The City of Austin Begins the Redesign That Buzzed the Net in 2009
It was almost exactly a year ago when the news was tweeted and retweeted about the City of Austin farming the website redo project out to a California web dev shop. Using two hashtags #coawebsite and ___ the tweeters of Austin hammered the officials on the net and demanded an explanation for the seemingly illogical business decision.
After much hemming and hawing the City Manger decided to postpone awarding the business to the California team and later decided to put the bid out for bidding yet again. (This would be the fourth time the city had tried to bid the website work.)
So on the COA website today, there was an update about the begining project. On a FRIDAY? Funny, maybe they had beers at the kickoff.
On Dec. 17th it was announced that SteelSMBology (a mutual partnership between Austin-based Steel Advertising & Interactive Inc. and SMBology Inc) was tapped to do the local work. Today the city issued more information about a kickoff meeting.
Here’s the statement from the site, “Our goal is simple: the City’s website should be an unobscured window in to what we do, how we do it, and how our residents can play a part. Providing residents the online tools they need to interact and do business with the City is imperative in order for us to be the best managed city in the nation,” said City Manager Marc Ott.
So here we go. They are saying the evaluation portion of the project, or Phase 1, will take between 6 – 8 months. Wow, that’s a lot of consulting. But I guess there are a ton of legacy systems and legacy management teams that will need to be corralled and herded onto the path to web 2.0.
Let’s wave and wish them luck on their journey.
And again, congratulations to SteelSMBology for taking on the task that will be watched by thousands of rabid developers and designers in town.
@jmacofearth
permalink:
An MLK Manifesto 2010: I have a dream… I wish social media… (bi-lingal version)
I wish social media could be used to…
Ojalá los medios de comunicación social puede ser utilizado para …
Help Haiti. Ayudar a Haití.
Teach people. Enseñar a la gente.
Provide computers and access to those unable to provide for themselves. Proporcionar ordenadores y el acceso a aquellos que no pueden valerse por sí mismos.
Connect even more of the world together by communities, affinities and passions. Conectar aún más del mundo junto con las comunidades, las afinidades y pasiones.
Build a team. Construir un equipo.
Create a tribe. Crear una tribu.
Lead a revolution. Dirigir una revolución.
Be at peace. Estar en paz.
Support our president. Apoyo a nuestro presidente.
Slow and reverse global warming, and stop arguing if it’s real or not. Frenar e invertir el calentamiento global, y dejar de discutir si es real o no.
Sing with one another. Canta con ellos.
Feed more people, provide more medicine, provide clean water to drink. Alimentar a más gente, proporcionar más cantidad de medicamento, proporcionar agua limpia para beber.
Learn humility and compassion. Aprender la humildad y la compasión.
Be more green. Ser más verde.
Reach across racial, economic and lifestyle prejudices to be more connected. Alcance a través racial, económica y prejuicios estilo de vida para estar más conectados.
Help build a more balanced health care system in the US. Ayudar a construir un mejor equilibrio del sistema de atención de salud en los EE.UU..
Support our troops both as they deploy and as they all come home wounded in some way. Support our troops, tanto en su despliegue y, como todos regresan heridos de alguna manera.
Recover from addictions. Recuperarse de las adicciones.
Be with the one’s we love. Estar con el que la amamos.
We could get more people on the cluetrain. Podríamos tener más gente en el tren de claves.
Support one another. Se apoyan mutuamente.
Drive fewer Hummers and biiiiig SUVs. Hummers unidad menos y SUVs biiiiig.
Pray to the same uber-God, sans dogma, or exclusionary religious politics. Ora a los uber mismo Dios, sin dogmas, o de exclusión política religiosa.
Learn to love more. Aprende a amar más.
Just be. Just Be.
Be just. Ser justo.
Love. Amor.
@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/MLK-2010s
(8:00 am CST, I’m going dark for 24 hours to be with the ones I love. And then I’m back to be with the dream of social media tomorrow morning. Blessings all. The views expressed here are mine alone, and do not reflect the opinions or professional guidance of my employer.) (8:00 am hora del centro, voy a oscuras durante 24 horas para estar con la gente que quiero. Y entonces vuelvo a estar con el sueño de los medios de comunicación social, mañana por la mañana. Bendiciones a todos. Las opiniones expresadas aquí son exclusivamente mías , y no reflejan las opiniones o la orientación profesional de mi empleador.)
Helping Haiti with Awareness and Action! (updated 1-19-10) The Red Badge of Courage
Update 1-19-10:
CNN on How Your Money Gets to Haiti
The real face of Haiti has nothing to do with US. Here is a site that contains real-time requests for information about people in Haiti. Oh my… Please reach out, give money, get the badge and share it. The previous site has been merged with Google Crisis Response App.
You can left-click on the image to download it to your drive and make your own badge. Or email me and I will be happy to do one for you.
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In the spirit of supporting those across the globe in Haiti, recovering from the disastrous earthquake, I have put a red “haiti” ribbon on my Twitter pic. I will be adding it to my Facebook and other profiles shortly. If you are interested, the PSD-EPS file is available for free download here. Let me know if you have any trouble putting your pic together. There are PNG files at the bottom of the post. Or email me and I will do it for you.
While I was chatting with a colleague today regarding the Iran Green and other similar campaigns the idea resonated with me to simply “put it out there.”
I derive no benefit from this effort. What I am doing, hopefully, is creating a bond of awareness and hope with those suffering from this terrible loss. In criticizing the Iran Green movement initially, I was doubting the power of the taskless gesture. Why not send $10 rather than putting a green ribbon or green peace sign on your icon?
Here’s a bit more of the source photo for the red cross. It’s a man’s shirt who is holding an injured Haitian.
What I learned while discussing the process with colleagues and on the comments on my Iran post, was that we all want to be part of a tribe. As we join “tribes” we associate our hearts with those of others. We join our voices into good rather than evil, or merely promotion.
Yesterday my wife called and asked if I had already given money to the relief efforts. I am glad that she did some due dilligence, because there are some ‘help’ efforts that may not be as well intentioned as others.
While I cannot do the research for you, yesterday on NPR I was encouraged by Bill Clinton talking about his efforts to provide relief in Haiti. His organization is http://clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake. What I liked was he was being quite direct with the type of support the Haitians need. It’s CASH.
In the coming months they will need clothes and water and staples. But today the only relief that is going to impact the situation is the fluidity of gold. Let the people doing the work decide to buy water, medical supplies, food or tents. I am pretty sure your church cannot air lift the hard goods over to those in need. CNN How to Help is page that lists a bunch of vetted services working on Haitian relief efforts.
Do what you can, show your support how ever you feel. Most of all, let the impact of this moment hit you where it hurts. We are all in this together.
@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/haiti-help-badge
- On badges and affinities: Oh My IRAN! Another Meaning for GREEN ACTIVISM #iranelection #iran
- CNN: How Your Money Gets to Haiti
- CNN: Social networks, texts boost fundraising
- CNN: How Technology Helps
- ZDNET: Haiti earthquake themed blackhat SEO campaigns serving scareware
- GAWKER: Says Wyclef’s charity might not be the way to go for donations
- Fastcompany on Google Maps and Haiti’s Rescue Efforts: Haiti Earthquake Disaster: Google Earth, Online-Map Makers, Texts “Absolutely Crucial”
Photoshop template for the help haiti ribbon: (PSD)
The pngs
gray
black
white
transparent background
The Red Badge of Courage shattered American preconceptions about what a war novel could be. In the decades before Crane’s novel, most fiction about the Civil War was heavily idealistic, portraying the conflict as a great clash of opposed ideals. Whereas previous writers had taken a large, epic view, Crane focused on the individual psychology of a single soldier, Private Henry Fleming, during his first experiences of battle. In this narrowed scope, Crane represents Henry’s mind as a maze of illusions, vanity, and romantic naïveté, challenged by the hard lessons of war. Crane does not depict a world of moral absolutes, but rather a universe utterly indifferent to human existence. — sparknotes
Even More HOT WORDS from Time Warner Cable vs FOX TV and Faux News
Update 1-1-10: Time Warner Cable and News Corp. have extended their negotiations into New Year’s Day, media reports say. Does that mean we won’t miss the Rose Bowl Parade? Oh, wait… I’m not on TWC any more. The local paper today carries another full-page ad from TWC lambasting Fox for “going dark” on you the customer. I do think that $1 per subscriber per month is a bit steep, don’t you. I mean, they’re not just going after TWC. So how many $1 per month is that? Again I ask, for WHAT? This is just going to make Hulu and Netflix that much more profitable.
Update 12-31-09: Time Warner Cable shows subscribers how to cut cord (okay, this is a stunning development.) Happy new years all TWC customers and Faux lovers.
Update 12-30-09: So the showdown is still on. So FOX wants $1 per subscriber increase in pricing to keep American Idol on TWC. Looks like a few bowl games will be affected as well. Go with DirectTV soon if you want to get them without worry. I think FOX will lose this one.
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Oh whoa are the many who love Fox TV. And oh whoa are the many who get their cable TV via Time Warner. Hey wait a minute, isn’t Fox 7 broadcast via the airwaves in Austin? Oh, I guess digital TV did away with our TV’s actually receiving TV, unless we’ve upgraded recently. What, for American Idol? Geesh.
Today Time Warner Cable AND Fox TV had full page ads in our local paper. Seems they are doing battle here in Austin to make a point, a line in the sand, a last stand at the Alamo perhaps?
Frankly I’m sick of Time Warner’s Lock on our cable access in Austin. I am not too excited about my recent switch to DirectTV either, but lesser of two evils… The kids are the only reason we keep any cable. Without Nick and Discovery and a few choice Disney shows, we’d never turn it on. Okay maybe the Superbowl, but actually our TV is so small, we’ll be looking for somewhere else to enjoy that bastion of American tradition. Now if Time Warner were threatening not broadcasting the Rose Bowl or the Super Bowl, then I think we’d have a fight. But Fox 7 News? It’s on the internet. And Fox News, it’s Faux and not worth watching.
But let’s not make this political, it’s about money. So Fox wants more to provide TWC with their programming. And TWC is crying foul, as if it would bankrupt them. I would guess that neither is the TRUTH.
Until we open up the cable access to competition, TWC can do whatever they want.
@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/TWC-Fox
The conversation on my previous post (Roll Over or Get Tough) is just getting started. Check the comments.
Time Warner Starts the Campaign: Rollover or Get Tough
Update 12-20-09: I just saw a full-page add in the local paper saying Time Warner was being unfair about not showing FoxNews without a rate increase. Puleeze. This is just the channel that would have me voting FOR TWC.
Time Warner Cable has a site ( http://www.rolloverorgettough.com/) where they are asking the customer to vote:
” You Can’t Get a 300% Raise. Why Should a TV Network?
These days, every dollar counts. And for most families, cable TV provides the best entertainment value for the money.
But some of our contracts with program providers are up at the end of this year – and they’ve demanded as much as 300% more for their shows. Even worse, they’re threatening to pull the plug if we don’t pay their price.
In today’s economy, a 300% price increase is excessive. And withholding popular programming is unfair to America’s families – especially over the upcoming holidays.
Don’t let these TV networks hold your TV hostage. Together, we just might make a difference in what America pays for TV.”
What do you think? Do we care what TWC pays for network programming? Or should we let them take it off TWC. I’m with that satellite company now, but I’m none to happy with them either.
@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/TWC-tough
