Gov2.0 Summit, Day 2: Afternoon session

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• 2:13 p.m. #

  Speaking now is Chris Hoenig of The State of the USA, Inc, talking about how we measure actual progress. Here's more on him: http://www.gov2summit.com/public/schedule/detail/10656

• 2:15 p.m. #

  Next, an undercurrent I've been hearing for the past few days: Cybersecurity. How do we open up but stay safe and protect privacy.

  Alan Paller of SANS Institute and Michael Coppola of the United States Cyber Challenge will talk about it.

• 2:18 p.m. #

  "The next wars will be characterized by a different kind of weapon. The weapon will be people."

  The question is how does the United States get another 20,000 to 30,000 people to fight this fight on a world-class level. The US only has about 1,000 who can meet that challenge now, Alan Paller says.

• 2:21 p.m. #

  Michael Coppola won the first cyber challenge. He's a senior in high school: "I was going to take programming this year, but they didn't offer it because they didn't have a teacher who could teach it."

  The cyber security challenge was a game where hackers figured out how to access a network. "You're really breaking into system," Paller explains.

  "You're defending a system while you're attacking other computers," Coppola said.

  Part of how he won was breaking into the scoring server and giving himself extra points.

• 2:24 p.m. #

  "It provided challenges that you couldn't really do legally."

  The second round was outside the school year, so Coppola pretty much played 'round the clock.

  "Mom came down to the kitchen at 2 a.m. and found me playing the game."

• 2:25 p.m. #

  What about after college?

  "I always wanted to do computer security." Coppola says he might work for the government.

• 2:27 p.m. #

  Staying on the subject of security: Innovation from Within: Apps for Security Program in Armed Forces Linton Wells, II (National Defense University), Jeffrey A. Sorenson (U.S. Army), Nickolas Justice (US Army), Carlos Castillo (Warfighter Technologies), Paul Lin (Warfighter Technologies).

• 2:29 p.m. #

  One of the keys to the military's success is "innovation at the edge" and trust in commanders in the field to adapt.

  First question: Why enable innovation at the edge?

  Sorenson: "If you look at warfare today, warfare has changed a great deal since your father or grandfather fought." We're now fighting asymmetric wars, and the old hierarchies don't move fast enough anymore.

  "At the tactical edge, they're conducting operations that have significant strategic consequences."

  Justice: It's all about the money. If I don't have to go through a procurement process, I can get this done faster and cheaper.

• 2:33 p.m. #

  Sorenson: "When you take that soldier who has the intuition and the experience of what combat operations are, and you take the engineer and you mix 'em together, real magic happens."

  Justice: "If we can find those touch points of modernization...then we're able to stay up with the pace of technology change in the commercial world. It takes so much time to extend big infrastructure in the military that we fall behind."

• 2:35 p.m. #

  Justice: "I walk around with an Android cell phone in my pocket. Every day there's a new application I can use. Wouldn't it be great to have that in the military."

  Sorenson: Have to make sure the information is secure, even if only for an hour (information is perishable). "You have to make sure the soldiers who are using this out on the edge have trust in the network."

• 2:37 p.m. #

  Q: What's the Army's view of social media?

  Sorenson: We have an African command, and the continent lacks network infrastructure that exists elsewhere. In that case, sites like Twitter are a useful way to get information out.

  Also, "We're finding Twitter and Facebook to be great ways to recruit."

• 2:39 p.m. #

  "Collaboration is one of the most important things on a battlefield. You're synchronizing various efforts to bring to bear a capability."

  On optimal size for a network, Justice says 150 is about the right number. Bigger than that, "it becomes a news service."

  "If you want to focus people and bring them to bear on solving a problem, get them to about 150."

• 2:42 p.m. #

  The constant balance in military software: capability vs. security.

  First, define what communities can make use of this. Public affairs is an obvious place for openness. But then, monitor the network to make sure nothing malicious happens.

• 2:42 p.m. #

  The constant balance in military software: capability vs. security.

  First, define what communities can make use of this. Public affairs is an obvious place for openness. But then, monitor the network to make sure nothing malicious happens.

• 2:45 p.m. #

  Coming soon: Apps for the Army, trying to replicate the Apps for Democracy in DC.

  "We have now identified a platform, forge.mil, then making sure we provide the data so they can build that application."

• 2:50 p.m. #

  Speaking now, Carlos Castillo:

  Carlos is a member of the California Army National Guard and Co-Founder of Warfighter Technologies. During his last deployment, Carlos led the product design of the Combat Operations Interactive Network (COIN), MEDEVAC Status (MedStat), and Routes web applications where he defined the standard of services for the tactical operations center. In addition, he served as the Battalion Battle Desk NCO where he oversaw and coordinated thousands of successful combat missions in Iraq.

  Carlos has co-authored and been technical reviewer for several A Press publications covering different aspects of information technology. His hobbies include computer hardware hacking, biking, and application development. He has been awarded multiple Army Achievement and Army Commendation medals for applying innovations with current software and hardware technologies to rear, field, and combat scenarios.

• 2:56 p.m. #

  His big project is COIN, a mission-tracking web application built on LAMP that helps soldiers manage mission tasks.

  "It took us about six months to get on the network, but once we were on the network, we were able to code for who we really wanted to, which is the warfighter."

• 2:57 p.m. #

  Talking Linux on the battlefield, here's a deployment strategy: "Only pack it if you can hack it."

  The poncho is a good example. "Anyone who's been given a poncho knows it's good for anything except keeping the rain off you."

  A couple soldiers in Iraq hacked a radio into a VOIP to communicate across a forward operating base.

  "This is only possible if you know how to do it." It's important for soldiers to know how to improvise with software like they do with hardware.

• 3 p.m. #

  Now, a bit about identity:

  The promise of Web2.0/Gov2.0 realizing its full impact may be dependent on getting to a concept of citizen-centric identity that works for everyone and enables the promise of “government-as-a platform”.

  Judith Spencer (General Services Administration), Mary Ruddy (Meristic, Inc.), John Clippinger (Berkman Center Harvard University) will talk about it.

• 3:04 p.m. #

  Judith Spencer: "For most of the interactions people have with the government, we actually need some identity assurance."

  People are doing things online today, and they're comfortable doing them. "What these people have, that they may not realize they have, is something called OpenID."

  They've created a shared capability to authenticate across platforms. "This is something we think that we can leverage."

• 3:08 p.m. #

  Key privacy principals for government OpenID:

  • Individuals must be able to opt in
  • Only require a minimal amount of operations
  • No activity tracking
  • Users must get notice that it's optional
  • if service is terminated, make sure it's easily disconnected.
• 3:12 p.m. #

  John Clippinger, Berkman Center Harvard University: "It's an extremely important principal" for people to control their identity, not just online but in a very real and legal sense. "Therefore we have to be very, very careful about them."

  "If you get that wrong, then you completely disrupt a very primary set of services on which you cannot build other services."

  "As a citizen, you need to know that the government is not going to use this for surveillance."

  "You're going to have to have some system of 'authenticated anonymity,'" wherein you collect information on a person without being able to personally identify.

• 3:14 p.m. #

  Mary Ruddy, Meristic, Inc.: "There was a time when we thought government would solve this problem by creating a Big Brother identity for all."

  There are 10 OpenID providers stepping forward to provide OpenID services to the government, including Google, PayPal. Didn't catch the rest.

• 3:17 p.m. #

  The National Library of Medicine is one of the first to try OpenID to allow access to medical publications.

  Q: We've got identity information all over the place, and machines tracking us all over the place trying to understand our behavior. Thoughts?

  A: Privacy principals are key. Clippinger: "Once the information escapes it's hard to get it back." We'll have to figure out policies for "good behavior." There is a possibility of creating secure ID repositories to do "blind authentication" but it's not a perfect solution.

• 3:23 p.m. #

  Jumping back to social media and security: Bruce McConnell (U.S. Department of Homeland Security), Rick Wesson (Support Intelligence), Price Floyd (Department of Defense) will talk about the work they've done.

• 3:28 p.m. #

  The Defense Department is looking at both the security concerns of social media and its benefits. Family members "found the ability communicate with their husbands, wives, sons, daughters invaluable."

  One woman said her husband could help with his son's homework while stationed overseas.

  More: Counter-insurgency manuals and other lessons-learned reports are being updated in real time online, instead of waiting for in-person debriefing.

• 3:31 p.m. #

  Price Floyd (Department of Defense): "In the past, if you wrote a letter home to your friends and broke operational security, at most, one or two people heard about it. Now, if you update Twitter and you break operational security, potentially thousands of people hear about it."

• 3:33 p.m. #

  We're into the final stretch now. Let's talk about .gov sites that work.

  .Gov can play too! More and more attention is being paid to government websites—everyone is getting in on the game and it is beginning to show. We have recently seen a number of sites rise to the top, as in NextGov’s “Best Practices for .Gov Websites”. What are some of these sites, and what do they share in common? Allan Holmes, Executive Editor of Government Executive magazine, shares his insights on what works and why.

  Allan Holmes (nextgov.com) is speaking.

• 4:08 p.m. #

  NextGov started by trying to get agencies to talk about strategic use of new media.

  Holmes gives big props to the Obama administration for being "the tech president," the Open Government Directive and using technology for policy.

  "It's data. It's interoperability. This is strategic."

• 4:11 p.m. #

  Most federal websites were static brochureware, "just to keep the secretary's blackberry running," as someone told Holmes.

  But then a few started winning Webby awards. The public liked these:

  • SSA
  • Library of Congress
  • NASA
  • CDC
  • TSA
• 4:13 p.m. #

  Why do these work?

  • They organize content for the public
  • rely on (and don't fear) web2.0
  • Listen and respond to the public
  • Know visitors come to conduct specific tasks
  • Engage customers with candid, well-written ("and fearless") blogs

  "People who have an idea should just be allowed to do it," as Vince Cerf said yesterday.

• 4:15 p.m. #

  He's talking about the TSA blog, Evolution of Security. It's fascinating. I read it. They get comments, real comments.

  "It encourages people to read it and it engages people," says Holmes. "It becomes the citizens' website, not just TSA's."

• 4:17 p.m. #

  Here's another cool example: NamUs to help find missing persons.

  It lets people help. "They do most of the solving."

• 4:20 p.m. #

  "We're getting toward the end of the program, but we've got some real powerhouses coming forward," O'Reilly said. Up next:

  Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is interviewed by Kevin Werbach, University of Pennsylvania business professor and technology analyst.

  Since we'll be talking about broadband, here's the FCC Broadband Blog.

• 4:23 p.m. #

  "It got sexy when you and I got there," says Werbach of the FCC.

  "I'd like it to be a real model for government in terms of technology and new media," Genachowski says.

  The agency is starting to talk about big strategic projects: universal broadband, "the need for vibrant media in the 21st Century," enabling democracy.

  "It's a big agenda," Genachowski says, "but the opportunity and the challenge is that communications touches everything."

  Genachowski: "The horizontal nature of communications is at least as important."

• 4:26 p.m. #

  "High speed internet is our generation's major infrastructure challenge."

  It's our version of railroads and the National Highway System. "There's a growing consensus that this is true," Genachowski says. It was part of the Recovery Act.

  The FCC is looking at where broadband is available, affordable and being adopted. Also examining how it can solve other problems: health care, safety.

  "And we are trying to run the most open, participatory process the FCC has ever run."

• 4:29 p.m. #

  Q: Could this become a model for how the FCC and other agencies could open up?

  A: We're going to keep experimenting. "There's nothing wrong with lawyers participating in the process of the FCC, but they shouldn't be the only people." The process needs to be open to anyone who can contribute.

  "You shouldn't have to hire a lawyer or come to Washington to tell the FCC what you think," Genachowski says. "None of this is easy."

  Technology makes it easier, but they need to look at the rules about public comments and getting feedback.

• 4:32 p.m. #

  More about broadband as an enabler for other solutions:

  • "It's how, increasingly, jobs will be created, and searched for."
  • "We can make real progress on economic growth by thinking about broadband" as a platform.
  • It can accelerate solutions, such as health IT.

  "On education, there's a growing recognition that broadband is essential to bringing the best of education to rural communities."

  On public safety: "We want first responders in this country...to have the benefit of 21st century tools."

  "None of these things will be solved by February when we issue our strategy. None of these will really be solved really soon." But need to start now.

  Last, "Broadband is a platform for government 2.0."

• 4:36 p.m. #

  These days, "some may wonder if government innovation is an oxymoron," says Eugene Huang of the FCC. But that's changing, he says, especially after this conference.

  You can help.

  "We don't have all the answers, and we don't have all the ideas. We want your help."

  Ideas they'll take back: Turn government into a wholesaler for data, and make that data machine readable.

• 4:41 p.m. #

  Add your thoughts at Fcc.gov/connect. Really, go tell them what you want.

• 4:44 p.m. #

  Genachowski: "How can government most effectively deploy the public's data in a way that leverages the intelligence and the energy of people on the outside?"

  Kevin Werbach built the FCC's first website in the 1990s. After he left the agency, "out of respect for Keven, the agency decided not to touch his work," Genachowski jokes. Time for an update, he says.

• 4:47 p.m. #

  FCC is launching a major data review:

  • How does FCC collect data?
  • Is it doing the right analysis?
  • Is the FCC releasing public data in a way the public can get to? searchable and machine readable?

  Final thoughts to the innovators out there: Take advantage of our infrastructure to make the country better.

  "I would hope that people from this community think about public service for one of their next ventures," Genachowski says. "Whether it's the FCC or some other agency, we really do need your special talents."

• 4:52 p.m. #

  Last panel of the conference: Lena Trudeau (National Academy of Public Administration) talks to David Wennergren (Department of Defense), Michele Weslander Quaid (US Government), Alan Cohn (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

  Leaders in government are recognizing the benefits of technology-enabled collaboration. Collaboration on a mass scale is set to change every institution in society, including (and perhaps especially) our government. But driving innovation in a complex bureaucracy is no easy task: regulatory requirements, the procurement process and an entrenched aversion to risk present real challenges to much needed change. Join us for a moderated panel session in which you will hear from leaders who are embracing web 2.0 technologies to connect with citizens, engage their stakeholders, and solve their most pressing business problems.

• 4:54 p.m. #

  "We're the last thing between you and happy hour," jokes David Wennergren.

  "There is a lot of great stuff going on in my world, and you don't always here about it, because it happens fast."

  Instead of taking legacy systems and spending year trying to adapt them, Defense is now using and making public and open source apps.

  "These are all about mashups."

• 4:58 p.m. #

  "The challenge for us is that it changes everything about our organization."

  Architecture, cost, everything is in flux.

  Goal: "You can stick your card into any computing device" and do what you need to do. The interface looks more like an iPhone.

• 5 p.m. #

  In intelligence, need to work with technology, people, says Michele Weslander Quaid. Technology is the easy part.

  "The advent of web2.0 really tore down those technical barriers."

• 5:03 p.m. #

  Talking about Homeland Security's quadrennial review, there's a need to figure out how to engage the public, collaborate with stakeholders and be transparent, says Alan Cohn of DHS.

  In past years, the department would have finished the review, then ask the public for reactions. Now, trying to get input beforehand with three national dialog sessions.

• 5:07 p.m. #

  Quaid: What we really need to adopt new capabilities is leadership. People need cover to innovate.

  "It was the middle managers who were doing that translation to their constituency."

  Find the early adopters. Enlist them to help show value to the rest of the organization. Also, set clear rules for engagement.

• 5:15 p.m. #

  Wennergren: "You really have to accept the fact that the future is here. Globalization happened. Web2.0 happened. Use the tools that are out there."

• 5:18 p.m. #

  A pithy wrap up?

  Quaid: "We don't always need more tools, but we need better use and sense-making." "We are the government, but we're trying to innovate."

  Cohn: When something's out there, "try it. And judge us by the results."

  Wennergren: "I need you all to be powerful forces for change. People become comfortable in the way things are, because they're experts in the way things are."

  "We do a pretty lousy job sometimes of storytelling."

  Quaid: "All of you work in all of our worlds." Help us see where we have opportunities.

• 5:25 p.m. #

  Closing session: Tim O'Reilly will talk with Andrew McLaughlin, the deputy CTO, who has been in the audience listening.

  "There's been a bunch of people on stage here who regularly interact with the president of the United States, so all of you out here have really been two or three degrees away from the president."

  McLaughlin's takeaways: "We have got to really speed up government."

• 5:27 p.m. #

  "No amount of online, machine readable data is going to make the government more innovative."

  Turning around President Kennedy's call to action: Ask not (just) what machine-readable data the government can give to you. Ask what machine readable data you can give to the government.

  "We can't wait for waves of people to retire."

• 5:29 p.m. #

  O'Reilly: "We need to get better at reuse. ... Once we know what works, we need to learn how to share that data."

  McLaughlin: "One thing you can do is model good data." Open your code where you can, like a government App Store.

• 5:31 p.m. #

  "A tremendous amount of my time has been spent in interagency meetings where I find myself trying to explain a metaphor. It's basically from telephones to the internet."

  Look at air traffic control: "We're basically dealing with 1930s technology" built on radios. Why not treat them like packets?

  For police and fire, they should never have to rely on one system.

• 5:32 p.m. #

  On McLaughlin's to-do list:

  Every federal employee should have a searchable homepage on a government intranet so people can easily find skill sets. "It takes me forever to find anybody."

  Trying to find one webmaster to get a briefing about search: "I got chewed out for not going seven levels above..."

  Real-time Data.gov. (Me: Yes)

  VirtualUSA.

  Last thing, call it Carl.gov. "Listening to Carl's speech this morning gave me a lot of information and a little bit of shame." Make things that have the force of law freely available.

• 5:36 p.m. #

  Here's a cool project: Jen Pahika is talking about Code for America. It's like Teach for America, except you go do municipal open-source coding. "Build an open muni stack."

• 5:39 p.m. #

  A couple last missions for the Gov2.0 community who's here, from McLaughlin:

  • Do something to help low-income kids get age-appropriate books and improve their vocabularity
  • Make a game that teaches math and science that's as engaging as World of Warcraft
  • Develop community college classes that get better when more people take them

  From Tim O'Reilly:

  • Find simple technologies that improve health outcomes, like things that tell you to walk more
  • increase energy efficiency in buildings by 30 to 50%
  • Build a site that makes personal finance easy to handle and understand

  Generally, do stuff that matters, whether in the public or private sector.

• 5:46 p.m. #

  And folks, that's the conference. Thanks for tuning in.