Now that’s just crazy, but I know why. Sam used to work for the city and I’ve heard some stories about trying to get things done there. The municipal IT department is paid below average wages, there are no negative incentives like being let go, and they are given no positive incentives like promotions or bonuses. IT at the city seems to be a job that you take and show up for until you collect your pension.
So it isn’t that this is a bad strategy, it’s just that the city is so completely incompetent at IT that they can’t even put in a CMS. Therefore, private sources have built really good communication tools that are actually working. It sucks that the city can’t do IT, but it is good that they are doing what it takes to help people know. Twitter is a single point of failure, it falls over all the time, but at least it has RSS feeds and it’s open for anyone to read. I think the city should do better, I just don’t know that they can.
So cool!I'm proud to announce that we now have a simple interface for editing and translating lessons on wikiotics.org! This is some great work by Jim that lets us get on with the fun part, making and playing with lessons. If you have a minute, take a look at our example lesson (in English) and play around. The "edit" button at the top will le […]
SEE the leaks are valuable. Now we know not to drink crappy beer oh wait. Buried in Wikileaks' Afghanistan documents is a largely ignored 2007 warning that Pakistani spies were planning to poison booze intended for American soldiers using sulfuric acid. It sounds a little far-fetched. Until you hear the story of James Yeager, an American geologist who c […]
Ok, for the to-read bucket The best-tasting food is the kind that comes from your own efforts, because victory tastes oh-so-sweet. Conquer KFC-style fried chicken, smoky barbecue, wood-fired pizza, five-minute bread, and other DIY delicacies with these great food-focused projects. More » […]
The NYC Government IT has given up.
My buddy Ian has a great post about his experience trying to find out if he had to move his car. Seems the DOT updates this info on Twitter rather than putting it out on their own website.
Now that’s just crazy, but I know why. Sam used to work for the city and I’ve heard some stories about trying to get things done there. The municipal IT department is paid below average wages, there are no negative incentives like being let go, and they are given no positive incentives like promotions or bonuses. IT at the city seems to be a job that you take and show up for until you collect your pension.
So it isn’t that this is a bad strategy, it’s just that the city is so completely incompetent at IT that they can’t even put in a CMS. Therefore, private sources have built really good communication tools that are actually working. It sucks that the city can’t do IT, but it is good that they are doing what it takes to help people know. Twitter is a single point of failure, it falls over all the time, but at least it has RSS feeds and it’s open for anyone to read. I think the city should do better, I just don’t know that they can.
But wait, there's more