OPEN FORMATS AND OPEN SOURCE FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT

Storing files in a proprietary format like Word .DOC, Excel .XLS or PowerPoint .PPT places the Government in a position of perpetual dependence on private enterprise. We require a certain office suite that is available from only one company to access our own data — the peoples' data. Why?

US HEALTH CARE: WHY PRIVATIZATION IS INEFFICIENT

Having lived and worked in the United States for some time, I consider myself fortunate to have experienced health care from both a public and a "private" delivery system.

IT'S YOUR JOB TO EDIT GCPEDIA: ADD IT TO YOUR PLA

I consider editing (and administrating) GCPEDIA a part of my job, and I always have. If you read the wording of your job description, there's probably some significant wiggle room for creative interpretation, provided that your primary product or goal continues to be produced or achieved on time.

ON MY TRANSFORMATION FROM SOCIAL WORKER TO PUBLIC SERVANT

When you think of government, what images does it evoke? Imagery of power, bureaucracy, hierarchy, insularity and disconnect? I can't say that these spectres didn't leave me feeling unsettled. As a social worker, I possessed a sense of identity, duty and integrity that I didn't want to risk compromising to any degree.

DR. GOVLOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BLOG

What I experienced, from orientation sessions and interactions with new colleagues, was the subtle and constant reminder that I was a public servant now. As a government employee, my life was at greater risk of coming under the microscope...

ON PARENTAL LEAVE

As a father, I wasn't entitled to any Maternity Benefit — my wife could take that — but the 32 weeks of Parental Leave... 8 months away from work... well, maybe I could take that... provided I could get past the psychological hurdles, of course. What kind of man takes 8 months off of work at the beginning of his public service career? I'd never been in any financial position to entertain such a question before...

I CAN BE LED, SO LEAD ME

It's tempting to think that the differences in younger people are tied to flawed character, unrealistic expectations, ambivalence about traditional values, disconnection from organized religion, lingering preoccupation with comics and video games... A conscious choice to ignore the lessons of the older generation. General failure to grow up....

THE LONELY FEMINIST

I'd been learning about feminist theory for 16 years by the time I enrolled in that course. I anticipated that—as had occurred in the past—I'd be in the gender minority, that my opinions would be subject to greater scrutiny and criticism, but that I'd walk away enriched from the experience. I was; they were; I did. But what I didn't anticipate is how much of a shit-disturber I'd be perceived to be...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

How GCPEDIA will Save the Public Service, revisited

12:16 PM Todd Lyons 2 comments

In March of 2009 David Eaves suggested that GCPEDIA will save the public service .  As a Canadian federal public servant and a GCPEDIA1 Administrator2, I'd like to believe he's right.

His main argument was that GCPEDIA has the potential to become the repository of much knowledge that will be lost (or at least not conveniently accessible) once the baby boomer generation retires. Has this been happening in the time since his article was originally published?  While I can't claim to be familiar with every article produced on the wiki in the last 7 months, I'd have to say: not obviously. I've watched with interest as Mitch Bloom has been toiling away at "Things you wish you knew as a new public servant‎" but I haven't noticed other similar examples (note: GCPEDIA is only accessible from the Government of Canada computer network).
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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Crafting Your Personal Brand

9:50 AM Todd Lyons 2 comments

Creating a persona isn't new to you.  You've probably already created various online identities to participate in online games, chat rooms, or special interest communities.  Your range of profiles may vary from a slight obfuscation of your real self and real name, to a completely fictitious phantasm. What I would like to do is talk about producing an online image that promotes careers in the real world.
If you're a professional, the product that you have to offer in the open marketplace is yourself.  But how do you market yourself as an entity that the rest of the world finds worthy of investment, be it through time, attention in discussing you, participation in your ventures, or employment or other financial compensation?  What are the essential elements to crafting a distinct, attractive, and popular online self-brand in the Web X.x environment?

I'm posing this as a question, because I don't pretend to be an expert.  Let's be frank: were I the Heinz Ketchup of Advisors, this would be a printed hardcover book in the front window of a bookstore or on the main page of Amazon, rather than an entry on a free blogging service. :) 

Having made that disclaimer, here are some of the salient aspects as I perceive them.  Feel free to add your own by commenting below:
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