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Tired after a busy week at FOSE?
Head over to the Dunkin’ Donuts at 601 F St. NW (near the Verizon Center) after 2pm TODAY and show your FOSE badge for a FREE small iced or hot coffee! Not sure how to get there? Here are directions from the Convention Center.
Thanks to Dunkin’ Donuts for a refreshing end to FOSE 2011 – be sure to follow them on Twitter @DCDunkin. |
Posted by FOSE Marketing Team on 07/21/20110 comments
| The final day of FOSE has arrrived. There’s a wide-range of events and programs taking place all throughout Thursday. Continue reading for an in-depth overview of Thursday’s FOSE program. |
The expo hall floor will remain open until 2:00 pm. We are expecting a great turn-out for our final day and hope to see you there!
If you have any questions regarding the FOSE Conference and Expo feel free to comment below and we will get back to you right away!
Posted by FOSE Marketing Team on 07/20/20111 comments
FOSE 2011 is partnering with Operation Gratitude to send care packages - along with messages - to our troops. Check out the messages recorded by FOSE attendees and exhibitors on the show floor!
Posted by FOSE Marketing Team on 07/20/20110 comments
Did you know FOSE has
FREE Expo Education Sessions taking place on Thursday, July 21
st from 10:20am-2pm – all right from the Expo floor? These sessions will be covering a variety of topics in defense innovations and data centers, including battlefield health IT, transportation information systems (TIS) and enterprise storage.
Planning to attend these free sessions? Simply tweet live from any the sessions on Thursday using the hashtag #FOSEEdu. We’ll choose one person from everyone who posts an original tweet from one or more of the sessions with the hashtag to win a $25 gift card from NewEgg.com!
Posted by FOSE Marketing Team on 07/20/20111 comments
I just returned from Day 1 of FOSE, and have to say I was really impressed with the strong start for the show. The exhibit floor was full of great, creative displays and promising new technologies, including the Chesapeake Regional Technology Council, whom I was representing. In addition, there were far more sessions, workshops and keynote addresses that I wanted to attend than I was physically able to, but that’s about where the negatives end.
I was able to attend two Conference sessions and one Keynote. First, I sat in on “Collaboration: Policy and Tools for Sharing Information with the Public.” Then I listened to a Keynote speech by “The Woz,” Steve Wozniak, one of the founders of Apple Computers where he talked about innovation. Finally, I sat in on a session titled “Using Mobile Technology to Engage the Public” that focused on using apps and mobile devices focused on public outreach.
Here are some takeaways from each of those, for those of you that weren’t able to attend:
Collaboration: Policy and Tools for Sharing Information with the Public
For a long time, the focus in terms of innovation and progress was on the BORPSAT philosophy—which stands for a Bunch Of The Right People Sitting Around the Table. The collective minds at the table would come up with solutions and push them forward.
In the current environment, it is more BORPSAVT, where V=virtual, meaning social media, mobile and online technologies. Using social technologies to communicate and share information with the public is less reliant on logistics and less expensive, but most importantly, it brings more brains to the table. As a result, better ideas are generated, and now there are checkpoints whereby the Government can solicit feedback from the public before a sub-optimal idea is put into place.
“The Woz”
The Woz talked about all kinds of great things from his history growing up and the role his father played in his career, but one of the key things that I took away from his speech was the importance of innovating for personal reasons. He said that most of the things that he was responsible for happened because he wanted them to happen, not anyone else. He noted that it was important to work to solve problems that are of interest to you because you have a much higher likelihood to succeed if there are great intrinsic rewards at stake.
One other comment of note by the Woz was his call to software and hardware developers as well as the technology community at large to focus on creating things that are as simple and obvious as possible. Make technology relatable. This seemed odd but intriguing coming from a guy who fiddles with computer code and some of the most complex technologies out there.
Using Mobile Technology to Engage the Public
Like websites, there was a period in time where mobile technology in Government was seen as a waste—however, this is note the case any longer. Now it’s an expectation. Claire Bailey, Arkansas’ Chief Technology Officer spoke for a while about some of the ways they’re using mobile tech to communicate and engage with their public, including their centerpiece, the Arkansas.gov portal. She noted how they are seeing increasing numbers of people access the mobile version of the site.
In addition, they’ve developed a number of native apps, but the most popular has been the Game & Fish app, which allows their large hunting population to not only take a photo of and report their kill to the State, but also post the same information to their social profiles. To date, they’ve had 34,000 hunters who killed something report the kill using the app. In addition to the Game & Fish app, Arkansas is leading the way by also offering Financial Aid applications through a mobile app, as well as inmate banking and parole payments.
There was also some great insight shared by a couple of ATF Special Agents working with the public affairs office who had recently been through the process of getting a mobile app designed and implemented. Their app was focused solely on public education—one of ATF’s public affairs challenges is that perception of what the ATF does and what they actually do are two very different things. They noted that with mobile devices, the limits of what you can accomplish are largely undefined, but that it’s very important to start with a problem or challenge, and then figure out how to best use mobile technology to solve or alleviate the problem.
Posted by Garret Ohm on 07/20/20115 comments
FOSE has been addressing the issues and innovations within a continually evolving government technology landscape for the past 35 years. Many of you have been attending for quite a few of those years, and we want to know your favorite FOSE moment!
Whether you’re at FOSE this year, have attended in past years or are watching from afar, join the FOSE LinkedIn group and post your favorite FOSE moment in our group discussion thread. What was the most innovative product you’ve ever seen at FOSE? Who was the most inspirational speaker or panel you saw? Let us know!
Posted by FOSE Marketing Team on 07/20/20110 comments
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CloudCamp, an unconference where early adopters of Cloud Computing technologies can exchange ideas, is back at FOSE on Wednesday, July 20th from 10:15am-3:15pm. It offers free educational and breakout sessions right from the Government Solution Theater on the Expo floor – and your CloudCamp tweets can win you a $25 NewEgg Gift Card!
Simply tweet live from any of the CloudCamp sessions using the hashtag #FOSECld. We’ll choose one person from everyone who posts an original tweet from the session with the hashtag to win a $25 gift card from NewEgg.com!
Rules: To qualify to win the $25 NewEgg gift card, tweets must be posted during the time of CloudCamp (Wednesday, July 20th from 10:15am-3:15pm Eastern Time) and contain the hashtag #FOSECld. Only original tweets from CloudCamp (no retweets) will be considered. |
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Posted by 1105 Marketing Team on 07/19/20111 comments
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With more and more federal agencies taking the plunge into the world of short-burst social media, turning to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as main channels of communications, it is critical that agency leaders and message-makers be fully plugged into what is being said on these social media platforms.
Don't just listen passively to the conversations taking place on social media... Treat them as data. Measure them. Analyze them. Use the new insights to improve your agency's programs and communications. |
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Here's why you need to measure: Citizens, constituents, and government stakeholders of all stripes are sharing more information than ever before about their likes, dislikes, ideas, hopes and frustrations. They are doing this willingly, publicly, and in a digital format that makes measuring and analyzing the information a breeze. Who wouldn't love to have access to more constituent reactions to government programs, honest feedback from employees, or ideas and political opinions from citizens? No longer do you have to rely on expensive and cumbersome polls and focus groups... Social media now gives you even more data, in a constant stream that's free and accessible.
Here's how to measure: Start with the basics, but quickly move to the next level. Don't get caught up in trendy aggregate figures like Klout scores. True insights come when you expand the comparative view to include a range of data points and factor in traditional news mentions (which are still very important). Are newspaper stories and TV bits causing big spikes in new followers? Do your agency's "customer satisfaction" scores align with the sentiment of tweets mentioning your agency? Does how much you tweet affect your rate of retweets or the number of followers you gain?
Evaluate your own performance against that of your direct peers (or on the political side, your rivals). Compare apples to apples ... look for agencies that are the same size or have similar budgets or missions. Also, how do you stack up against the average?
Not all the above questions may be relevant to your agency. Maybe you'll want to slice and dice the data differently, generating different comparative views. Whatever the case, if you want to truly understand the social media sphere, you need to go beyond the basic aggregation of numbers, and seek out tools that are both comprehensive in the data they cover (namely, all mentions of government) as well as flexible in letting you pick and choose the views and comparisons that make sense for your agency's objectives.
Mark Malseed is the Executive Editor and Co-Founder of OhMyGov, Inc. Please visit OhMyGov.com for breaking news and analysis of government social media or visit consulting.ohmygov.com for access to in-depth case studies and social media analytical tools. On Twitter: @ohmygov
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Posted by Mark Malseed on 07/18/20111 comments
There are so many things to see at FOSE – what will catch your eye? Last year, FOSE attendees took so many great photos of what they saw at FOSE, and we hope you’ll do the same this year!
Share your photos this week on Twitter, the FOSE Facebook page and Flickr and tag them with #SeenatFOSE. We’ll be displaying all the tagged photos from Twitter and Facebook right here on the FOSE website!
Looking forward to seeing you and what you’ve #seenatFOSE this week
Posted by 1105 Marketing Team on 07/18/20110 comments
| The anticipation is finally over! After months of dedication and planning—from the events team to the advisory council—we are excited to kick-off the FOSE conference and expo tomorrow. There’s a wide-range of events and programs taking place all throughout three days. Continue reading for an in-depth overview of Tuesday’s FOSE program. |
Our in-depth conference sessions begin at 10:15AM for all conference attendees. First day highlighted sessions include: Federal Executive Insights on Mobility in Government, Collaboration: Policy and Tools for Sharing Information with the Public and Using Mobility to Engage the Public. It’s not too late to register for our conference program, learn more about your pricing options here!
The expo hall floor will remain open until 4:00 pm and will re-open at 10:00AM on Wednesday. We are expecting a great turn-out tomorrow and hope to see you there!
If you have any questions regarding the FOSE Conference and Expo feel free to comment below and we will get back to you right away!
Posted by 1105 Marketing Team on 07/18/20110 comments
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New technology products and procedures are constantly being introduced within the IT community. As a government IT professional, it’s imperative to stay ahead of the curve.
FOSE offers a total of 30 FREE educational sessions during our 3-day conference! These sessions don’t even include our visionary keynote speakers, hands-on workshops or massive expo hall floor. Our 30-session lineup of educational sessions will be held in 3 separate theatres; learn more about each one below: |
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Government Solutions Theatre/Cybersecurity
The evolution of cybersecurity has grown exponentially the last several years as individual and group hackers are taking aim at penetrating government agency’s fire walls. As a government IT specialist, it is imperative to be safely secured against these potential attacks. At FOSE we offer free educational sessions to keep you up to speed on the latest news and technologies within cybersecurity.
Government Solutions Theatre/Data Center and Cloud
Cloud computing continues to be a very hot topic these days. Government workers are struggling to keep pace with the flood of news and information about the expanding technology as government agencies begin to transition over to the cloud. FOSE provides you with the opportunity to expand your data center and cloud computing knowledge with 12 free sessions; including CloudCamp!
Defense Innovations Theatre
Our military is continuously exploring new innovative ways to best protect our nation. FOSE offers 14 free, advanced-level educational sessions demonstrating the latest defense innovation practices and technologies.
We are committed to providing the opportunity to gain more insight and training within government IT. As a participant in our educational program @ FOSE, you will continue to pave your way as an industry pioneer!
See you starting tomorrow! Beat the crowds on-site and register online!
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Posted by 1105 Marketing Team on 07/18/20112 comments