The following is the podcast of Social Web Radio from Wednesday, February 23, 2011.

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Creativity and talent are essential elements to what makes us unique.

Despite what you may believe, every person has the ability to generate creative thoughts and to build new skills and talents.

In my view, it is one of the signature failings of our school system and our modern work environment that students and employees are not asked to dedicate time each day strictly to be creative, unleash new ideas or examine their personal and professional goals.

Here are two things I do everyday as part of my creative thinking and talent building:

• I spend about 20 minutes looking at new jobs. That’s right! Everyday! If I find something interesting, I copy and paste the skills required that I do not have and add them to a list. During the day I refer to the list to see if there is an opportunity for me to add a new skill. For example, one list is entitled “Advertising” and includes online and print advertising. Though I have done both in my professional life – there are still skills I want to gain and experience to earn.
• I spend 15 to 20 minutes reading about new companies. If I like the concept of a new company, I add them to a spreadsheet I created. As time has gone on, my list has emerged into this very cool layout of new business models, the challenges they seek to solve and the technology they are using. As I brainstorm business ideas that I want to pursue, this list helps provide a lot of perspective on what is being done, as well as what is working and what is not working.

What are doing to be creative and talented?

As part of the Virtual Executive Roundtable series that we started at GovWin.com, we have put together two outstanding panels of experts – one to cover the government’s cloud initiatives (February 16) and another to address the new programs and efforts to enhance cybersecurity (March 9).

But going beyond forming a panel of leading cloud and cybersecurity speakers, we decided to try something a little different with these roundtables. Instead of having the audience sit and watch a long series of slides and data, we have decided to get more people involved and help drive the flow of the conversation – before, during and after the event.

The process is simple. Just register for the events (registration is free). And then post questions in our Q&A forum. When the event is LIVE, submit additional questions and answer polls. Then following the event we will keep the conversation going with our panel, provide an event recap and video, and explore the topics and issues we need to address next.

TO THE CLOUD! GOVERNMENT CLOUD INITIATIVES

Event Summary

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CYBERSECURITY

Event Summary

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I was reading a post from Bill Brantley on GovLoop where he asks “What is the ‘it’ in Gov 2.0?”.

I thought it was an interesting question, and I wanted to include here in GovWin.com. Much like “cloud computing” and other topics, people often do not have a clear explanation for what some of these new technologies and terms really mean.

So, what is Gov 2.0 mean to a government contractor? What does it mean to the government?

Is it all about data? Engagement? Social Media?

In my opinion, Gov 2.0 is about improving interaction and communication. More specifically, it is a mindset – a dedication to using technology to deliver more specialization to a customer / constituent base.

So, yes, conversation is key, because you cannot improve how someone interacts online (either with people or data) without a conversation.

Engagement is crucial to Gov 2.0. And the data or resource is another essential component.

But in my book, they all fall under that desire to use technology to deliver a service or solution that meets what the customer says they want.

The following is the podcast of Social Web Radio from Wednesday, February 9, 2011. During this program there is more discussion about the AOL acquisition of the Huffington Post.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The following is the podcast of Social Web Radio from Wednesday, February 9, 2011.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download