Way Beyond the Beltway: Events in Alaska

As was likely the response to our post on events in Hawaii, you're probably thinking there is no way Alaska makes sense for your event. While that may be the case for many, it is worth noting that in Alaska nearly 30% of the workforce are  government workers.  Relatively close by, Washington state also has an above average number of government employees.

Current federal job openings across the state show a wide variety of job types and departments. From Interior, to Justice, to Defense, to Commerce, there is a broad range of federal programs and work across the state. If you think travel cutbacks have been hard in your department, imagine how staff in Alaska feel when every training event requires a lengthy plane ride and hotel stay. It just may be worth taking your message and event to the "last frontier." It might even help you stand out from the competition.

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Make Your Case – 5 Reasons to Implement a Virtual Conference

By Lance A. Simon, CGMP, CVEP

So -- you want to implement your first virtual conference! Any good conference starts with a good proposal. Let's take a closer look at the key elements that can help sell your virtual conference project. Think it's just about cost savings? Think again. Here are 5 top benefits you want to highlight.

1) Implement significant cost savings.

A virtual conference eliminates many physical conference costs - travel (of course!) but also conference rooms, advanced materials, on-site support, meeting materials & printing costs, and on-site A/V services. I recently worked with a CDC meeting planner to compare the costs of a basic 3-day physical conference with a comparable virtual conference. We compared 2 sizes - 350 and 1,000 attendees. Costs excepting travel were approximately the same for a 350 person meeting. But the virtual conference scales up with much less cost per incremental attendee --virtual conference costs were 20% lower than a physical meeting, or a whopping 75% lower if travel is included!

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Professional Use of Social Media: Two Different Approaches

Originally posted on GovLoop by Alain Lemay

Professional use of social media in the workplace is arguably one of the last taboo in public sector. Public Sector Organizations (PSOs) more than any other have a need, real or perceived, to control the message. Having dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of employees Tweeting away on behalf of the organization is no one's idea of controlling the message. And yet, the potential for message amplification is very enticing.

Message amplification is, after all, one of the superpowers of social media. No matter how many followers your account might have, it is a nothing compared to the combined networks of your employees. It is this realization that has convinced more and more PSOs to encourage employees to use their personal accounts to become brand ambassadors and help toe the company line.

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Government Agencies Leading the App Economy

Originally posted on Federal Technology Insider

Government Agencies Leading the App Economy, Using Innovation to Drive Economic Growth

On May 9th 2013 President Barack Obama signed an executive order making open data in a machine readable format the new default for government. Now, just a year later millions of Americans are accessing open data through APIs.  Not only are they using data for traditional purposes, such as research, but more and more frequently they are leveraging data as the President hoped they would, to drive innovation and fuel both the app and traditional economy.

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Telework Week Totals More Than 160,000 Participants

 

Originally posted on FCW by Frank Konkel

More than 163,000 people - the vast majority of them federal employees - teleworked at least one day during Mobile Work Exchange's fourth annual Telework Work, easily surpassing last year's then-record participation of 136,000.

For the second straight year, Telework Week, held March 3-7, received an influx of federal teleworkers following a late winter storm, but its continued popularity signals the growing influence of the mobile employee in the federal workplace, according to Mobile Work Exchange Cindy Auten.

As evidence, she referenced Telework Week's first official year, which drew 39,000 pledges, and it's unofficial, more humble beginnings that saw just a few thousand teleworkers in government.

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