Giovanni Rodriguez is a long time social tech advocate who pinged me a few weeks ago about a series of geek-style unconferences he and his colleagues helped the White House get started. The work was serving as the foundation for a new consulting group he was helping lead.
I was interested but skeptical, too. I don’t usually write about consulting groups but this seemed a bit different. It… → Read More
President Obama will sign an executive order tomorrow that will make the construction of broadband networks along federal roadways and properties easier and, according to the White House, 90% cheaper. This is only one part in the White House’s new push to improve broadband in the United States. In addition, the White House is also launching its “US Ignite” initiative that actually feels somewhat… → Read More
Disrupt isn’t just a great launch platform for startups. Earlier this week at TechCrunch Disrupt New York, President Obama’s senior technology advisor, Todd Park and U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel announced five new federal initiatives to get entrepreneurs and other innovators to work on the White House’s new digital road map for open government. Within the 24 hours after the announcement at Disrupt on… → Read More
Much has been said about the role social media has come to play in the global landscape over the last few years. Whether one sees it as the tool of revolutions or not, Facebook, Twitter, and other media played an integral role in organizing the socio-political upheavals in Egypt, Libya, and across the Middle East and North Africa, allowing those oppressed and marginalized by despotic regimes to… → Read More
Mozilla took a moment this morning to remind everyone that it invented Do Not Track in February 2011, was the first to implement it with Firefox, and that 18 percent of mobile and 7 percent of desktop Firefox users currently have it activated. Now the President and competitor Google Chrome are joining the bandwagon, but Firefox offered Do Not Track since before it was… → Read More
The Obama administration has announced that it will work with Congress on a new series of consumer protections dubbed a “Privacy Bill of Rights” that will detail how Internet companies can handle and use consumers’ personal data. According to the statement from The White House, consumers should have a right to control how their personal information is handled so that businesses can maintain their… → Read More
I recall a time a few years ago when Twitter was scoffed at. It was the blogosphere’s punching-bag. It was the stupid little service that no one in their right mind would ever use. It was for people who wanted to share the mundane bits of their lives — that no one else wanted to read. It was for egomaniacs. Or losers. It would never catch on.
And then it did.
I was thinking about this today as… → Read More
Our very own White House is going green. Well, trying to go green. Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the White House by next spring, ending all of our nation’s problems in one fell swoop. → Read More
“We were working 24/7, working in very, very rapid cycles, with very, very short deadlines and milestones. We were working in a very, very nimble hyper consumer focused way…all fused in this kind of maelstrom of pizza, Mountain Dew, and all nighters, and you know idealism.”
That may sound like the caffeine-fueled, sleep-deprived rant of a typical Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Except it’s not… → Read More
The White House has announced on its blog that they have released an official iPhone / iPod Touch application dubbed ‘The White House’ app (here’s the iTunes link).
The application comes packed with content, including the latest news items, videos, photos and blog posts from The White House. One feature that stands out is live video streaming, which enables iPhone and iPod Touch owners to watch… → Read More
President Obama incorporated technology into his election campaign in an unprecedented way, became known as the YouTube president within the first week of being elected, and seems to be forward thinking in his views on innovation and technology, which is why we endorsed him last year. But now we are almost four months into his tenure as President and leader of the free world, and the Obama… → Read More
Starting a new job is always a challenge. You have to learn where your office is, where the coffee machine is, and the best route from each to the bathroom. Now imagine how complicated it must be when an entirely new administration starts working in the White House! In addition to the normal challenges, President Obama and his staff suffered through a number of surprising headaches. → Read More
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