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HowTo.gov:
This is a wonderful little reference tool, being mentioned just in
case you haven't already heard of it. It isn't quite what it sounds
like. I mean, at first glance, I thought it would be a collection of
how to do all those useful things that governments want citizenry to
be able to do, from gardening to constructing emergency shelters in a
disaster. Upon second glance I realized it seems to be mostly focused
on digital environments, and thought it would be yet another
how-to-do-it-good self-help web tutorial. The reality is somewhere
between the two.
HowTo isn't just simple web tutorials, but it is mostly web and
communication tools and tutorials. Not just simple ones, though. Some
of this is rich and nuanced, and some of the tools are amazingly
thorough.
Services and Tools includes standards for government web sites (which
are excellent to review for any organization, especially those which
receive government funding); an incredibly useful and selective
library; a collection of Terms of Service agreements that meet federal
standards so you know what such a beast might look like; collections
of federal mobile apps; collaboration tools; crowdsourcing tools; open
source code collections; and much much more.
Services and Tools:
Library:
www.howto.gov/services-tools/library
Tools:
www.howto.gov/services-tools/tools-government-agencies
They have classes and free webinars, like the one tomorrow on plain
language, which is part of their DigitalGov University series.
Essentials of Plain Language
www.howto.gov/training/classes/essentials-plain-language
The section on how to manage web content is almost over the top it is
so rich with goodies. Definitely worth a look for anyone creating
content at ALL, whether or not it is for the web.
Web Content:
Of course, there is also much useful content in the equivalent section
on using social media to support your mission.
Social Media:
Earlier this week the #hcsm group was talking about best practices for
sharing emergency or crisis information. Well, this is a great place
to find out what the government is thinking along those lines. Beyond
what was already mentioned above, in preparation for Hurricane Sandy,
the HowTo team posted in their blog examples and best practices for
effective tweets. The following day, with the hurricane calming down,
they posted a mini tutorial on how to study eyetracking for evaluating
your website. Amazing!
HowTo: Blog:
HowTo: Quick and Effective Messages for #Sandy:
blog.howto.gov/2012/10/29/quick-and-effective-messages-fo...
Eye-Tracking Usability Tests for Dummies:
blog.howto.gov/2012/10/30/eye-tracking-usability-tests-fo...
The take home message? This is worth exploring if you are working with
or for any kind of government or nonprofit and do any kind of
communication. Or, really, just if you do any kind of communication.
That's all of us, right?
Sinha Santos interview on Digital Government and BlockChain initiatives by Govenment of India, Niti Ayog and other prospective blockchain projects.
1. Digital by default
2. Designed around the user
3. Smarter (iterative) decisions
4. Modern workforce
5. Simple. Secure. Fast.
#GCdigital