On Memorial Day 2008, Steve Ressler, a 28 year-old US Department of Homeland Security employee launched GovLoop as the “Facebook for government.” His goal was simple: create a space for the millions of government employees to connect and collaborate. I joined as soon as I learned about it and was struck by the energy and eagerness of people in and around government to share ideas and information regarding their common challenges and success stories. Right around Memorial Day of this year, GovLoop crossed the 10,000 member mark and the site has nearly doubled again in just four months to more than 18,000 members. Keep Reading ->

A few months ago, I was conducting some research on international mobile phone trends and came across the Open Gardens Blog. Open Gardens is maintained by Ajit Jaokar, the founder of the London-based publishing and research company futuretext which focuses on emerging Web and mobile technologies. I reached out to Ajit and we started discussing the possibility of building a virtual bridge across the Atlantic to share insights and ideas. As a consultant to the European Internet Foundation, he indicated that members were interested in hearing varied perspectives and recommended that we create a “blogger carnival.” Keep Reading ->

Originally posted on GovLoop – “Facebook for Government” Keep Reading ->

I’m reading an advance copy of a great new book called “If We Can Put a Man on the Moon” by William D. Eggers and John O’Leary. The release date is set for November 19. Based on the first 100 pages, I’d compare it to the classic business books “Good to Great” or “Built to Last” – it’s like “Good to Great” for government. Keep Reading ->

In advance of next week’s Gov 2.0 Expo and Summit, Tim O’Reilly asked citizens to respond to a question: “What Does Gov 2.0 Mean to You?” At least a couple handful of folks have responded, with many of the videos being posted over at GovFresh. Keep Reading ->