Social Sharing Buttons: Location, Location, Location
DigitalGov has seen posts from members of the community who land on opposite sides regarding social sharing buttons. There are those who find social sharing buttons useful (When Sharing Buttons
News and Updates
Innovative work, news, and ideas from people and teams in government
The Content Corner: Structured Content Challenges and Lessons Learned
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
Usability Testing with People Who Have Vision Impairment
It’s a forgone conclusion that usability studies are effective in identifying weak points within a website, but what about testing people who are visually impaired? How hard is it to accommodate them? There are some additional challenges that you may encounter when conducting testing with people with disabilities; however, these challenges should not be considered
Government Contact Center Round Up
The Government Contact Center Council (G3C) has been working with DigitalGov University to host events for the contact center community across the federal government.
New USGS App Helps Save the Piping Plovers!
iPlover is a new app from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for data collection about habitats on coastal beaches and the environment surrounding them. That sounds like a really difficult and important task, but luckily for us, the app is designed for trained and vetted professionals. It is an example of another federal crowdsourcing app, but for experts. The
Multiple Languages, Single Platforms: the World Digital Library
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
Attend the DigitalGov Summit – Virtually, or Host an Expo Table
Sign up now to watch the DigitalGov Summit from the comfort of your desk! We have just opened up registration to attend virtually.
Monthly Theme: How Federal Contact Centers Deliver Great Customer Service
At the end of last year, DigitalGov posted an article predicting that 2016 would be the year of the customer. Stephanie Thum, Vice President of Customer Experience at Export-Import Bank, looked at the great strides made in federal customer service in 2014 and called it the year of “planting seeds.” She then pointed to 2015
Why Your Social Traffic Looks Low in Analytics Tools
Part of my job as an analyst on the Digital Analytics Program (DAP) team is to help agency users try to make sense of digital analytics data by using web analytics tools. I
Trends on Tuesday: 40% of Smartphone Users Look up Government Information
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.
Using Personas to Better Understand Customers: USA.gov Case Study
Personas are fictional characters that describe an organization’s customer behaviors, emotions, attributes, motivations, and goals. They are an important tool to share customer insights and understanding across an organization. Personas also serve as a check to make sure your organization’s actions meet the needs of the majority of customers, including visitors to your website, contact
The Content Corner: Should You Be Podcasting?
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.
Sharing Social Media Strategies: The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace Program Office
Creating a tweet, posting a photo, or updating a status may take mere seconds. However, a well-thought-out social media strategy is needed for long-term success. In fact, the recently released U.S. Public Participation Playbook mentions strategy in its very first play: clearly define and communicate your objectives. Knowing what you hope to accomplish and how
CareerOneStop’s Newest Online Resources: Targeted to User Needs
When the Employment and Training Administration’s CareerOneStop team embarked on a redesign of the site’s online career, training, and job resources, they didn’t dive right into the technical work. Instead, they embraced a user-centered approach that focused on the user experience (UX). Focusing on UX means taking a step back
The API Briefing: How Do I Use This API? Good Documentation Practices from Department of Labor
When I first started coding using BASIC on the Commodore 64, I rarely documented my programs. Neither did many of my fellow programmers which led to numerous hours trying to figure out just exactly how a program worked. Documentation became more vital as programs became more feature rich and complex. In the API world, there
Trends on Tuesday: Smartphone Market Growth Makes Mobile-Friendly a Must
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
Gather Your Agency’s Public Data with Let Me Get That Data for You
In case you missed it, U.S. Open Data recently launched a tool called: Let Me Get That Data For You (LMGTDY). The name is a play on the very funny Let Me Google That For You website. How LMGTDFY works Let Me Get That Data For You searches any website for
The Content Corner: Making Those Connections
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.
On the Spot: Must-Have IFTTT Recipes for Government
Ever since we announced IFTTT was available for federal use, dozens of ideas have been shared for how program managers can use the tool to increase their productivity. I asked some API enthusiasts in the SocialGov community which of their
Empowerment, Innovation, and Improved Health Outcomes: the Blue Button Initiative
Finding and getting access to our own health information can be a complex process. And most of us don’t really think about having our health information readily accessible until we really need it – like in the event of an emergency, or when switching doctors or traveling. Combing through stacks of paperwork and contacting providers
