The federal government has earned praise the past few years for making improvements to the security clearance process. In fact, at a Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee hearing in June 2012, it was reported that the time for initial investigations was down to 44 days, from 189 in 2005. Keep reading →
With the cost of lighting accounting for more than a third of the energy bills at most federal facilities, officials at the General Services Administration know that it will take more than upgrading to newer florescent and LED lighting to make government buildings more energy efficient. It also means finding ways to efficiently install an array of new and smarter technologies.
The stakes, however, are significant. GSA boasts a portfolio of federal buildings that amounts to nearly 10,000 assets. The upshot, though, is that those buildings offer a rich laboratory to evaluate green technologies. Keep reading →
It was only a matter of time before social media’s impact in the marketplace would begin to alter the way executives go about their business in the workplace.
A new study commissioned by LinkedIn however, puts that evolution in some fresh perspective, with a look at how social media platforms are playing an increasing role in how information technology decision makers are making IT decisions. Keep reading →
Last week, I wrote about 3D Printing Plus and the creation of a market place that I call “Products-on-Demand” (hereafter, “PonD”.) This week, I’m going to write about what that market will look like in, say, five years when it’s much further along. Specifically, I’m going to explore what the technology will enable (with emphasis on some of the other trends I’ve detailed: always-on connected computers and networked sensors); how people and companies will use that technology for personal and professional ends; and government’s role in fostering and participating in the space.
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This is the fifth in a six-part series examining how innovation and social media are changing how agencies operate, originally published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.
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The heads of state in three-fourths of the nations surveyed around the globe now use Twitter to communicate with followers, nearly twice the number from a year ago, according to a new report from the Digital Policy Council (DPC).
The report evaluated 164 countries (fewer than the 193 recognized by the United Nations) and found that the heads of state in 123 of those countries, or 75%, maintain a Twitter account.
That figure compares to 69 countries in an August 2011 survey, and represents a 93% compound annual growth rate since DPC started tracking the data in 2010.
“For a leader who a short time ago threatened to shut down social media services in London in the wake of rioting, Prime Minister Cameron’s reversal — ‘You’ve got to get with the programme’ — is quite telling,” the report said. Cameron now ranks 23rd on the latest list.
“The sheer popularity that social platforms like Twitter possess make it clear that traditional media channels are no longer adequate or in some cases, even effective. Leaders seek to be where their people are, and are recognizing, more than ever, that the options for communicating with their electorate have been redefined.”
Following are the top 10 heads of states using Twitter, according to the report, based on the number of followers each has attracted:
| 2012 Rank | 2011 Rank | Official (Twitter link) | Country | Followers (Million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
President Barack Obama |
United States | 24.611 |
| 2 | 2 |
President Hugo Chavez |
Venezuela | 3.802 |
| 3 | 11 |
President Abdullah Gul |
Turkey | 2.576 |
| 4 | 4 |
Queen Rania Al Abdullah |
Jordon | 2.459 |
| 5 | 8 |
President Dmitry Medvedev |
Russia | 2.070 |
| 6 | 6 |
President Dilma Rousseff |
Brazil | 1.752 |
| 7 | 9 | President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner | Argentina | 1.461 |
| 8 | 14 |
President Juan Manuel Santos |
Columbia | 1.455 |
| 9 | 5 |
President Enrique Pena Nieto |
Mexico | 1.362 |
| 10 | 12 | Prime Minister & Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohanned bin Rashid Al Maktourn | United Arab Emirates | 1.343 |
Not surprisingly, U.S. President Barack Obama, whose Twitter account dates back to March 5, 2007, has amassed the widest following worldwide of any head of state.
Other early adopters, however, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who began tweeting July 11, 2007, have found only a fraction of the following (Harper had 276,060 followers in the latest ranking.)
Most of the world leaders in the rankings have generally only recently joined the social media revolution in earnest, according to data cataloged in the report, which includes information on the political stability and social media “klout” scores of world leaders.
“As digital activism becomes more intensified, it is often seen as a threat to governments, but an outcome has been the steady increase in the number of heads of state that are using Twitter, and recognizing the benefits of the vehicle to allow for direct interaction with constituents,” the report noted.
This feature showcases one video each Friday that captures the essence of innovation, technology and new ideas happening in government today.
This week’s video is courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Description: The redevelopment of Denver’s historic and ethnically diverse La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood is turning an economically challenged area into a vibrant, transit-accessible, district. The community’s master plan preserves affordable housing while adding energy-efficient middle-income and market-rate homes. Because of extensive community engagement, development will include actions to improve the health of residents, reduce pollution, and control stormwater runoff.
EPA created the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2002 to recognize exceptional approaches to development that protect the environment, encourage economic vitality, and enhance quality of life. In the past 11 years, 54 winners from 26 states have shown a variety of approaches that states, regions, cities, suburbs, and rural communities can use to create economically strong, environmentally responsible development.
As one of our contributors wrote recently, it is one of the most challenging times in American history to be part of a government bureaucracy.
A dysfunctional congress offers little or no support; agency budgets face gutting as the nation stares down a fiscal cliff; hiring freezes and the looming shadow of furloughs threaten to turn the government’s talent pool stagnant.
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Governments at many levels have proven themselves to be instrumental in developing both a national and local software-developing community. Competitions like The Big App and Apps for Democracy have spread knowledge of government data sets as well as provided money and recognition to software-development firms. Forward-looking CIOs and CTOs realized that software-both its development and the finished product-could spur innovation and economic activity. They also realized that government could help the software-development community.
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This is the fourth in a six-part series examining how innovation and social media are changing how agencies operate, originally published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.
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Though it might sound futuristic, consider: this weekend, you could print your own circuit board. And here’s how you could print a wrench, courtesy of ZCorp. If you to use or modify someone else’s circuits, just look here, and if you need 3D designs, here are a few. As a bonus, here’s a way to turn a $10 laser into a communications station and, related, the GSA repository on GitHub. Keep reading →
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is beginning work to develop a wireless communications system capable of transmitting data at speeds of 100 gigabits per second, rivaling high-speed fiber optic systems.
The technology is also intended to get around one of the biggest hurdles facing tactical military communications: the effects of weather degrading high-bandwidth transmissions between aircraft and ground stations and vehicles. Cloud cover is one of the big challenges facing high-bandwidth air-to-ground data communications, DARPA officials said. Keep reading →
While President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner continue to push ahead with negotiations over federal revenues and spending, federal workers have also been offering up ideas to curb government spending.
And the ideas of four federal employees are up for a public vote this week, the White House announced today. (The public has until noon, Dec. 21, to vote.) Keep reading →