A Beautiful Mash

Several people have asked me about mashups. In a recent presentation, I showed housingmaps.com as an example, but there are many, many more. Google Maps seems to be in the middle of this trend. I have not attempted it myself, but the APIs are very available and reportedly pretty easy to use. Check out Google Maps API Official Blog or the many unofficial sites. It has occurred to many of us that mashups would be ideal for the Forest Service (maps + data + images + public input + ....). What's not to like? Tell us when you've tried one. We'd love to share it with our readers.

Old Folks (like me) and Social Media

I am part of that explosion of interest in social media that Steve D. mentioned. I am finding that this is a whole new world -- one that could quickly pass me by. And I'm really not that old. So I am choosing to engage and learn. And discuss. I had a discussion the other day with an old school friend who was appalled that federal agencies were getting into the social media act. How can we keep integrity? How can we maintain control and make sure that what is posted and offered as agency gospel is authentic? How can we stay in the good graces of the Department, Congress, OMB and others in our use of this new media?

And yet, how can we afford not to keep up with the new world of communication? My take is to learn it, use it, share it, decide on protocols that make us comfortable, current and most of all relevant.

Shift Happens

Another good UTube video: Did You Know? About the technological/societal/cultural earthquake we are living through.