more with their mobile phones than last year.

The Content Corner: Harness the Power of User-Generated Content

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 13:00:36 -0400

As of 2015, Millennials spent 30% of their time consuming user-generated content (UGC), and 54% of that group find UGC more trustworthy than content generated by a specific brand. This covers everything from user-generated reviews on Yelp! to short-form videos. Another benefit of UGC is that it helps crowdsource the burden of feeding the content

Speed Matters: Optimizing Your Website For Maximum Performance

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 10:00:13 -0400

During a recent DigitalGov University webinar, Jeremy Vanderlan, Technical Deputy for AIDS.gov, explained how even fractions of a second can have a negative impact on a user’s impression of your website.

The Content Corner: Should You Stop Writing and Start Podcasting?

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 10:00:35 -0400

Several months or so ago, I raised the question of whether you and your agency should be podcasting. Incidentally, my post coincided with the launch of DigitalGov’s new podcast series.

How the CIO Council Made Our Open Data Prioritization Tool Kit More Open

Fri, 04 Sep 2015 13:00:18 -0400

The Open Data Prioritization Toolkit is categorized into phases of understanding, evaluating, and opening datasets.

HTTPS and Other Ranking Factors: What Impacts the SEO of Government Websites?

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 10:00:43 -0400

Following the recent OMB memo that all publicly available federal websites and Web services must implement HTTPS by December 31, 2016, Web content managers across government are considering the SEO (search engine optimization) implications of the transition, among other details.

Mobile Content: Less is More

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:00:57 -0400

With 14 test cycles under our belt, the Federal CrowdSource Mobile Testing Program has heard one recurring theme from our testers—”there’s too much information!” While both desktop monitor and smartphone screen sizes are growing, there is still no comparison. At our desks, many of us are using a 24 inch (or even bigger) monitor. How big is your

The Content Corner: Optimize Your Content

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 10:00:08 -0400

For the past several weeks, I have been writing about fairly cerebral and more technical aspects of content generation and language in general. This week, I felt it was time to get back to a more basic content concept: content optimization. Frequently when content optimization is discussed it is heavily focused on search engine optimization

The Content Corner: Modular Design and Structured Content

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 14:07:31 -0400

Several months ago I discussed the concept of a world without Web pages and the importance of structured content and thinking about content, not pages. This week, I’m taking that discussion further by discussing the importance of modularity in Web design and how that complements our efforts to create more structured and reusable data. Break

The Content Corner: Using Natural Language Processing to Improve Rulemaking

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 13:10:53 -0400

For the past several weeks, I have been inflicting you with my recent dive down the rabbit hole of natural language generation and the larger discipline of natural language algorithms. Most of the focus has been on the power of natural language generation and how it can help you rapidly produce content on a wide

The Content Corner: Can Automated Content Creation Help Your Agency?

Mon, 10 Aug 2015 11:00:23 -0400

Nearly half of companies recently surveyed said that automating content creation would save their content marketing teams the most time. We’ve already covered Natural Language Generation (NLG) algorithms and how they have made some forms of automated content generation a reality already, such as for sports recaps or financial data reporting. Let’s take a deeper

The Content Corner: Rise of the Machines

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 11:10:42 -0400

In the span of two days, I received as many emails from respectable content marketing blogs worrying about the dangers of machines taking the jobs of bloggers and other content creators. The man vs. machine dynamic has existed since the dawn of the industrial age, but is it finally reaching the point where a technology

An Overview of Digital Communities

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:10:49 -0400

Digital communities of practice come in many stripes. DigitalGov communities span eight (and counting) focus areas and have thousands of members, but strong collaborations exist in all corners of government. In honor of this month’s communities theme, we are offering a list of communities that foster connections and strengthen the digital capabilities of federal agencies.

Community Rock Star Round Up

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 10:00:21 -0400

Around this month’s Communities Theme, the DigitalGov team thought we’d round up your community rock stars. These are people in your communities who’ve gone above and beyond, who’ve contributed content, organized events, participated in developing toolkits and more.

The Content Corner: Supporting Your Content

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 10:18:44 -0400

This column revolves mostly around content creation and strategy, but an overlooked part of the content lifecycle is helping people find your content. Your content is made to be seen and without planning for promotion, it may never be found. The methods available to you may vary (wildly) at your agency, so remember your mileage may

CIO Council Releases IT Policy Library

Fri, 24 Jul 2015 10:00:34 -0400

The CIO Council recently published an IT Policy Library database in order to provide agency innovators with a searchable, comprehensive collection of IT reporting and action requirements for federal agencies.

An Introduction to HTTPS, by 18F and DigitalGov University

Tue, 21 Jul 2015 11:10:31 -0400

18F uses HTTPS for everything we make, and the U.S. government is in the process of transitioning to HTTPS everywhere. As part of this effort, we’ve recently partnered with DigitalGov University to produce a two-video series introducing the why’s and how’s of HTTPS. In an Introduction to HTTPS for beginners, we cover what happens when

Trends on Tuesday: GOV.UK Weighs in on Mobile User Habits

Tue, 21 Jul 2015 10:00:57 -0400

England’s Government Digital Service (similar to our own U.S. Digital Services and 18F) did a study of how content on their websites is consumed on mobile and non-mobile devices and learned several key points for a future-focused and

The Content Corner: Determining Your User’s Needs

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 10:20:36 -0400

I recently wrapped up a series of user interviews as part of a review of our judiciary-wide intranet in order to provide better digital services to our customers (and yes, our internal users are our customers, not just the general public).

State’s ShareAmerica Takes a Very Social Approach

Fri, 17 Jul 2015 10:00:59 -0400

Social media is front and center at Share.America.gov, a U.S. Department of State site managed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, that describes itself as a “platform for sharing compelling stories and images that spark discussion and debate on important topics like democracy, freedom of expression, innovation, entrepreneurship, education, and the role of civil society.”

What’s in a Name? “Communities” in the Public and Private Sectors

Wed, 15 Jul 2015 10:00:21 -0400

Many of you are part of a government community. We lead a few of them here, and new ones are forming all the time. In fact, as I was writing this article, I stumbled upon a community for government Drupal users. A co-worker recently asked me for research on communities because she is trying to

The Content Corner: Create Better Mobile Content

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 11:00:23 -0400

All content needs to be developed with a mobile-first strategy, from headline choice to paragraph length. Although we are all now living in a post-mobilegeddon world, many of us are still implementing a mobile strategy. This strategy should consider several factors, including viewport size, cellular versus WiFi considerations, and load times. It should also include a

2015 Customer Service Trends: a Mid-Year Update

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 10:00:36 -0400

Earlier this year, we published 15 Government Customer Service Trends for 2015. We’re halfway through the year now—how are these trends holding up? 1. Centralized Customer Offices A few agencies have created centralized customer offices, while others question the need for a single organization that focuses on the customer. As the public’s overall satisfaction with

Trends on Tuesday: Trends in CMS

Tue, 07 Jul 2015 11:57:30 -0400

A Content Management System (CMS) allows people to easily publish, maintain and update information online. Choosing a CMS (or deciding whether you need one at all) is one that many agencies have faced. It’s not an easy choice because there are many solutions available to content managers. As government agencies, the majority of content we deliver is

The Content Corner: Creating Good Content is Hard

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 10:00:55 -0400

Throughout my five-plus months so far on this blog, I have focused a great deal on creating content, the various methods to improve your content, and what exactly content is. One thing that I may not have emphasized enough is the quality of the actual writing itself and how no content strategy on the planet

Content Syndication of NIH Grants Information Now Available

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 10:47:58 -0400

Now you can pull the latest NIH grant content directly into your site.

The Content Corner: Telling Your Story

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 10:00:19 -0400

Storytelling plays an important role in helping to establish the human connection that is often lost in today’s digital deluge of information, shares and tweets. A large amount of the content we consume today is derivative, second-hand, and generally passes through us like a breeze. But by using a method of sharing content that is as

Betting on email: How We’re Reaching Hispanics via Their Inbox

Tue, 23 Jun 2015 11:30:58 -0400

Driving visitors to a destination means reaching your users where they are at. In 2005, as part of the greater USA.gov marketing strategy, GobiernoUSA.gov launched an email program. These communications initially took the form of short blurbs that directed people to important site content and promoted other government information hosted by various federal agencies. From

The Content Corner: Writing Better Headlines

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 10:00:49 -0400

The clarity of a headline or title plays a critical role in whether your content is ever seen and read by your customers. As the battle for eyeballs continues to escalate, digital media providers seem to be resorting more and more to “clickbait” titles and headlines. However, as with all forms of overused marketing, consumers

NOAA’s CrowdMag App: Citizen Science on the Go

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 10:00:40 -0400

The rise in mobile device usage has created a rise in expectations: the public wants new and innovative interactions with all organizations, including government. Incorporating social media in mobile websites and native apps is one way federal agencies have increased public interaction. Six agencies have leveraged native app functionality for crowdsourcing purposes. The National Oceanic

The Content Corner: Creating Engaging Content with Data

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 11:10:42 -0400

Over the last several years, continuing advances in computer processing power and storage have brought about the growth of what some call big data. Mobile and wearable devices now also generate large amounts of data via our

How Governance Supports Your Agency’s Digital Government Strategy

Fri, 12 Jun 2015 10:00:33 -0400

What is governance, and how can you make good governance usable in your agency? The federal government developed the Digital Government Strategy to deliver better Web services to the American people.

How Agencies “Pin” Down Their Audiences

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 02:35:50 -0400

While Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social media platforms (according to some rankings), your agency can and should evaluate the benefits of platforms like Pinterest, which have seen major growth in users and activity. In the last six months of 2014, Pinterest increased its membership by 57%, while Facebook and Twitter only grew by

The Content Corner: Creating a Content Style Guide

Mon, 08 Jun 2015 10:00:02 -0400

One of the more commonly overlooked pieces of any effective content strategy is a content style guide.

Visualizing BLS Data to Improve Understanding

Fri, 05 Jun 2015 10:00:28 -0400

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s the value of a striking, cool chart or map of some BLS data? At the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), we’re always thinking of better ways to help our users understand the information we produce.

The Content Corner: Humanizing Structured Content

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 10:00:43 -0400

Over the past several years, DigitalGov has been extremely focused on structured content, content models, and their role in future-ready content (and rightly so).

Creating Story-Based, Narrative Content to Share Your Agency’s Mission

Wed, 20 May 2015 11:10:09 -0400

As human beings, we love stories. We like regaling our friends with tales from a recent road trip. We listen intently as grandma recounts that special moment she first met grandpa. Stories are how we relate to people. Stories help us form memories. Stories carry on tradition and culture from one generation to the next.

The Content Corner: Connecting With Customers at Labor

Mon, 18 May 2015 10:00:35 -0400

Here at DigitalGov, customer service is a focal theme during the month of May, and by some type of cosmic chance, I was invited to share my insights on content strategy and content creation at a Customer Service Community of Practice event at the Department of Labor. The event focused on topics I commonly discuss here

DigitalGov Summit: Live From the Comfort of Your Desk

Mon, 18 May 2015 02:59:13 -0400

The DigitalGov platform helps federal agencies meet 21st century digital expectations, and we’ve planned our second DigitalGov Summit with this mission and your needs in mind.

The Content Corner: Ranking Six Common Content Types

Mon, 11 May 2015 10:00:27 -0400

In last week’s column, I went back to a frequent theme of mine and discussed another method for helping to feed the content beast, which was learning when to say no to a new and potentially resource devouring digital channel or platform. However, we also need to take a look at six of the most

USA.gov in Beta: Tell Us What You Think

Mon, 04 May 2015 14:30:34 -0400

Thirteen years in digital is an eon, and on the eve of its 13th birthday, we at USA.gov found ourselves reckoning with a mid-life crisis. In the thirteen years since Firstgov.gov was launched (and ten years for FirstGov en Español), the sheer volume and sophistication

The Content Corner: Learning to Say No

Mon, 04 May 2015 11:30:37 -0400

There is a quote that goes something like, “Just because we can do a thing, it does not follow that we must do a thing.” I attribute it to the President of the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, partially because I am a geek, and secondly, the internet provided

Helpful Resources to Make Your Content Mobile-Friendly

Mon, 04 May 2015 10:00:43 -0400

Smartphones make up 75% of the mobile market—which makes mobile-friendliness a must for government agencies. With the recent update to Google’s search algorithm, or what some are calling Mobilegeddon, the case for building a mobile-friendly site becomes even stronger. For many government organizations, responsive Web design (RWD) has been the answer to their mobile question.

Creating a Veterans-Centered Experience Through ExploreVA

Fri, 01 May 2015 10:00:29 -0400

Good customer service includes user-centered design. For one digital team at the Department of Veterans Affairs, creating a veterans-centered experience started with one word: explore. The ExploreVA website provides a single location for veterans and their families to research the benefits that they may be entitled to receive. Benefits include health care, education, employment, and

Cross-Agency Collaboration Is the Key to Reaching Millions

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 12:02:24 -0400

This story begins with a post about reverse mortgages, but don’t worry: we won’t go into the world of complex home loans. Rather, this is a story about how one federal agency is partnering with another to amplify its content and reach millions of people online—and why more agencies should do the same. Many federal

The Content Corner: The Content Wars

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 10:56:28 -0400

One of the most interesting trends forming at the start of 2015 is the rise of new digital publishers. Online entities from Facebook to GE are continuing their strong forays into the world of content production. This shift, especially among social media platforms such as Facebook, Linked In and Snapchat, could significantly alter the digital

Sharing the Essentials of Animated Gifs for Public Services

Fri, 24 Apr 2015 13:33:00 -0400

Animated gifs are increasingly found throughout the digital experience of today’s users.

The Content Corner: Finding Your Voice

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 10:00:55 -0400

No, this is not another post about podcasting but about a different voice entirely. It is the words you use, the conversation that you are having with your users.

Trends on Tuesday: 10 Tips for Mobile Live Streaming

Tue, 14 Apr 2015 11:10:55 -0400

Mobile video is starting to hit its second wave for both consumption and creation, and government agencies can prepare now to ride this new channel for mobile and social engagement. Fueled by mobile bandwidth and cellular stability steadily increasing and consumers’ comfort

The Content Corner: Structured Content Challenges and Lessons Learned

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 10:00:17 -0400

In May 2014, Sarah Crane discussed the importance of structured content, APIs and the development of a “Create Once, Publish Everywhere” (COPE) strategy at USA.gov via a three part video series. After my recent post about a world without Web pages, Sarah and I connected and we discussed the challenges she has experienced during the

Multiple Languages, Single Platforms: the World Digital Library

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 02:29:14 -0400

Multilingual does not always mean multiple accounts or websites. Increasingly, multilingual content is delivered in an integrated way, with two (or more!) languages delivered on the same website, app, or social media platform. The World Digital Library (WDL) is one example of how multiple languages can be incorporated on single platforms. The WDL is a

Trends on Tuesday: 40% of Smartphone Users Look up Government Information

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 10:00:52 -0400

The Pew Research Center released a deep research dive into U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015 that provided three big ideas and data points for government agencies to consider when planning their digital strategies.

The Content Corner: Should You Be Podcasting?

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 10:00:34 -0400

Along a somewhat personal journey (that you have chosen to join) to better define the term content, I’ve stumbled upon the puzzle of podcasts.

Trends on Tuesday: Smartphone Market Growth Makes Mobile-Friendly a Must

Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:00:43 -0400

ComScore reported last week that smartphones now make up a whopping 75% of the mobile market. That’s up from 65% just one year ago. This means three-quarters of Americans over the age of 13 now have smartphones, and they are accessing government services with them more and more. This is an undeniable fact because earlier this

The Content Corner: Making Those Connections

Mon, 30 Mar 2015 10:00:27 -0400

A (possibly infamous) blog post from last Friday and the discussion or debate that followed reminded me of several important points that we all may lose sight of during our hectic schedules.

Web Metadata Publishing Using XML

Mon, 23 Mar 2015 11:00:18 -0400

Metadata for website content is usually managed as part of the editorial process when documents are created and published with content management systems. There may be another source for this metadata, especially in regulatory agencies: internal databases that reference Web content in support of record keeping processes. These databases may contain public and non-public information

The Content Corner: Building a Content Strategy

Mon, 23 Mar 2015 09:45:24 -0400

I recently read a disheartening statistic which stated that only 32% of B2B organizations and 27% of B2C organizations had a documented content strategy. When you combine these results with the general assumption that the federal government lags behind in areas such as this (especially since content strategies have a marketing basis), then the number

Structured Content in Government: How HHS and NCI Are Getting Started

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 09:50:12 -0400

Metadata, tagging, content modeling … they’re not identical concepts, but they’re driven by the same basic principle: when you structure your digital information, it can be more easily searched, reused, connected, shared, and analyzed.

Getting Started with Usability Testing

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 02:10:54 -0400

At the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), our new open data policy will begin making more Agency-funded data broadly accessible to the public. It completely changes the way we do business, and it also means that in the coming years, the amount of data we

The Content Corner: A World Without Web Pages

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 11:10:48 -0400

Imagine a world without Web pages, only intelligent, self-assembling chunks of content waiting to respond to your needs. The page is irrelevant, there may be no context beyond what is included in your content. The content has to survive on its own, perform its goals on its own. Originally when creating content, you would take

US, Canada, and Mexico Collaborate to Improve Open Government and Digital Services

Fri, 13 Mar 2015 11:10:14 -0400

Many forces are converging to strengthen the political, economic and commercial ties that bind the United States, Canada and Mexico. The GSA Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies (OCSIT) has anticipated this drive toward collaboration for decades, building a network of links among the three nations’ Chief Information Officers and other national technology and data experts.

Data, Code, and API Event Round Up

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 10:00:04 -0400

DigitalGov University has hosted some great events over the last year in partnership with Data.gov, the MobileGov Community and 18F to bring you information on opening data and building APIs. This month we’ve rounded up the events over the past year so that you can see what’s

Busting Myths and Building Partnerships: National Drug Facts Week

Tue, 10 Mar 2015 11:10:21 -0400

Myth-busting isn’t just for television. And through a multi-faceted, tech-savvy campaign based on strategic partnerships, one federal office has found a winning strategy for combating misinformation. National Drug Facts Week (NDFW) is a health awareness week for teenagers, with the goal of debunking

The Content Corner: Performing a Content Audit

Mon, 09 Mar 2015 10:00:21 -0400

Audit. It’s a word that generally has no positive connotations whatsoever. We hear the word audit and we think of tax audits or timesheet audits, etc. The word normally strikes fear or dread in the hearts of most mortals. But it is also a task that all websites will need to perform from time to

Explore Iconic Overseas World War II Sites with ABMC Apps

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:22:36 -0400

The Normandy American Cemetery is one of the 25 permanent American military cemeteries in foreign countries that the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) maintains to honor the service, achievements and sacrifices of U.S. armed forces.

Trends on Tuesday: Google to Implement Mobile-Friendly Rankings

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 10:00:18 -0400

As the use of smartphones continues to grow, it has become even more important for websites to be mobile-friendly. Google has been aware of this trend for quite some time. In response to this trend, Google made

The Content Corner: Catching a Wave

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 14:01:48 -0400

As we all continue to wrestle with the “content beast”, one effective method for generating ideas for content and fleshing out an editorial calendar is to look for trending events or even upcoming holidays. In the spirit of full disclosure, the idea behind this particular post was inspired by the back-to-back Valentine’s Day and Presidents’

ForeignAssistance.gov’s Redesign: Using Agile Methodology to Keep Users in Mind

Fri, 27 Feb 2015 10:00:43 -0400

Content is one of the most important things about your site. After all, it is what keeps your users engaged and keeps them coming back to your site. Depending on the type of website your agency manages, you should always think of ways to best deliver your content to your end users. If the content

Avoid Weak ‘Links’ in Your Digital Chain

Wed, 25 Feb 2015 11:10:25 -0400

Users don’t like surprises. Unexpected or unwanted content undermines the credibility of your agency and frustrates users who come to your website looking for specific information. Using links appropriately in your website content is one way to build trust with users, according to an article by Kara Pernice of the Nielsen Norman Group. Here’s a

The Content Corner: Treating the Citizen as a Customer

Mon, 23 Feb 2015 11:10:26 -0400

There is a tendency in government to discount a range of strategies closely connected to marketing. A good example, and a recent buzzword, is content marketing. Content marketing’s main goal is to drive a user to click or sign-up; to turn them into a lead or a buying customer. We’re the federal government, we aren’t

Top 10 Things (We Think) You Don’t Know about DigitalGov

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:17:13 -0400

Things you don’t know about this website, DigitalGov.gov, that is. It’s our first birthday, and we’re celebrating by sharing some fun facts with you. A more sober look at our strategy can be read on our 6-month post, but this is a party post! w00t! 10. We’ve published an impressive 480 articles and counting (this

Don't Forget the Long Tail: It Can Deliver Value

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 11:10:37 -0400

Top tasks matter. Visitors come to your website with specific goals in mind. Using a top-task methodology can be particularly useful when redesigning your homepage.

A February Focus on Content on DigitalGov

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 10:28:00 -0400

Good content drives your digital presence. No matter what you produce content for - social media, websites, blogs - getting people to see your work is critical. But getting noticed is not as easy as it used to be.

Building Brick by Brick: Ed.gov’s Website Redesign and Mobile Implementation

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 10:00:39 -0400

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither are website redesigns. In line with the piecemeal responsive Web design implementation trend we recently highlighted, the new Ed.gov website redesign happened in three phases. In this case, budget limitations and existing content management systems (CMSs) influenced the decision-making

New NIH Clinical Trials Media Player Now Available

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 10:00:43 -0400

Spread the Word about Clinical Trials! As we have recently seen with the Ebola outbreak, clinical trials are immensely important to medical advancement and treatment. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has developed a new syndication tool to disseminate NIH Clinical Trials information. This effort

Trends on Tuesday: Smartphone Growth Reaches 1.3 Billion in 2014

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 09:51:14 -0400

Smartphone adoption rate continues to rise, but the screen sizes users adopt continue to evolve. According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 375.2 million units during the fourth quarter of 2014. IDC states that this was an increase of more than 25%, compared

Hiring For Your Digital Needs

Mon, 09 Feb 2015 10:00:07 -0400

The increasing presence of big data and all things digital will require the federal government to hire more techies. The skills brought by techies will help the federal government, but we also must consider that success in the federal government will require more than the skills they bring.

The Content Corner: Content Pillars: The Foundation of Any Effective Content Strategy

Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:33:53 -0400

If you and your organization don’t already have a content strategy, then you are most likely working too hard to create content that is less effective in communicating your desired message and less relevant to your end-user. The lack of a content strategy can leave you at the mercy of the content “beast” where you

How Government will Accelerate Anytime, Anywhere Services and Information in 2015

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 03:19:04 -0400

Innovative wearables, stronger wifi and more 3D printing have been among the many projections for the future of mobile in 2015. Whatever comes to pass, we can be certain that the anytime, anywhere user will develop new habits and desires based on new trends. Government must accelerate its customer service approach with anytime, anywhere efforts to keep up. Here’s

6 Digital Media Trends for 2015: You Can Make Them Accessible!

Wed, 28 Jan 2015 02:30:19 -0400

Resolutions and predictions abound this time of year. If you’ve already lost the fight to finally give up sardine ice cream, you can always resolve to maintain or improve your digital media accessibility. Some people say that accessibility and Section 508 compliance squashes

New Ed.gov Homepage and More

Fri, 23 Jan 2015 11:10:51 -0400

You may have noticed we launched our new Ed.gov homepage today. This completes the third and final phase of our visual refresh for our main website. We released the second phase of the refresh back in June. So, what’s new? Streamlined Homepage The new homepage takes our efforts to streamline navigation on the website one

Connect with Your Colleagues Before You Need Them

Mon, 12 Jan 2015 11:10:04 -0400

Running a government website or social media account is complex: while trying to meet your agency’s mission goals and your customers’ needs, you also have to keep track of issues like ethics, information security, privacy, and accessibility. It’s enough to make your head spin. Luckily, no one … errr … no online communications person …

From Elephant to ELK: How We Migrated Our Analytics System to Elasticsearch

Wed, 07 Jan 2015 11:15:44 -0400

As I mentioned in a recent blog post about image search, we’re avid users of Elasticsearch for search. We also recently ported another vital part of our system to Elasticsearch: analytics. This post is a technical deep dive into how our analytics system works, and specifically how and why we used Elasticsearch to build it. Background DigitalGov Search is

Countdown to 2015 with Our Most Popular Articles This Year

Wed, 31 Dec 2014 14:45:22 -0400

As we round out 2014, we’re reflecting on the exciting year we’ve had at DigitalGov since we launched in February. Our mission is to share information and resources from agencies across the federal government that are working in the digital space, and highlight the services and communities that can help you meet your digital government

The Best E-gov Websites in the World

Wed, 31 Dec 2014 10:00:45 -0400

In Design Secrets of the World’s Best e-Government Web Sites, the Asia-Pacific online communications powerhouse FutureGov singles out eight national e-government portals as the best-designed in the world, and identifies the best practices these sites exemplify. “Ultimately, these websites are the best in the world because they are designed to

10 Years of Digital Government—A Retrospective

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 03:09:04 -0400

In December of 2004, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the first Policies for Federal Public Websites. Over the past decade, we’ve seen technology completely transform how government delivers information and services to the public. On this 10-year anniversary, we’re taking a walk down memory lane to recap some of the pivotal moments

The API Briefing: Department of Justice Frees the Content with Two New APIs

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 10:20:21 -0400

When websites were first created back in the 1990s, developers perfected their skills designing sites that presented content in an attractive and eye-catching manner. Content was completely contained within the four corners of the site. With the rise of Web 2.0, content

Crowdsourced Digital Citizen Services Summit

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 10:00:57 -0400

In May 2015, we are hosting the second DigitalGov Citizen Services Summit. This round we are looking to you—federal innovators across government—to help build the agenda.

Going “Behind the Blog” with the Law Library of Congress

Fri, 12 Dec 2014 11:35:14 -0400

Creative content can be found in all corners of the federal space. Recently, the Law Library of Congress blog, In Custodia Legis, and the United States Courts blog, The Third Branch News, were named to the ABA Journal “Blawg 100” out of 4,000 legal blogs eligible for selection. We wanted insight on their blogging success, so we spoke

From Taste-Testers to Explorers: Developing Personas for Open Opportunities

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 09:00:00 -0500

Being customer-focused means doing the gumshoe work of research and rounds of analysis to find gold by understanding user goals. For the task-based innovation network, Open Opportunities for DigitalGov, that meant developing personas in order to overcome our own biases and learn about the different motivations of our participants. In this article, we’ll talk about

Promoting Women’s Health Through Dynamic Multilingual Content

Fri, 05 Dec 2014 10:00:45 -0400

Sonia stands at the pharmacy counter, flashing her most brilliant smile. Jorge, the handsome neighborhood pharmacist, dispenses his own easy smile as they chat. Sound like an ordinary soap opera? This telenovela is actually a tool to help Spanish-speaking women make smart medication decisions. The four

Keeping Vanity URLs in Check: A Few Criteria

Fri, 28 Nov 2014 10:00:53 -0400

Shortcuts, Vanity or Marketing URLs, are all names for the requests Web managers get to shorten Web addresses. The shortened links make it easy to share long links as well as track clicks on those links. On a recent discussion thread on the Web Managers

Placeholder Text: Think Outside the Box

Mon, 24 Nov 2014 10:00:43 -0400

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

Young Entrepreneurs Hang Out With Government Virtually… and in Spanish

Wed, 19 Nov 2014 10:00:28 -0400

It’s a well-known fact that the Hispanic population is growing at a rapid pace, and among the areas seeing the most interest and growth is business. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), there are more than 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. today, a number that is growing at three times the national

Follow the Clicks: A Look at Click-through Rates on Government Websites

Wed, 12 Nov 2014 10:00:51 -0400

How important is it to show the most relevant result at the top of your search results page? Very. Searchers expect to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily—and without scrolling—when they search on government websites. If a Web page isn’t “above the fold” as one of the first listings on the first results

Get More Health Content for Your Websites, Apps, and Social Media

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 11:05:26 -0400

Several federal agencies and offices have worked together to create a free and easy way for public health partners to incorporate our Web content, images, video, data, and infographics into other sites, apps, and social media. Through digital media syndication, the science-based resources of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Tokens: Part II

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 10:00:48 -0400

In the first part of A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Tokens, I explained why we built a social media-driven image search engine, and specifically how we used Elasticsearch to build its first iteration. In this week’s post, I’ll take a deep dive into how we worked to improve relevancy, recall, and the searcher’s experience

Open and Structured Content Models Workshop Recap

Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:24:44 -0400

People consume government information in a variety of ways: through agency websites, of course, but increasingly through social media, search engines, and mobile apps, whether developed by agencies or third parties. To make sure the information is available seamlessly, accurately, and consistently from one setting to another,

Web Design Changes? Let the Metrics be Your Guide

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 12:42:56 -0400

On September 6, 2013 at 11:27 p.m., EDT., viewers tuned in through the Internet to watch NASA launch its Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft. As viewers logged onto the website, something unusual happened. For the first time, metrics indicated that NASA.gov’s mobile users outpaced their desktop users. 93 percent of their viewers

Welcome to Mobile Gov Month on DigitalGov

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 12:26:16 -0400

What’s your mobile itch? A long time ago at a workshop not so far away…we asked the 40 federal government innovators who had released native apps this question. We wanted to know their biggest barriers, challenges, frustrations to building anytime, anywhere government. Their generosity in telling

Recap of Social Digital Search Webinar

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:17:31 -0400

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

What Do Dear Abby and the Federal Government Have in Common?

Fri, 10 Oct 2014 10:00:48 -0400

Lots of people ask us questions. So it only makes sense for us to partner up to answer some of those questions. Since the 1970’s, USA.gov has partnered with Dear Abby to help get free printed government publications on a variety of topics (health, disaster preparedness, caring for aging loved ones,

The API Briefing: CDC’s API Delivers Free Up-To-Date Health Information for Your Blog or Website

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 11:50:21 -0400

The recent Ebola outbreaks demonstrate the need for current and authoritative health news. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the federal information source for Ebola and other infectious diseases, along with other public health data. Data.CDC.gov lists 48 datasets and views containing statistics from smoking to infectious diseases. Developers can use the

Trends on Tuesday: Are QR Codes Still Relevant?

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 16:55:55 -0400

Recently, I was designing new outreach materials and needed a way to connect this offline collateral with my agency’s digital content. Using a QR (or Quick Response) code immediately came to mind, followed by the question, “Are QR codes still relevant?” Opinions differ on their utility and I couldn’t find any objective data on how

Multimedia Storytelling in Government: Ghazni Towers Documentation Project

Fri, 03 Oct 2014 12:40:52 -0400

“Content is king” is a generally accepted truth for those of us who produce digital media. But once you have compelling content, how to best present it to your audience becomes the next challenge. In recent years, Web innovators started emphasizing the effectiveness of “digital storytelling,” or content focused on individual, human experiences using compelling

Member Spotlight – Hannah Rubin, Library of Congress

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 10:00:17 -0400

Meet Hannah Rubin, who works in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) at the Library of Congress. She’s the focus of this month’s Member Spotlight.

The Federal Register: Improving Visitors’ Search Experience on Agency Websites

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 10:00:55 -0400

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

Strategy Pivot Yields Results: DigitalGov.Gov Six Months Later

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 12:00:02 -0400

Six months ago, we launched this DigitalGov.gov platform to support federal agencies in delivering 21st century digital services and information to the public. It seems a good time to share some of the thinking that went into the development of the platform, and what we’ve learned so far.

Open Government #WikiHack at the National Archives

Wed, 10 Sep 2014 10:00:36 -0400

The National Archives and Records Administration and Wikimedia D.C., invite you to help us improve access to open government data on Wikipedia. We are excited to announce that we will be hosting the Open Government #WikiHack, a two-day hackathon at the National Archives Building in downtown

Trends on Tuesday: Are only 11% of Websites Responsive?

Tue, 09 Sep 2014 10:00:59 -0400

Roughly 1 in 9 (11%) websites have adopted responsive Web design, according to research conducted by Guy Podjarny in January. While the number has risen in the last 7 months, I know you’re probably a little underwhelmed by that number. But if you are one of the agencies that have gone through the process of

Sharing is Caring, Adding Social Media Accounts to Search

Fri, 05 Sep 2014 10:00:36 -0400

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

Open Source Content Management Systems and Responsive Web Design Webinar Recap

Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:00:46 -0400

Most of us in the DigitalGov community recognize that responsive Web design is one approach to mobile first and most of us have a pretty clear picture of what it means—a responsive website will adjust to different devices, and the content will neatly change its layout from one screen size to another. But do you

Member Spotlight – Jill James, Dept. of Education

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 10:00:43 -0400

Welcome to the first edition of a new series of articles spotlighting members of our Government Web Manager Community. This month, we introduce Jill James, who’s the Senior Web Editor/Director for the Department of Education, in their Communications and Outreach

Help the Public Find Your Information, Wherever and However You’ve Published It

Tue, 26 Aug 2014 11:00:35 -0400

As traffic to desktop .gov websites declines, how we publish our content increasingly matters. We need to meet people where they are as they seek information on the Internet. To do so, we need to adjust to the new world of mobile applications, social media, and instant answers provided by search engines. Freeing Content from

Actionable Web Analytics: A Three-Step Process

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 13:00:36 -0400

As Web analysts, your customers and their needs can vary greatly. One minute you are leading an analysis that will influence strategic decisions, the next you are distributing reports to folks who will never use them, but just have to have them. Sometimes, in the darkest hours, it can become more

Go.USA.gov Creates Short, Trustworthy .gov URLs

Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:59:05 -0400

Short URLs are useful for tracking clicks, but they can create a poor user experience because the person clicking the link can’t see the final destination. That’s why Go.USA.gov was created—to show users that they would reach official government information. To maintain this trust, Go.USA.gov is only open to government employees and only shortens government

Top 5 Reasons to Use Government-wide Open and Structured Content Models

Wed, 20 Aug 2014 11:00:16 -0400

Content models provide an opportunity for agencies to structure, organize, distribute, and better publish information in multiple forms and on multiple platforms. Federal agencies discussed why content models are important for future-facing content in our What Structured Content Models Can Do For You Webinars in May and June.

The API Briefing: Writable APIs – The Federal Register.gov Commenting Feature

Wed, 13 Aug 2014 11:46:28 -0400

FederalRegister.gov just released a writable API that allows citizens to comment directly on proposed regulations. When a user is viewing a regulation on FederalRegister.gov, he or she can click on the “Submit a Formal Comment” button. A textbox appears, and the comment is recorded for that particular regulation.

Photo Carousels on Mobile Websites: Use With Caution!

Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:00:58 -0400

You might recognize them by the user controls, if provided, that allow you to move from one newsy item to the next. They go by various names, including: carousel, slider, slideshow, banner, and gallery. Many government homepages have them. In a recent email exchange on

Delivering a Customer-Focused Government Through Smarter IT

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:29:36 -0400

As technology changes, government must change with it to address new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities. This Administration has made important strides in modernizing government so that it serves its constituents more effectively and efficiently, but we know there is much more to do. Last year, a group of digital and technology experts

The Power of Email Marketing

Mon, 11 Aug 2014 10:00:14 -0400

If you aren’t currently including email marketing in your digital outreach efforts, you’re missing out.

Take a Gander at Our /Developer Page!

Mon, 28 Jul 2014 10:00:05 -0400

A growing trend both inside government and outside is to have a simple welcoming page for outside developers who may be interested in your team’s efforts. This material is often located at website.gov/developer 1 and points visitors to technical material that developers may be interested in, especially APIs. Collecting technical documentation in one place facilitates

5 Key Points About Government Branding Now

Fri, 25 Jul 2014 11:47:11 -0400

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking (in my own capacity) before the Council for Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency Public Affairs Officers (CIGIE-PAO) task force about branding. The invitation came by way of a colleague I greatly respect. Bridget Serchak is currently Chief of Public Affairs for the Department of Defense Inspector General and

Improving Content, Increasing Participation: A NARA Usability Case Study

Fri, 18 Jul 2014 10:00:49 -0400

Over the years, the staff intranet at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had become increasingly difficult to use. Old, irrelevant content routinely bubbled to the top of search results, and essential employee tools were hard to find. NARA staff agreed that the site was due for an upgrade: fixing NARA@work was voted a

Solving a MobileGov Mystery: Using Open Source CMS to Implement Responsive Web Design

Fri, 18 Jul 2014 01:24:56 -0400

Responsive Web design is widely-known as a go-to solution for designing a website to fit on any device’s screen size. As we found in our February workshop, federal agencies are implementing it for various reasons. There are various ways to implement responsive

Why Marketing to U.S. Hispanics Is like the Offside Rule in Soccer

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 13:55:10 -0400

Do you scratch your head trying to figure out the latest trends to reach out to Hispanics in the U.S.? If you answered yes, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The current Soccer World Cup is lending a great analogy to help you think through your strategy to your customers. Some rules in soccer, as in

Lean Startup: Changing Government Services and Agencies to Better Serve the Citizens

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 10:00:44 -0400

It is easy to start a business today and especially an Internet-based business. Using the cloud, APIs, and hosted applications, an entrepreneur can quickly build a website/mobile app. The entrepreneur can hire freelancers to do everything from creating a logo to writing a business plan. Virtual assistant services can provide on-demand staff to meet business

Using Top Tasks to be Top-Notch: Federal Reserve Board Usability Case Study

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 13:51:51 -0400

In 2012, the Federal Reserve Board used the Top-task methodology to redesign our intranet, called Inside the Board, which had not been significantly updated since it was launched in 1995. After determining the top tasks the audience needs to accomplish on a website, you can run usability tests to gain knowledge and improve the site. The project

Using Analytics to Create Change: USA.gov Usability Case Study

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 13:00:38 -0400

While many people tout the death of the home page, it’s still an important piece of the user experience on USA.gov. In 2013, 30 percent of all sessions on USA.gov included the home page—that’s 8.67 million sessions. The numbers for GobiernoUSA.gov are even higher—79 percent of all sessions included the home page. According to Jakob Nielsen, “A

Multilingual Digital Content

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 10:00:13 -0400

Federal agencies are required to provide meaningful access to government information to people with limited English proficiency. This also applies to agency digital content.

Is It Tweet-Worthy?

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 01:00:27 -0400

The Web now contains over 1.51 billion pages of content, according to WorldWideWebSize.com. That’s a lot of reading material, and a lot of content competing with yours for attention. People won’t waste time (even a few seconds) on an article that doesn’t matter to them in some way—not when there are so many other interesting

Broadcasting Board of Governors Use “Relay” Tool to Cover the World Cup

Thu, 26 Jun 2014 14:10:30 -0400

World Cup fever, everyone’s got it—even the Broadcasting Board of Governors‘ (BBG) Voice of America has reporters covering the event. For this year’s World Cup, VOA has teamed up with the Office of Digital and Design Innovation (a digital team inside

NIH Can Rebuild Him, Launches Bionic Man Tool

Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:16:09 -0400

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering recently launched the “NIBIB Bionic Man,” an interactive Web tool that allows students and the public to learn about cutting-edge research in biotechnology. The bionic man features 14 technologies

Search Engine Optimization for Government Websites

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:00:33 -0400

On June 10, 2014, the Metrics Community of Practice of the Federal Web Managers Council and DigitalGov University hosted an event to honor the memory of Joe Pagano, a former co-chair of the Web Metrics Sub-Council. This third lecture honoring Joe focused on search engine optimization (SEO). While commercial search engines do a remarkable job

The API Briefing: Quick Guide to Using GitHub – FDA’s OpenFDA Research Project

Wed, 11 Jun 2014 10:00:12 -0400

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just released the OpenFDA Research Project. At the heart of the project is the OpenFDA API, which allows developers to perform searches on FDA’s drug information database. Coming soon is the ability to search FDA information on medical devices and information about food. Visit the

DigitalGov IRL: 6 Ways To Get It Right

Tue, 10 Jun 2014 08:14:55 -0400

This morning I was walking down 18th Street, crossing Pennsylvania Avenue by the World Bank when I heard what sounded like “a test from the

What Structured Content Can Do For You: Webinar Recap

Mon, 09 Jun 2014 10:00:42 -0400

Structured content and open content models can help you create content that is platform-agnostic, format-free, and device-independent.

Overcoming Barriers—DigitalGov Summit Recap

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:09:15 -0400

As government innovators, we work to improve public services every day. In essence we are already in a public private partnership. But how can your agency capitalize on existing public private partnerships to engage citizens and enhance services? Four panelists from across government shared their public private partnerships success stories at the DigitalGov Citizen Services

The Importance of Cross-Channel Customer Service—DigitalGov Summit Recap

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 12:13:55 -0400

During the DigitalGov Citizen Services Summit last Friday, customer service experts from across government came together on a panel to share what customer service means to them and their organization and specific ways they leverage it. The other panels were on performance analysis, public private partnerships, and inter-agency work. The panelists spoke about the strategies

Evaluating Digital Communication: An International Incident

Wed, 04 Jun 2014 10:00:28 -0400

Are you measuring Twitter followers and press release downloads without any clue as to what people are doing with your agency’s products and information? Or do you not even know what to measure, never mind whether that measurement would be meaningful? Fear not, fair government communicator—there is hope! On May 15, top government communication measurement

Harnessing the Power of Many—DigitalGov Summit Recap

Tue, 03 Jun 2014 15:14:11 -0400

At the DigitalGov Citizen Services Summit last Friday, Jacob Parcell, Manager, Mobile Programs at the General Services Administration led a panel on the challenges and benefits of Inter-Agency work. The other panels were on performance analysis, customer service across channels, and public private partnerships. “The challenges are real,” said Parcell, who quoted President Obama’s famous salmon

Turning Data Into Action—DigitalGov Summit Recap

Tue, 03 Jun 2014 14:35:10 -0400

At the DigitalGov Citizen Services Summit last Friday, more than 200 innovators across government and industry came together to share how digital services can improve citizen services and reduce cost. Four panels convened to share information on performance analysis, customer service across channels, public private partnerships and inter-agency work. We have a recap of the

openFDA and Drug Adverse Events

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 13:01:30 -0400

openFDA launched today and with it the first publicly available dataset—Drug Adverse Reaction and Medication Error Reports—that covers more than 4 million records from 2004 to 2013. The openFDA team compiled 10 things to help developers use this dataset more effectively, including: Interactive examples created by the openFDA team to give perspective to the data. The

DigitalGov Search Results Get a Redesign

Fri, 30 May 2014 10:00:39 -0400

Bing, Google, and Yahoo have all rolled out major redesigns to their search results pages in the past year. The last time DigitalGov Search did a major redesign of their results page was in January 2012. It was long overdue for a facelift. So, our team redesigned our search results page. We’ve kept an eye on best

DigitalGov Citizen Services Summit a Success

Fri, 30 May 2014 04:36:49 -0400

We had a GREAT DigitalGov Citizen Services Summit today. There were more than 200 digital innovators from across government and industry working to build the 21st century government the public expects.

Why We Turned Off Comments on the USA.gov Blog

Thu, 29 May 2014 10:00:54 -0400

On Friday, we made a big change over on the USA.gov blog—we turned off the ability for people to comment on our posts. Now before you all start looking at me like I have five heads and wondering what Koolaid I’m drinking, let me explain our reasoning. We’ve had comments on blog.usa.gov since it launched

The API Briefing: NIH’s Pillbox – Unlocking Valuable Government Health Information through APIs

Wed, 28 May 2014 01:35:08 -0400

The Food and Drug Administration collects drug labeling information for human prescription, over-the-counter, homeopathic, and veterinary products through a special markup language called “Structured Product Labeling” (SPL). The database created from the SPL submissions is a treasure trove of health information that is valuable

Video Blog: Part 3: Sarah Crane, USA.gov

Tue, 27 May 2014 10:00:28 -0400

In our final video interview with Sarah Crane of USA.gov, she talks about adaptive content and how it works with APIs.

Ignite with Us

Wed, 21 May 2014 15:00:05 -0400

Have a DigitalGov success?—published an API? Got buy-in from leadership? Changed a part of your customer-service paradigm? Developed a cool dashboard? Got the app out the door? Heck! Have you prototyped a wearable, drivable or flyable? Have a DigitalGov opinion?—think we should be focusing more or less on something? Have an idea on how to

Video Blog: Part 2: Sarah Crane, USA.gov

Mon, 19 May 2014 10:32:03 -0400

Part 2 of our interview with Sarah Crane from USA.gov shares how the USA.gov team is tackling content sprawl with the USA.gov API.

Sign up For DigitalGov Citizen Services Summit, Friday, May 30

Mon, 19 May 2014 03:03:16 -0400

We won’t build the government of the 21st century by drawing within the lines. We don’t have to tell you the hard work of building a digital government doesn’t exist in a vacuum or a bubble. Show us social media without mobile, Web without data and user experience without APIs. You can’t? That’s right—in reality,

Designing in the Open Training Recap

Fri, 16 May 2014 15:03:07 -0400

During the recent redesign of Data.gov, the team developed a process that helped them respond to public feedback, track the actions and hold themselves accountable. In a DigitalGov University webinar, “Designing in the Open—Public Participation in Government Web Design,” Phil Ashlock, chief architect at Data.gov, and Jeanne Holm, Data.gov evangelist, shared how integrating feedback from

Analyzing Search Data in Real-Time to Drive Decisions

Wed, 07 May 2014 13:00:27 -0400

DigitalGov Search recently rolled out a new open source technology stack, which gives the team access to real-time analytics and dashboards to monitor search trends.

Because It’s Hard

Wed, 07 May 2014 10:00:35 -0400

Two years ago, federal agencies were set on a fast track to create a 21st century digital government. The Federal Digital Strategy served up a heaping set of deliverables on a tight timeline.

Government Open and Structured Content Models Are Here!

Mon, 05 May 2014 14:17:39 -0400

Smartphones, tablets, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, not to mention your agency’s desktop website, are all clamoring for information, but sliced and diced in different ways. How can you make your content adaptive for efficient delivery to all of these mediums? Structured content and open content models can help you create content that

Storyboarding is Key to Successful Storytelling

Fri, 25 Apr 2014 10:00:53 -0400

Communication professionals pride themselves on coming up with big ideas and big messages. But moving a great idea from conceptualization to execution can be challenging, especially when you want to keep your budget in check. Storyboards can greatly assist in this process, a strategy I found to be critical to the success of a new

Trends on Tuesday: How Contact Centers are Adapting to the Mobile User

Tue, 22 Apr 2014 10:00:01 -0400

While it does provide challenges, anytime, anywhere digital government provides numerous opportunities for contact centers to do business more effectively. According to this study by Compare Business Products, one of the most important impacts for contact centers is that smartphone users can now connect with contact centers via voice calls, SMS messages, Internet pages, social

Search Is the New Big Data Recap

Fri, 18 Apr 2014 01:00:01 -0400

Search is easy, right? You type a term in a search box and the exact page you’re looking for appears at the top of the list of results. But search is hard and has many shades of grey. On April 10, 2014, Loren Siebert, our DigitalGov Search senior search architect, presented on: Complexities of recall

EPA Mobile Projects Update

Thu, 17 Apr 2014 10:00:48 -0400

Earth Day is next week, so today instead of featuring one mobile product like we do every Thursday, we’re highlighting how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is tackling mobile to help empower citizen environmental decisions. Currently, you can

How to Tell Your Agency’s Story—Plainly

Wed, 16 Apr 2014 10:00:23 -0400

You’ve got the right words, the active verbs, the carefully chosen adjectives and adverbs. You’ve got the facts. You’ve got the talking points. All you have to do is put it together, right?

Storyboard: A Tool for a Successful Video

Fri, 11 Apr 2014 10:00:19 -0400

The script is king when it comes to creating a video. Once you have the words, it’s the pictures that will tell the story. Storyboards are a key component in video production. They serve as a guide during the production process, allowing the video producer to determine how the use of footage, sound bites, audio

Feature Your Consumer Tools on WhiteHouse.gov

Wed, 09 Apr 2014 02:43:55 -0400

The White House launched a hub for consumer-facing tools across the federal government, and they want to feature your agency’s tools that can help make people’s lives easier. As of now, they are featuring tools from these agencies: Department of Education’s College Scorecard Department of Energy’s Hybrid Car Calculator & Home Energy Yardstick Department of Agriculture’s

Guidelines for Improving Digital Services

Fri, 04 Apr 2014 03:12:19 -0400

The Digital Services Advisory Group and the Federal Web Managers Council have developed the following guidelines to meet the 6.1 milestone of the Digital Government Strategy. These recommendations apply to all digital services, including Web, mobile, apps, APIs, and online forms. Guidelines Guideline 1: Digital Strategy Integrate your digital presence into your agency’s overall business, communications, and customer experience strategy Guideline 2: Governance,

To Use Social Sharing Buttons or Not

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 13:00:25 -0400

Our digital gov neighbors in the U.K. have been working on their own digital strategy, including the consolidating into a single website. When the GOV.UK team introduced social sharing buttons, that allow users to post a link to the page on Facebook or Twitter, on their

Plain Language Page Titles: More Important than Ever

Fri, 28 Mar 2014 01:00:27 -0400

Government Web pages are found mainly through search engines. Google recently redesigned its search results page and there are quite a few small, but impactful, changes in this latest redesign. Specifically, it affects how page titles are displayed. Many experts now recommend even

DigitalGov Search: Our Open Source Strategy

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 10:00:42 -0400

At DigitalGov Search, we keep an eye on on our what our government counterparts are up to, both in the U.S. and other countries. We recently came across Gov.UK’s philosophy on and approach to coding in the open. It caught our attention and we realized we should also articulate our open source strategy. Use and Contribute to Open

Announcing beta.usgs.gov

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:54:22 -0400

In 1994 when the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched it’s first website, the Web was a very different place. Many websites that were launched had little consideration given to, or even had an understanding of, things such user experience, content strategies, or design. Over the next 20 years our

Anytime, Anywhere, Anything: The Effect of Mobile on the Web in 25 Years

Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:32:42 -0400

In 25 years, imagine a world where anytime, anywhere, any device is just taken for granted. That’s the theme from the responses we got from our Mobile Gov Community of Practice members when we asked them to predict the effect mobile would have on the Web

In the Beginning…of Web in Federal Government

Wed, 12 Mar 2014 10:01:57 -0400

With the 25th anniversary of the Web, we wanted to share stories from the beginnings of Web in the federal government and how online government has evolved in the years since.

Creating E-Books: Think Functionality, Not Aesthetics

Fri, 07 Mar 2014 11:12:10 -0400

E-books are great for one thing: reading on mobile devices. Their reflowable text adjusts to fit the reader’s smartphone, tablet, or e-reader in the type size the reader chooses. They are essential for reading on smartphones, and better than pdf’s for all but the biggest tablets.

Web Content Managers

Tue, 04 Mar 2014 10:22:04 -0400

The Web Content Managers listserv is open to content managers from any level of U.S. government: federal, state, local, and tribal.

DigitalGov Search: Cache Me If You Can

Mon, 03 Mar 2014 08:47:36 -0400

Slowness Hurts Web Pages Have you ever been frustrated when visiting a Web page that doesn’t load quickly? Have you ever left a slow Web page before it finished loading? You’re not alone. Several recent studies have quantified customers’ frustration with slow Web pages. Customers now expect results in the

What Do People Think of Your Content? Ask Your Contact Center!

Fri, 28 Feb 2014 09:36:00 -0400

All of us want to improve the content and information we provide to the public, but we’re intimidated by where to start: Does our website provide clear content? Is the best information hidden on pages a few layers down? What should we tweet about

DigitalGov Search is Now Responsive

Thu, 27 Feb 2014 13:13:14 -0400

We’ve redesigned our mobile search results page. It now uses a card-based design and is responsive. This design gives searchers a more consistent user experience and access to the results anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Take a sneak peek of the new responsive results page.

Trends on Tuesday: Six New Changes in Kids’ Media Habits

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 11:53:59 -0400

Children’s mobile media use has doubled and in some cases tripled in the last two years, according an eSchool News report of a study by Common Sense Media. Here are the other key findings: Roughly twice

New Go.USA.gov Features: Search Your URLs, Add Notes, New Bookmarklet, and More

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 10:49:26 -0400

You can now log in to Go.USA.gov with your username or email address, one of the new improvements added to the government URL shortener.

Welcome to the Future of Census.gov

Mon, 24 Feb 2014 14:34:01 -0400

If you have ever visited census.gov, you know that sorting through the vast array of information about America’s people, places and economy can be daunting. Based on customer research and feedback we collected and analyzed over time, we heard loud and clear

Trends on Tuesday: Distracted Walking

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 09:50:07 -0400

Piggybacking on one of my earlier posts, People are Excited about Mobile, I’m going to talk about “Distracted Walking.” Who among us hasn’t walked and texted or checked Facebook or Twitter on our smartphones, but have bumped into someone or something while texting on your smartphone? I

Trends on Tuesday: Optimizing Infographics for Mobile

Tue, 04 Feb 2014 10:33:06 -0400

Mobile first means more than just focusing on text content; it’s also includes considering visual content as important element of the user experience.

Trends on Tuesday: 65% of All Email Gets Opened First on a Mobile Device

Tue, 28 Jan 2014 05:37:44 -0400

While composing email on mobile phones is still a tricky feat, email reading is quickly shifting away from the desktop. According to data from the US Consumer Device Preference Report: Q4 2013 from Movable Ink, way more than half of all email — a full 65 percent — is now being accessed

Extreme Makeover: GC News Release Edition

Thu, 23 Jan 2014 10:01:34 -0400

The Government of Canada (GC) is retiring the traditional news release format in favour of a more digital-friendly product that makes the key messages of announcements clearer, quick facts more accessible and integrates more effectively with social media channels. The old style

Top 8 Best Practices for Federal Contact Centers

Thu, 09 Jan 2014 05:24:49 -0400

1. Meet all Laws, Requirements, Policies, and Directives for Federal Contact Centers Understand and follow all Privacy, Security, Disability, and Service Contract Act requirements. 2. Use Performance Metrics to Influence Business Rules and Drive Improvements Develop Key Performance Indicators/Metrics (see Performance Goals). CSLIC (Word document, 82 KB, 36 pages) could be used as a start. 3. Develop and Use a Comprehensive Quality Assurance Program Monitor quality. Use data to provide feedback to website/content team.

Trends on Tuesday: Federal Agency Mobile Gov Trends in 2013

Tue, 31 Dec 2013 13:31:03 -0400

Today we want to tell you about the federal agency trends we saw this year in the development of public facing mobile products.

Gov URL Shorteners and How to Use Them

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:55:30 -0400

USA.gov offers two different types of URL shorteners – 1.USA.gov and Go.USA.gov. No matter which URL shortener you use, there are some usability, accessibility, and SEO issues you should keep in mind.

9 Reasons Your Agency Should Have A CMS

Thu, 12 Dec 2013 15:02:56 -0400

Why Invest in a Content Management System? Does it take too long to update and post digital content? Do you lack consistent branding across your website(s)? Is outdated, redundant content leading to a poor customer experience? Does your agency website show up too far down in search results? Are you

Trends on Tuesday: Mobile Gaming Habits

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 01:01:15 -0400

We’ve reported before that playing games is one of the most popular activities on mobile devices. A recent study by App Annie and IDC dives deeper into

What’s Your Strategy? Operational Excellence, Product Leadership or Customer Intimacy?

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 09:22:50 -0400

In the Discipline of Market Leaders by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, we learned about the importance of being clear about your strategic priority. What unique value do you bring to the marketplace and your customers? In this book, they describe three strategic priorities

Empowering Forest Service Scientific Experts to Educate the World Using Live Video

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 14:40:37 -0400

In July 2013, U.S. Forest Service fisheries biologist Pete Schneider launched a YouTube Live video event from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in Alaska. The goal of the project was to not only deliver a reliable 2-month long, 24/7, live video stream where an international audience could witness spawning Sockeye salmon, hungry Dolly Varden, cunning

Create Section 508-Compliant Videos on Your Government Websites

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 08:47:00 -0400

It is undeniable the reach of online video into our modern lives. From cats in shark costumes riding on Roombas to the 2.1 million people live streaming the 2012 Super Bowl. Online video inspires us with TED talks and allows us to feel the rush of Felix Baumgartner jumping from space. With online video so

Next SocialGov Summit: Challenge and Prize Competitions

Tue, 19 Nov 2013 09:39:30 -0400

A public prize spurred Charles Lindbergh to fly across the Atlantic, and this week social media managers across government will help a new generation of prize competitions take flight. These sessions aren’t just for social media managers who have held a challenge or are

Creating Cross-Channel Experiences

Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:40:09 -0400

One of the most important jobs for an organization is to think about the entire ecosystem of their brand and what the user experience is across each channel. Whether it is through accessing information on your site through various devices, calling a help line, engaging through social media, and/or having a face-to-face conversation, there may

Key to Successful Prize Competitions: Define Your Problem Statement

Wed, 13 Nov 2013 13:06:21 -0400

In a prize competition, failing to properly define your problem up front can result in lower participation and submissions that don’t actually solve your issue. To create a challenge that produces viable results, start by doing your own homework. Vaguely defined problems invite less-than-desirable solutions or scare

5 Tips for Communicating Technical Information: iPad Pilot

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 13:35:40 -0400

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” — Mark Twain It’s simple—you’re the technical expert; you know the topic inside out, so of course you can easily explain it to a captive audience. Right? Not always. Communicators in every industry know that message

Redesigning Commerce.gov

Wed, 30 Oct 2013 12:45:16 -0400

After having the same look and feel on our website since 2010, Commerce.gov is embarking on a fresh redesign to put the user in the driver seat. Drawing on anonymized user input, we have made some significant changes and are excited to announce the launch of our new site – Beta.Commerce.gov. First, you’ll notice

Content Management Systems Toolkit

Wed, 30 Oct 2013 08:45:15 -0400

Improving the federal government’s ability to deliver digital information anytime, anywhere, on any device via open content is a key goal of the Digital Government Strategy. A content management system (CMS) can help your agency move to an open content model, making it easier for people to find, share, use, and re-use your information.

With Measurable Usability Goals – We All Score

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:07:47 -0400

Setting measurable usability goals will help your team to assess the performance of your site throughout development. Whether your assessment is at the beginning of the process, throughout iterative wireframe testing, after release, or all of the above,

Always Future Ready: The Benefits of Open Content Models and Structured Data Webinar

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:07:42 -0400

“Future-ready content,” “responsive design,” “create once, publish everywhere” are all buzzwords you hear when talking about the present and future of Web publishing. But how do we get there? We all know that technology is only part of the answer. Open content models and structured data are a big part of

Understanding Your Users’ Needs By Analyzing Search Terms

Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:24:12 -0400

Analyzing your visitors’ search terms can help you better understand their needs. It can provide valuable data about the content and organization of the content on your site. Create a Semi-Automated Report of Terms Here’s how to create a semi-automated report for analyzing large amounts of search data on a regular basis. A human still

Twitter Chat Guidance for Federal Agencies

Wed, 16 Oct 2013 12:10:18 -0400

A Twitter town hall, or Twitter chat, is an event where agencies invite public engagement for a scheduled time period during which users can ask questions or find out more information about a topic via Twitter, much like a webinar. The questions are tagged

Mobile First

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 11:44:17 -0400

Mobile First is the idea that web sites should first be designed for mobile devices, including only those tasks/items that website visitors use most. Then as screen real estate increases, add in tasks/features as needed based on user priority. This means the site

Plain Language Expert

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 08:24:42 -0400

A few days ago a coworker asked me to look at a paragraph. He said it was on the top customer service priorities in our division. So I scooted my chair over and looked at it. Then I looked at him and asked, “But what

Tackling PII in Electronic Data

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 18:11:36 -0400

As non-lawyers peering into the legal world, be advised this post is not official legal advice from the Office of General Counsel. These are our impressions and what we took away from the Legal Learning Series session Social Media – Privacy, Records and Litigation.

Mobile Gov User Experience Guidelines and Recommendations: Content

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 14:02:43 -0400

Content refers to the various types of material in different formats, such as text, images and video, that provide information to the user (it also fits into a mobile product’s information architecture).

Privacy Policies, Terms of Service, and PIAs! Oh My!

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:48:52 -0400

Guest post by Cheryl Hackley who works in the Office of Public Affairs at the Federal Trade Commission. From my early days of using email, sites like MySpace, and later getting my first smartphone, it was a common practice for me to

How to Be a Fly on the Wall: The Dos and Don’ts of Sharing Executive Discussions

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 10:05:05 -0400

A sure way to annoy employees is to never share what executives discuss or decide until a new mandate lands on the organization’s collective head. While senior leaders should expect some privacy in decision-making and debate, they should also expect to openly hold themselves accountable and to make sure their employees know where the

Trends on Tuesday: Kids are Going Mobile

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 02:31:38 -0400

From the time they can grasp an object in their hands, children are reaching for electronic gadgets of all kinds—particularly our smartphones and tablets. The early adoption of mobile is growing each year as evidenced by this infographic from EveryDayFamily.com. 30 percent of 2- to

Embracing Responsive Design

Tue, 20 Aug 2013 07:42:45 -0400

See how a shift in consumer behavior during the last few years lead to the responsive redesign of USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov.

Mobile Product Security and Privacy Testing Resources

Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:01:32 -0400

Security testing is used to ensure that a mobile product does not pose a threat to agency IT systems and databases. In addition, privacy testing ensures that an app does not put the user’s personally identifiable information into a compromisable position. This article was developed as part of the Mobile Application Development Program. See our

Thunderclap Now Available for Government-Wide Adoption

Mon, 05 Aug 2013 12:34:39 -0400

Thunderclap is the latest social media and crowd-sourcing platform available to federal agencies to better engage with the public, with a newly negotiated government-compatible Terms of Service (TOS) agreement. GSA collaborated with Thunderclap to negotiate the amended terms, which brings the total number of tools with federal-compatible agreements to 66.

HUD Office of Inspector General Responsive Design Website

Thu, 01 Aug 2013 09:15:04 -0400

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has developed a responsive design website for the HUD Office of Inspector General. The website provides: news, the latest reports and publications, locations to

Improving the User Experience with the Usability.gov Reboot

Tue, 30 Jul 2013 09:03:17 -0400

Plan and analyze. Write and design. Test and refine. As Web Manager for Usability.gov, I have found that taking a user-centered approach is vital each time you improve or build a digital product, especially when the content is about improving user

Why NCI Moved to a Structured Content Model

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 15:46:20 -0400

Wikipedia says that structured content refers to information that’s been broken down and classified using metadata. It can also refer to information that’s been classified using XML or other standard or proprietary forms of metadata. The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) move to structured

What’s In a Name Does Matter

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:48:33 -0400

Can you imagine how frustrating and confusing it would be to find several variations of the same agency name on different sites or even different pages or documents on the same site? This is what happens everyday to Spanish-speaking customers accessing the Spanish names of

5 Steps for Delivering a Better Customer Experience

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:50:08 -0400

Everyone wants to know how to provide outstanding customer experience in government. It can be difficult, because everyday our customers are also doing business with companies like Starbucks, Zappos, and Virgin America, that excel in customer service.

CDC’s Solve the Outbreak App

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:33:34 -0400

Mobile Gov Experiences are agency stories about creating anytime, anywhere, any device government services and info. This entry is a story shared by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) launched a free, educational iPad app called “Solve the Outbreak,” which lets users play

Tips for Creating Great Digital Content for Kids

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:24:36 -0400

Great websites for kids have many of the same features as websites for adults, but some key differences are worth noting when writing digital content for kids or teens. Kids have short attention spans, so it’s important to keep your site engaging, fun,

Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:49:57 -0400

Techcrunch. com reports Mary Meeker’s much anticipated annual Internet Trends report released at the D11 Conference last week shows astounding growth regarding use of smartphones and tablets.

Four Steps to Achieve Good SEO

Fri, 31 May 2013 11:21:54 -0400

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the active practice of improving aspects of your website so that commercial search engines (such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo) can find and display your Web pages in the results when they’re relevant to a searcher’s query. Users generally

The New Healthcare.gov Uses a Lightweight Open Source Tool

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:01:13 -0400

Last week, we told you about the upcoming relaunch of Healthcare.gov and its use of the Jekyll website generator. Jekyll allows users to build dynamic websites served by static pages. To help manage large websites using Jekyll, developers working on the new healthcare.gov published the ‘Prose.io’ editing interface

Video copyright: How to avoid getting sued

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:14:45 -0400

Don’t include Internet music, video, or graphics in your video unless you understand the copyright. Yes, this is a pain, but companies take copyright very seriously and regularly file both takedown notices and lawsuits against offenders.

New Healthcare.gov is Open, CMS-Free

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:43:39 -0400

Recently HHS CTO Bryan Sivak outlined a new vision for healthcare.gov. The site will relaunch this June with a completely rethought design and architecture. The new healthcare.gov follows a new CMS-free philosophy. It will be a completely static website, generated by Jekyll. This shift will allow HHS to move away from

How to Do Usability Testing with Kids

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:02:56 -0400

What do kids know about Web design? As we found out, quite a lot. Recently our DigitalGov User Experience Program teamed up with the Kids.gov team to get some big time feedback from some pint-sized testers.

How Canada is Revolutionizing Digital Governance

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:26:59 -0400

The Canadian government is changing how we think of traditional Web management. They built a platform of standards-compliant (HTML5, WCAG and WAI-ARIA), accessible and secure components that its agencies (and even provincial and municipalities) can use to build and maintain their sites. They are also focused

CDC’s Solve the Outbreak App

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:38:31 -0400

The Centers for Disease Control has launched a new table app Solve the Outbreak designed to teach users how CDC’s disease detectives save lives everyday. In this interactive, engaging app, you are a disease detective who gets to decide what to do when an outbreak

Analytics, APIs and Open Content Resources

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:34:25 -0400

Agencies have been working away at building better digital services and here, at the Digital Services Innovation Center, we’ve been building resources to help. We have been focusing on three areas, 1. The Digital Analytics Program. We announced this program in early October to help agencies better measure performance and customer satisfaction

Using Gamification in Federal Projects

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 02:35:26 -0400

Gamification is the practice of using game technology or design principles for something that is not inherently game-like. Some examples include: bronze, silver, and gold badges for reading a set number of books, progress bars in online surveys, leader boards for top grades on an exam, or rewards for attending in-person events. As gamification projects are

How the Department of Education Automated Publication of Press Releases

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:59:49 -0400

A case study on how the Department of Education used the Drupal content management system (CMS) to publish press releases as structured content to automatically generate listing pages and reduce errors and posting time. The Challenge The Department of Education was posting press releases using a system that posted them as static HTML files. The

How NASA Chose a New Content Management System

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:21:29 -0400

A case study on how NASA is choosing a new enterprise content management system (CMS). The Challenge NASA.gov needs a new enterprise CMS. They’re facing issues such as software obsolescence, inconsistent website governance, and a large amount of unstructured content stored in flat HTML files. Their current system is almost a decade old, and the

Government as an Information Franchise

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:28:00 -0400

The Digital Government Strategy represents best practices in today’s web services landscape. The DGS outlines a path to making government web services faster, more cost-efficient and higher-performing. It also frames out the digital government that everybody wants by making government information more flexible, actionable and easier to use. America Has Been There and Done That. Really?! Many consider

Centers for Disease Control Content Syndication

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:13:31 -0400

Mobile Gov Experiences are agency stories about creating anytime, anywhere, any device government services and info. This entry is a story shared by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses content syndication to share important health information with a variety of federal public

How Kids Search

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:11:43 -0400

Kids and adults use Web search tools differently. Kids fail more often, because they often don’t have enough knowledge or experience to search using the right keywords, or understand search results. If you’re designing websites for kids, remember that they use search tools differently than adults. Kids prefer surfing over searching.

Accessibility Editorial Guidelines for YouTube

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 09:00:44 -0400

USAGov and USAGov en Español (formerly known as GobiernoUSA.gov) use social media to make government information easy for people to find, access, and use. Among the essential tools we use are videos, which we host on USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov’s YouTube channels.

Government Video: Laws you need to follow

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:33:55 -0400

Government videos need to follow two main laws: People with disabilities must be able to fully experience them, and They must adhere to privacy laws 1. Making Video Accessible for People with Disabilities (Section 508) Federal employees are required by law (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) to make the materials they create

Mobile Strategy at the Smithsonian

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:48:52 -0400

Mobile Gov Experiences are agency stories about creating anytime, anywhere, any device government services and info. This entry is a story shared by the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian’s Mobile Strategy is designed to be integral to the overall organizational strategy of the institution. This Mobile Gov Experience is a synopsis of a webinar (PDF, 3.3 MB, 18 pages) by Smithsonian’s

Find Free Video Stock Footage

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:50:12 -0400

If you’re creating video, stock footage can be your best friend. If you need shots of people walking around, a photo of Chicago, the sound of footsteps or a Latin soundtrack, someone else has already probably already created it and made it available for free!

Directory of services, tools, and teams

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Directory of free and low-cost shared services and tools offered by the GSA and other agencies.