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...

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Clerk Website,Twitter Accounts Go Live

11:04 AM Todd Lyons No comments

Wayne Wouters recently announced the launch of the new Clerk of the Privy Council website.  That by itself strikes me as extraordinarily cool.  Actually delivering your own first-person message communicates genuine engagement with a new initiative and the people it touches in a way that a generic press release style announcement just can't.

But Mr. Wouters really impressed me with his über-coolness by making his announcement via Twitter:

Mr. Wouters greets site visitors with an embedded video where he expresses his excitement about using web technology to communicate with people.  The right hand column of the new Clerk website also contains a live stream of the Clerk's most recent tweets on Twitter.  A "Follow Me" button below invites visitors to add his updates to their tweetstream.

Alternately, you can visit the Clerk's profile pages on Twitter to subscribe directly:
I subscribe to a number of Government of Canada tweetstreams, and sincerely appreciate the efforts that some departments and agencies are making to bring their message to the people.  If there is one thing I find a bit disappointing though, it's that this channel seems to be nearly universally one-way.  Try to direct an inquiry to one of these accounts, and you're unlikely to receive any acknowledgement, let alone a personalized reply.

I'm hopeful that the Clerk's accounts will set new precedent here as well.
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    Sunday, March 21, 2010

    IMD 4005 Open Source Presentation

    10:46 AM Todd Lyons No comments

    This is a presentation on Open Source I created for Interactive Multimedia & Design (IMD) students enrolled in the Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) Degree program (a joint collaboration between Carleton University and Algonquin College).

    Audio:

    Presentation audio (MP3 format) [37.4 MiB]

    Presentation audio (Ogg Vorbis format) [36.4 MiB]

    Slides:


    Theme Music:

    "Ikebana" by StrangeZero from the album Newborn Butterflies

    For more information:

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    Tuesday, March 2, 2010

    Clerk Edits GCPEDIA - Public Servants Rejoice

    11:37 AM Todd Lyons 3 comments

    Note: This post contains links only accessible within the Government of Canada network.

    On my administrative rounds this morning I was pleased to read a familiar name in GCPEDIA's recent changes log: Wayne Wouters, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet.

    I was already aware of Mr. Wouter's support of GCPEDIA, having described it as "a key enabler of workplace renewal", but this...?  Did anyone see it coming?

    Last night, shortly after 8 PM, he began crafting his user page, a talk page header template, and a discussion document on Workplace Renewal.  Then, this morning, he uploaded photographs and began making some fine adjustments to his featured article box on the wiki's front page.

    Reaction on Twitter was quick...
    @Arkuszewski: Clerk of the Privy Council is on #GCpedia. (internal link) http://bit.ly/dCGVdH Great step forward for #renewal #GoC

    @stourang: Nice!

    @toddrlyons: Wayne Wouters is editing #GCPEDIA - http://bit.ly/cMmHo8 - Designing, writing, & uploading | #gc20 #goc

    @scilib: who will be the first to add an edit to the #GCPEDIA discussion on workplace renewal?

    @Wikisteff: Wayne's post on GCPedia is actually quite good: http://www.gcpedia.gc.ca/wiki/User:Wayne.Wouters Way to go, Wayne! :)
     ...with many retweets and clickthroughs in succession, not to mention a number of public servants jumping in to provide helpful edits to the Clerk's posts.

    It's heartening when high ranking public servants come out in support of social media. I was able to experience this recently at the YMAGIN National Conference where the speakers in attendance included three Director Generals, two Senior Assistant Deputy Ministers, an Assistant Deputy Minister, and the Deputy Minister of HRSD.

    But when the highest ranking public servant in the Canadian government actually signs up, logs in, and begins creating content on a wiki in real time ... it's an unprecedented embracement — tangible evidence of a genuine commitment to public service renewal, and the collaborative tools that will help make it a reality.
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