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WebAim is currently conducting a survey looking at the usage of screen readers and the personal experiences of their users.
If you're a user of a screen reader, or are interested in accessibility for vision-impaired people and use of screen readers (as all government web and intranet managers should be), the survey is available from the Webaim blog post, Screen Reader Survey.
There's some interesting comments already on the issues around use of captcha technology (even audio equivalents).
Results will be published in a few months.
Friday, December 26, 2008
WebAim conducting survey on screen reader usage | Tweet |
National Diabetes Services Scheme releases | Tweet |
The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS), an Australian Government initiative administered by Diabetes Australia, last month released the a national online map of the spread of diabetes in Australia.
Located at www.diabetesmap.com.au), the service is a wonderful example of how online map systems (in this case Microsoft's free Virtual Earth tool) can be 'mashed-up' with data to provide new ways of visualising and understanding data.
More details are available in the NDSS's media release, National Online Map Launched to Track Diabetes in Australia.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Have a great holiday season & New Year! | Tweet |
To the over 7,000 unique visitors my blog has received in the last six months, have a fantastic and safe holiday season and I look forward to further conversations in the Australian egovernment space in 2009.
With many international voices in the egovernment space indicating that government needs to build more connections and networks to improve and innovate online policy and service delivery, I hope to meet and work with many of you in the future in cross-agency and whole-of-government initiatives - through peer-based networks, not just top-down driven projects.
In case you haven't read them, the most popular posts on my blog have been:
- Internet a more important information medium than TV, radio or print
- Make government data freely available
- Drawing the lines - effectively structuring government online teams
- Lessons to be learnt from the Grocery choice website
- Cut costs by expanding your intranet
Keep an eye out for Santa (NORAD tracks Santa)!
Australian government Digital Futures blog now closed | Tweet |
The Department of Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) has now closed its blog on Digital Futures, with a Thanks and so long... message.
The majority of responses to the blog (and yes I systematically read all the comments that the Department published on the site) related to concerns around the government's mandatory internet filtering plan.
Other comments indicated a strong positive response to the idea of the government blogging and using the online channel for greater consultation.
I'm hopeful that the DBCDE will consider upgrading their platform to one more effective for blogging and dedicate resources to the maintenance of an ongoing blog to create a conversation with the public, rather than a brief (14 day) consultation. Ongoing conversations tend to start strong, fall off and then build over time - the first two stages of which are visible in the DBCDE's effort.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Interim protocols for government online media participation released | Tweet |
Back on 8 December the APSC released Circular 2008/8: Interim protocols for online media participation.
I was waiting to hear about them officially before posting about them. However as I've not yet seen any coverage through these channels, I figured that it was time to post about them to raise some awareness for those of us in the egovernment space and for other public servants blogging.
The interim guidelines have been released in support of the current online consultation trials taking place in the Federal government, with the Department of Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy's Future Directions blog being one of these trials.
The guidelines cover both official and private use (such as this blog) of online communications and are broadly inline with similar guidelines in the US, UK and New Zealand.
In summary these are,
Official use of online communication
When using online communication for official purposes:
- ensure that you are appropriately authorised to do so. Let people know who you are and what you want to achieve. You should disclose your position as a representative of your agency, unless there are exceptional circumstances such as a potential threat to personal security
- be accurate and informative in explaining Government policies and programmes and be responsive to public views and comment. You should, however, avoid any statements that might be interpreted as advocating government policies or criticising the policies of other political parties or groups
- be objective and impartial. Avoid any comment that could be interpreted as a personal political view
- be honest, cordial and professional at all times
- don’t commit your department or agency or the Government to any action or initiative unless you have authority to do so
- don’t disclose official information unless you are authorised to do so or unless it is already in the public domain. Be aware of laws covering libel, defamation, privacy and the protection of intellectual property
- avoid any statement or comment that might bring the APS into disrepute.
Private use of online communicationFinal guidelines are planned to be released in 2009.
As a citizen, you are entitled to comment in a personal capacity on public issues, including through contributing to online discussion and debate. You should remember, however:
- that Commonwealth resources must be used in a proper manner. You should not use work internet or email for private blogging or other forms of online comment;
- that you should avoid any comment that might be interpreted as an official statement on behalf of your agency or that might compromise perceptions of your ability to do your job in an unbiased and professional manner. You should also be careful about posting comment or material that might bring the APS into disrepute.
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