Lately my mind has been preoccupied with thoughts of conferences (going to GreenBuild 2008), public works and engineering, World of Warcraft (WoW), family, and social media applications. With all that jumbled up inside there, it was inevitable that these subjects would start bumping into each other. One of these collisions involved this idea: “Blizzard wants…
Bumping into the DOT
As a civil engineer, the federal agencies I visit online are usually the DOT, EPA, and FHWA with an occasional click over to the USGS. Upon my entry into Second Life, I searched for these agencies within that virtual world and found nothing. The only federal agencies that had made it into the virtual realm…
MuniGov 2.0 – Not Just a Buzzword Anymore!
Web 2.0, Web 3.0, virtual worlds: are these buzzwords and their related technologies something you really need to worry about? Studies, reports, and white papers seem to be saying “Yes.” And that is a big fat “yes” even if you work for government. In fact there are already a few of us government folks headed…
JISC Releases Serious Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds are still fairly new to most, and many still view them as games. But there is a growing realization that virtual worlds can offer real value to businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions. A report recently released by JISC presents a comprehensive study of how virtual worlds are being used to enhance learning…
Free Highway Design Software!
Hey all you designers of two-lane highways! Get your free download of the 2008 Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM). Brought to you by your friendly Federal Highway Administration. The site does require you to register for approval. Information required for registration includes your name, title organizational affiliation, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, and…
Buddy Walk on Public Works Island
This weekend on Sat., Oct. 25th, Public Works Island in Second Life will host a Buddy Walk to be held in conjunction with the National Down Syndrome Society. Last year, 270 Buddy Walks were held in “real life” to bring awareness and funds for Down syndrome, and this year, JL Zinner and I decided to…
Be2Camp Video/Slides Online
The Be2Camp held in London on Fri., Oct. 10, attracted about 50 people to the live event and almost 300 more to the Webcast and Second Life stream of the event. For anyone who missed it, the video stream and slides can now be viewed at the Be2Camp Website.
Reaching Out in 140 Characters or Less
People are information hounds. They always want to know what is going on, particularly with their friends and neighbors. The need to gossip can sometimes be so strong that some people will even create stories just to have something to talk about. If you work in government you have probably already experienced this aspect of…
Web 2.0 & Government – Helping us to Just Do It!
“With the adoption of social computing and social media by citizens under the age of 25 already exceeding 75 percent, government organizations now need to plan and implement initiatives to engage and service the citizens of today and tomorrow.†This is a statement taken from “Leveraging Web 2.0 in Government,†a recently released paper published…
Beautiful Bridges
Everyone in public works appreciates a beautiful bridge so I am passing on a link to the “16 Incredibly Colorful Bridges” post at the Color + Design Blog. This site is offering up inspiring photos/images of beautiful bridges from around the world and includes a color palette lifted from each image. Thanks to @bashley over…