Author Archive

I love music. But I hate when three applications fight over which gets to play it when I click on the links at http://del.icio.us/popular/system:filetype:mp3 . So I decided to do something about it: you will now notice a to the left of every mp3 link. Go ahead, click on it and enjoy the peaceful beauty when the music just plays.

We recently added a way to play back mp3 links posted to del.icio.us without leaving the page or browser. Many of you loved this solution and asked if you could put it on your blog or website. I now have an answer for you – yes you can! PlayTagger is a simple javascript you include on your site that automatically makes any mp3 link playable on your page. It also includes a link that allows visitors to easily post the mp3 to del.icio.us.

The PlayTagger code and example are located here: del.icio.us/help/playtagger

P.S. Sorry this took so long. We have actually had the code done for two weeks, but choosing the name proved harder than we could have imagined. Some names that didn't make the cut: playDots, medialicious, mmmmMp3, del.icio.us mp3 player, ClickNipples, etc.

Editor’s note: Today our guest blogger is Richard Ferrick, Network Administrator for Panama City, Florida, one of the first governments in the country to adopt Google Apps for Government. Join Richard for a live chat on GovLoop this Thursday, December 2 at 2pm ET / 11am PT / 6pm GMT.


Panama City, Florida is a beautiful resort destination on Florida’s Emerald Coast; our white sand beaches attract vacationers year round. We’re also home to 37,000 residents who care a lot about open access to their local government. Our city government makes it a priority to make our operations transparent to citizens, businesses, and visitors alike. At the same time, with a three-person IT department supporting nearly 250 city employees, finding ways to work smarter and conserve funds is essential.

Google Apps has freed our IT team from maintaining email servers and updating websites to focus on important transparency initiatives. We started with a 50-employee pilot of Google Apps in 2007 and gave all city employees the Google email and collaboration tools in 2008. Earlier this year, we became one of the first users of Google Apps for Government to take advantage of its government-specific security measures.

We decided to move our public facing website to Google Sites after experiencing a catastrophic server crash with our old site this spring. We were happy with our previous website, but now we like our site even more. Google empowers people in other city departments to update the website with ease. For example, major changes are underway for Panama City’s Comprehensive Plan. Planning staff post announcements, updates and amendments as they happen. Human resources adds new job postings and other departments collect input from residents using a simple form. IT no longer needs to make every update ─ and when we do, it can be from anywhere. This keeps the website more current and saves valuable time. Plus, we’ve had a lot of compliments from citizens who say everything is easy to find.


Google Apps also simplifies finding information to respond to public records requests. The state puts a high priority on the public's right of access to government information. This daunting task is now simplified with the email archiving capabilities of Google Message Discovery. What would take hours for a single request now takes minutes.

What’s more, mobility limitations for the staff are now a thing of the past. Previously, employees were forced to use a VPN connection and remote desktop. With Google Apps, no VPN is required. Some staff even access Apps securely from personal mobile devices. Employee productivity is at an all time high.

With time savings like these, our IT staff has more time to focus on open government initiatives. In 1967, the state passed the “Sunshine Law” establishing a basic right of access to most public government meetings. This used to mean people could attend these meetings in person, but that isn’t always practical. We wanted to make the proceedings more broadly accessible. So, we added live streaming of all public meetings to pcgov.org. Then we set up our own YouTube channel, making past meetings readily available to the public. We will also start testing video chat for use during city meetings, and look for more ways we can use Google Apps to open up our government.

Please join Thursday’s live chat on GovLoop to learn more.

by Richard Ferrick, Network Administrator / Web Development, Panama City, Florida

Posted by Dan Israel, Google Apps for Government Team

It’s been six months since we released Google Apps for Government. In that time, we’ve seen a steady stream of customers, both large and small, sign up for this new edition of Google Apps. From the U.S. General Services Administration and the State of Wyoming, to the City of Wooster, Ohio and Rockingham County, North Carolina ─ tens of thousands of government employees in 38 states plus the District of Columbia now benefit from our modern, reliable, and secure email and collaboration applications.

These federal, state, and local government organizations are moving to Google Apps for a number of reasons. By choosing what we call 100% web applications ─ meaning applications that are delivered over the Internet and accessed in a web browser ─ agencies get the latest in Google innovation without having to maintain or upgrade the technology themselves. This means government employees are always equipped with the latest tools to help them do their jobs.

Agencies also benefit from the extensive resources Google dedicates to maintaining data security. Protection of our customers’ data is our top priority. In fact, Google Apps continues to be the only web-based email and collaboration applications to achieve FISMA security certification from the U.S. government.

What’s more, Google Apps’ scalable, reliable infrastructure combined with features like powerful search are helping governments promote transparency, like this public records project recently established by New Mexico’s Attorney General using Google Sites. In Larimer County, Colorado, they’re using Google Groups to maintain the County Commissioners’ public record email. Learn more about Larimer County’s use of Google Apps in this video:



On top of all these other benefits, these agencies are saving taxpayers tens of millions of dollars by making the switch to Google Apps. We look forward to expanding those numbers in 2011, and welcoming many more government agencies to a 100% web world.

Posted by Dan Israel, Google Apps for Government Team

In a breathless blog post, Microsoft recently suggested we intentionally misled the U.S. government over our compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Microsoft claims we filed a separate FISMA application for Google Apps for Government, then leaps to the conclusion that Google Apps for Government is not FISMA certified. These allegations are false.

We take the federal government’s security requirements seriously and have delivered on our promise to meet them. What’s more, we’ve been open and transparent with the government, and it’s irresponsible for Microsoft to suggest otherwise.

Let’s look at the facts. We received FISMA authorization for Google Apps from the General Services Administration (GSA) in July 2010. Google Apps for Government is the same technology platform as Google Apps Premier Edition, not a separate system. It includes two added security enhancements exclusively for government customers: data location and segregation of government data. In consulting with GSA last year, it was determined that the name change and enhancements could be incorporated into our existing FISMA certification. In other words, Google Apps for Government would not require a separate application.

This was reflected in yesterday’s Congressional testimony from the GSA: “...we're actually going through a re-certification based on those changes that Google has announced with the ‘Apps for Government’ product offering.”

FISMA anticipates that systems will change over time and provides for regular reauthorization—or re-certification—of systems. We regularly inform GSA of changes to our system and update our security documentation accordingly. The system remains authorized while the changes are evaluated by the GSA. We submitted updates earlier this year that included, among other changes, a description of the Google Apps for Government enhancements.

We’ve been very transparent about our FISMA authorization. Our documentation has always been readily available for any government agency to review, and dozens of officials from a range of departments and agencies have availed themselves of the opportunity to learn more about how we keep our customers’ data secure.

We’ll continue to update our documentation to reflect new capabilities in Google Apps. This continuous innovation is an important reason government customers select our service. We’re confident that Microsoft will also re-authorize their applications on a regular basis, once they receive FISMA authorization. We look forward to continuing to work with governments around the world to bring them the many benefits of cloud computing.

Posted by Eran Feigenbaum, Director of Security, Google Enterprise

Google has a contract with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for the first instance of Google Earth Builder. Google Earth Builder will enable NGA to use Google’s vast geospatial processing power to enhance its ability to provide timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence to its customers, who span a broad range of U.S. federal government departments and agencies.

Google’s work with NGA marks one of the first major government geospatial cloud initiatives, which will enable NGA to use Google Earth Builder to host its geospatial data and information. This allows NGA to customize Google Earth & Maps to provide maps and globes to support U.S. government activities, including: U.S. national security; homeland security; environmental impact and monitoring; and humanitarian assistance, disaster response and preparedness efforts. This is particularly critical to provide damage and mobility assessments after natural disasters such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan or Hurricane Katrina.

NGA has been a long-time user of Google Earth Enterprise. As part of NGA's Geospatial Visualization- Enterprise Services, Google and NGA have teamed up to make it easier for the government to get useful and current geospatial content to federal employees who need it to execute their respective missions. Once an individual has been authorized on one of the government’s secure networks, he or she will be able to access maps customized to his or her specific department or role using Google Earth, Google Maps or via widely-used Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) services.

Behind the scenes, Google Earth Builder will host and serve NGA geospatial content to its mission partners and customers, equipping them with timely information using the user’s tool of choice. NGA will have the ability to use the vast number of cloud resources for rapid processing of the ever-growing quantities of geospatial data and then provide the GEOINT in an online, on-demand environment.

We’ve been excited to work with NGA as one of the early adopters of Google Earth Builder, and are pleased to make the product available to other organizations who want to take advantage of Google’s vast processing power to manage and publish their own geospatial data.

Posted by Sean Wohltman and Phil Dixon, Google Federal Team

Posted by Governor Matt Mead, State of Wyoming

Editors note: Today Wyoming Governor Matt Mead is announcing the completion of the migration of all 10,000 state government employees to Google Apps for Government. State employees now have a unified communications system that makes it easier for them to find & collaborate with one another. View the live stream of the Governor’s announcement starting at 8:00am MT.

Hello from the great State of Wyoming. We have some exciting news: our entire state government has gone Google. Wyoming is the first state in the country to make this transition. I am extremely proud to say that we are early adopters and this continues a long tradition of Wyoming firsts -- where Wyoming leads the way. Wyoming was the first state in the country where women voted. We also have the first National Park, Yellowstone, and first National Monument, Devils Tower. We had the first woman governor too. Join us online today at 8:00am MT/7:00am PT to view the live event as we make the announcement.

Wyoming and Google finalized the agreement in October of last year and so in less than 9 months we have moved 10,000 state employees over to Google Apps for Government. This is a sign of the adaptability and flexibility of our state government -- another source of pride for us.

Not only has Wyoming cut the cord and gone to cloud-based computing, allowing more mobility for and collaboration between employees, this is also the first time all of our employees have been on a shared email platform. This means greater efficiency and it will almost certainly lead to better service to the public. It also saves money in costs related to servers, licensing and staff. In addition, compared to what we would have spent for equivalent features in our previous system, we anticipate dramatic savings associated with email storage and overall security.

My office was in the first wave to transition to Google Apps, and I am pleased to say it has already made a big difference. Among its many features, Google Apps has provided efficiencies for scheduling and for keeping the office running smoothly. Our pioneer spirit is alive and well, which means great things for the state of Wyoming!

Posted by Dan Israel, Google Apps for Government team

Last month, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) completed the transition of its employees to Google’s cloud-based email and collaboration applications. In a display of both speed and teamwork, it took just over six months since the decision was made to “Go Google” for GSA to migrate over 17,000 employees and contractors to Google Apps for Government.

GSA oversees the business of the U.S. federal government, managing $500B in federal assets, 9,600 federal buildings, and more than 200,000 government vehicles. Among the many services it provides to other agencies, GSA provides innovative technology solutions to enhance government efficiency and increase citizen engagement. By moving to the cloud, GSA hopes to serve as a model for other federal agencies.

The successful move to the cloud resulted from the involvement of hundreds of GSA employees who volunteered as early adopters and training buddies to support colleagues in making the switch. These efforts were supported by technical implementation experts from prime contractor Unisys and partner Tempus Nova.

This teamwork is indicative of the collaboration these new tools make possible. The teams used a Google Site to educate employees about Google Apps, Google-hosted videos to share recorded trainings, and Google Docs to share timely information among the early adopters. GSA also introduced the Google Chrome for Business web browser to give employees a faster, simpler & more secure experience with Google Apps.

Good customer service is at the heart of everything GSA does. These new tools are empowering employees to find innovative ways to improve service. Employees can collaborate both internally and externally with customers and industry partners to solve problems faster.

On top of this, these new applications are simplifying the IT experience for GSA employees, especially when employees are working remotely. As GSA Administrator Martha Johnson has said, “work is what you do, not where you are.” The added flexibility to access information and connect with colleagues while away from the office – and on a range of different devices – is helping GSA teams be more productive in serving customers.

GSA expects the introduction of Google Apps to help the agency transform its business and provide better results for its customers by promoting clearer communication and better team collaboration. What’s more, GSA projects that moving to Google Apps will lower email costs by 50%, a savings of $15 million over five years.

For GSA, this project has been far more than a new email and calendar system – it’s about enabling a whole new way for GSA employees to work.

Posted by Kripa Krishnan, Google Apps for Government team

Today we light a single candle to mark one year since we introduced Google Apps for Government. And appropriately enough for a first birthday, it’s been a year full of firsts.

Last year, Google Apps became the first cloud-based email and collaboration platform to receive Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) authorization from the U.S. government.

Last month, Wyoming became the first entire state in the country to go Google. They’ve been joined by state agencies in South Carolina, Virginia, and Kansas; cities such as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Des Moines, Iowa to Mesquite, Nevada; and counties like Multnomah County in Oregon, Rockingham County in North Carolina, and Washington County in New York. At last count, state and local governments in 42 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia are using Google Apps.

Earlier today, we announced that the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) became the first federal agency to complete migration to a cloud-based email service. Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) became the largest federal agency to date to select Google Apps as its email and collaboration platform for 25,000 employees.

GSA and NOAA are demonstrating the benefits of the federal government’s “cloud first” policy, which challenges agencies to move three services to the cloud by mid-2012, in recognition that cloud computing can provide agencies with agile, secure, reliable and cost-effective options.

We couldn’t be more pleased about all that’s happened in our first year and look forward to what year two brings.

Wendy Wu, Google Apps for Government Team

In Rockingham County, North Carolina, the IT department supports 500 employees who for the past several years had used three different client applications for email. The county switched to Google Apps for Government earlier this year to simplify its operations and improve collaboration among employees.

Join us for a live webinar on Wednesday, August 24 to hear from David Whicker, IT Director for Rockingham County, about the County’s experience with Google Apps, including:

• How Rockingham County standardized on one easy-to-maintain hosted application suite, saving the County IT department precious resources
  
• How Google Apps for Government boosted employee collaboration and productivity
  
• How the County deployed Google’s cloud solution easily and quickly

Live Webinar: Rockingham County empowers employees with Google Apps
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
1:00 - 2:00 pm EDT
Register here.