Skip to content
New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Ks proofer 2 #3506

Merged
merged 10 commits into from
Dec 28, 2020
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -12,7 +12,9 @@ topics:
- search-engine-optimization
---

[{{< legacy-img src="2014/03/DigitalGov-Search-screen-shot-600-x-485.jpg" alt="screen grab of DigitalGov Search in Google results page" >}}](https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/03/DigitalGov-Search-screen-shot-600-x-485.jpg)Government Web pages are found mainly through search engines. Google recently [redesigned its search results page](http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027704/how-googles-redesigned-search-results-augur-a-more-beautiful-web) and there are quite a few small, but impactful, changes in this latest redesign. Specifically, it affects how page titles are displayed.
Government Web pages are found mainly through search engines. Google recently [redesigned its search results page](http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027704/how-googles-redesigned-search-results-augur-a-more-beautiful-web) and there are quite a few small, but impactful, changes in this latest redesign. Specifically, it affects how page titles are displayed.

{{< legacy-img src="2014/03/DigitalGov-Search-screen-shot-600-x-485.jpg" alt="screen grab of DigitalGov Search in Google results page" >}}

Many experts now recommend even shorter page titles. Below are a couple of articles (plus tools) to see how the change may affect your page titles:

Expand All @@ -22,32 +24,15 @@ Many experts now recommend even shorter page titles. Below are a couple of artic

In addition to the suggestions offered in our [previous article on Achieving Good SEO]({{< ref "2013-05-31-four-steps-to-achieve-good-seo.md" >}}), here are a few specific tips for page titles:

1. Place page titles in a

<title>
tag within the

<head>
.<br /> 2. There’s no magic number, but around 55 characters or less is good.<br /> 3. There’s no set syntax, but &#8220;Primary Keyword &#8211; Secondary Keyword | Brand Name&#8221; is good.</p>

<p>
Below are a few articles on optimizing title tags for search engines:
</p>

<p>
<a href="http://searchengineland.com/nine-best-practices-for-optimized-title-tags-111979">Nine Best Practices For Optimized < title > Tags</a>
</p>
1. Place page titles in a <code>&lt;title&gt;</code> tag within the <code>&lt;head&gt;</code>.
2. There’s no magic number, but around 55 characters or less is good.
3. There’s no set syntax, but &#8220;Primary Keyword &#8211; Secondary Keyword | Brand Name&#8221; is good.

<p>
<a href="http://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag">Title Tag</a>
</p>
Below are a few articles on optimizing title tags for search engines:

<p>
<a href="http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/good-titles">
* <a href="http://searchengineland.com/nine-best-practices-for-optimized-title-tags-111979">Nine Best Practices For Optimized < title > Tags</a>
* <a href="http://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag">Title Tag</a>
* <a href="http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/good-titles">Title: the most important element of a quality Web page</a>

<title>
: the most important element of a quality Web page</a></p>
_If you’re interested in learning more about search, register for our Search Is the New Big Data (in-person training) on April 10._

<p>
<em>If you’re interested in learning more about search, register for our Search Is the New Big Data (in-person training) on April 10.</em>
</p>
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ topics:
- us-environmental-protection-agency
- us-government-accountability-office
- us-small-business-administration

---

We won’t build the government of the 21st century by [drawing within the lines]({{< ref "2014-05-07-because-its-hard.md" >}}).
Expand All @@ -40,26 +41,26 @@ To get ourselves thinking outside the lines in order to build an awesome 21st ce

In our event’s panels and Expo, we’ll showcase programs that are combining, collaborating and colluding across technology boundaries to improve:

* How agencies operate internally
* How agencies collaborate together
* How agencies engage with citizens
* How agencies operate internally
* How agencies collaborate together
* How agencies engage with citizens

Following an opening keynote by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) CIO, David Bray, our four panels will focus on:

* performance analysis,
* customer service across channels,
* public private partnerships and
* inter-agency work.
* performance analysis,
* customer service across channels,
* public private partnerships and
* inter-agency work.

These panels will explore how agencies can integrate their [data]({{< ref "/topics/code" >}}data1/), [social media]({{< ref "/topics/social-media" >}}), [user experience]({{< ref "/topics/user-experience" >}}), [mobile development]({{< ref "/topics/mobile" >}}) and other programs in order to achieve the best improvements for citizen services. Confirmed speakers include:
These panels will explore how agencies can integrate their [data]({{< ref "/topics/code" >}}), [social media]({{< ref "/topics/social-media" >}}), [user experience]({{< ref "/topics/user-experience" >}}), [mobile development]({{< ref "/topics/mobile" >}}) and other programs in order to achieve the best improvements for citizen services. Confirmed speakers include:

* Jack Bienko, Small Business Administration (SBA)
* Denise Shaw, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
* Sarah Kaczmarek, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
* Michael Pulsifer, Department of Labor (DOL)
* Jack Bienko, Small Business Administration (SBA)
* Denise Shaw, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
* Sarah Kaczmarek, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
* Michael Pulsifer, Department of Labor (DOL)

You can sign up for the event and see our [ever-expanding speaker list on the event page](https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalgov.gov%2Fevent%2Fdigitalgov-citizen-services-summit%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGiwao6z6PUtq_tcRPW1QVfhf-9WA).

Our Expo will showcase innovations and shared services across the federal government. We have 30 tables available (and they&#8217;re going fast) for federal agencies to showcase projects and introduce yourselves to all the federal employees, contractors and state and local participants. Let us know your interest during the registration process &#8230; don&#8217;t think for a second that your program, large or small, isn&#8217;t the jam we are looking for

[Register Now]({{< tmp"events/digitalgov-citizen-services-summit.md" >}})! Seats are Limited!
[Register Now]({{< tmp"events/digitalgov-citizen-services-summit.md" >}})! Seats are Limited!
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ topics:
- us-environmental-protection-agency
- us-food-and-drug-administration
- united-states-census-bureau

---

{{< legacy-img src="2014/06/600-x-370-Jacob-Parcell-Panel-4-Inter-Agency-Work-toni470-flickr-20140530_114324.jpg" alt="Jacob Parcell, GSA - Panel 4: Inter-Agency Work - Alec Permison, Census; Lakshmi Grama, NCI; Denice Shaw, EPA; Mike Pulsifer, DOL" caption="" >}}
Expand All @@ -42,17 +43,20 @@ One of the agencies that is used to supplying information is the **Department of

**Denice Shaw**, Associate Chief Innovation Officer, Office of Research and Development, **Environmental Protection Agency**, knew the problem of nutrient pollution needed an unconventional solution. Many agencies needed the data, and although sensors existed to measure the problem, it was expensive to do so. However, by pulling together multiple stakeholders, including other agencies and academia they were able to lower the cost.

### Top-down approach vs. a bottom-up approach
## Top-down approach vs. a bottom-up approach

According to Parcell, both approaches can work. When you use a bottom-up approach, “if you can find the things people are interested, you can get more people involved.”

Grama says “the top-down approach is familiar. The top might not know about the details, they are more interested in the end product.” She also sees a lot of Web and social media folks using a bottom-up approach to figuring things out. The challenge is to articulate why it&#8217;s important to top management.

### Improving inter-agency work
## Improving inter-agency work

What can we do improve the quality of inter-agency work? Grama thinks it would be beneficial for government workers to carve out time specifically to think about innovation.

Agencies can also strive to think beyond their silos, since ultimately we work for the taxpayer. If you do work for another agency, “the taxpayer benefits even if your own agency doesn&#8217;t see the direct benefit,” said Pulsifer.

What has been your experience with inter-agency work?_**Alison Lemon** is a [Knowledge Manager for the SocialGov Community](FIND?s=alison+lemon.md) and a Senior Analyst for Social Media with the **FDA’s Office of Women’s Health**._
_Thanks to our special Summit blogger, Alison, who took up the Open Opportunities challenge. You can [find more opportunities to participate](http://gsablogs.gsa.gov/dsic/category/open-opportunities/)._
What has been your experience with inter-agency work?

_**Alison Lemon** is a [Knowledge Manager for the SocialGov Community]({{<ref "/authors/alison-lemon">}}) and a Senior Analyst for Social Media with the **FDA’s Office of Women’s Health**._

_Thanks to our special Summit blogger, Alison, who took up the Open Opportunities challenge. You can [find more opportunities to participate](http://gsablogs.gsa.gov/dsic/category/open-opportunities/)._
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ This populates the bigram field for each index with whatever natural language fi
],
"highlight": {
"pre_tag": "<strong>",
"post_tag": "<\/strong>"
"post_tag": "</strong>"
}
}
}
Expand Down
20 changes: 10 additions & 10 deletions content/news/2014/11/2014-11-07-welcome-to-user-experience-month.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -13,24 +13,24 @@ topics:

---

{{< legacy-img src="2014/11/600-x-250-UX-monthly-theme-slider-by-Jessica-Skretch-FTCgov.jpg" alt="Jessica Skretch, FTC" caption="" >}}
{{< legacy-img src="2014/11/600-x-250-UX-monthly-theme-slider-by-Jessica-Skretch-FTCgov.jpg" alt="UX monthly theme slider image" caption="By Jessica Skretch, FTC" >}}

One challenge with digital government: it&#8217;s hard to see people.

If you work at a U.S. Post Office, you interact with your customers, talk with them, and even see what they are feeling by looking at their faces. You can understand their experience fairly easily. In the digital world, technology decreases physical distance but increases the personal distance between us and our audience. Often we have to make sense of piles of data and user comments to determine if people even like what we offer or find it valuable.

So, in addition to collecting good analytics (like through GSA’s free [Digital Analytics Program]({{< ref "/guides/dap/_index.md" >}} "DAP: Digital Analytics Program")), it&#8217;s crucial to understand your how your customers use your technology on a one-to-one basis. That’s why you focus on the User Experience (or UX); a product&#8217;s ease-of-use, whether it looks nice or creates any emotional friction, and if people can use it to accomplish something they want.

User Experience is closely related to [Customer Experience]({{< ref "2014-07-07-user-experience-ux-vs-customer-experience-cx-whats-the-dif.md" >}} "User Experience (UX) vs. Customer Experience (CX): What’s the Dif?"), and the [User Experience]({{< ref "digitalgov-user-experience-resources.md" >}} "DigitalGov User Experience Program") program that I manage at GSA helps: build UX teams at agencies across the federal government, them to understand their customers&#8217; needs, and build products centered around them.
User Experience is closely related to [Customer Experience]({{< ref "2014-07-07-user-experience-ux-vs-customer-experience-cx-whats-the-dif.md" >}}), and the [User Experience]({{< ref "digitalgov-user-experience-resources.md" >}} "DigitalGov User Experience Program") program that I manage at GSA helps: build UX teams at agencies across the federal government, them to understand their customers&#8217; needs, and build products centered around them.

For this month&#8217;s UX theme, we&#8217;re hitting this topic from lots of angles:

* The exciting [results from our Federal User Experience research study]({{< ref "2014-11-21-results-2014-federal-user-experience-survey.md" >}} "Results: 2014 Federal User Experience Survey")
* [How Plain Language saved a Department of Education website]({{< ref "2014-11-14-institute-for-education-sciences-usability-case-study.md" >}} "Institute for Education Sciences – Usability Case Study")
* See great [recorded presentations about User Experience by DigitalGov University]({{< ref "2014-11-26-usability-events-round-up-2014.md" >}} "Usability Events Round-Up: 2014")
* How [Accessibility and Usability are similar]({{< ref "2014-11-17-user-experience-impossible-the-line-between-accessibility-and-usability.md" >}} "User Experience Impossible: The Line Between Accessibility and Usability") (and different)
* (We all love surveys.) [Here’s how to avoid making a bad one]({{< ref "2014-11-10-4-tips-on-great-survey-design.md" >}} "4 Tips on Great Survey Design")
* Why [slow load times can crush your Responsive Web Design implementation]({{< ref "2014-11-18-trends-on-tuesday-speed-matters-when-measuring-responsive-web-design-performance-load-times.md" >}} "Trends on Tuesday: Speed Matters When Measuring Responsive Web Design Performance Load Times")
* How to ensure people use your site search? Here’s [one important thing NOT to do]({{< ref "2014-11-24-placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box.md" >}} "Placeholder Text: Think Outside the Box")
* The exciting [results from our Federal User Experience research study]({{< ref "2014-11-21-results-2014-federal-user-experience-survey.md" >}} "Results: 2014 Federal User Experience Survey")
* [How Plain Language saved a Department of Education website]({{< ref "2014-11-14-institute-for-education-sciences-usability-case-study.md" >}} "Institute for Education Sciences – Usability Case Study")
* See great [recorded presentations about User Experience by DigitalGov University]({{< ref "2014-11-26-usability-events-round-up-2014.md" >}} "Usability Events Round-Up: 2014")
* How [Accessibility and Usability are similar]({{< ref "2014-11-17-user-experience-impossible-the-line-between-accessibility-and-usability.md" >}} "User Experience Impossible: The Line Between Accessibility and Usability") (and different)
* (We all love surveys.) [Here’s how to avoid making a bad one]({{< ref "2014-11-10-4-tips-on-great-survey-design.md" >}} "4 Tips on Great Survey Design")
* Why [slow load times can crush your Responsive Web Design implementation]({{< ref "2014-11-18-trends-on-tuesday-speed-matters-when-measuring-responsive-web-design-performance-load-times.md" >}} "Trends on Tuesday: Speed Matters When Measuring Responsive Web Design Performance Load Times")
* How to ensure people use your site search? Here’s [one important thing NOT to do]({{< ref "2014-11-24-placeholder-text-think-outside-the-box.md" >}} "Placeholder Text: Think Outside the Box")

Finally, if you want to get involved with the 530+ members of the [Federal User Experience Community]({{< ref "communities/user-experience.md" >}} "Federal User Experience Community"), please [email us](mailto:UXgov@gsa.gov) and we&#8217;ll get you signed up.
Finally, if you want to get involved with the 530+ members of the [Federal User Experience Community]({{< ref "communities/user-experience.md" >}} "Federal User Experience Community"), please [email us](mailto:UXgov@gsa.gov) and we&#8217;ll get you signed up.
5 changes: 3 additions & 2 deletions content/news/2014/12/2014-12-23-challenges-round-up.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -19,9 +19,10 @@ topics:
- OSTP
- recaps
- white-house-office-of-science-and-technology-policy

---

{{< legacy-img src="2014/09/600-x-400-Businessman-Fighting-Bplanet-iStock-Thinkstock-181596463.jpg" alt="Fighting businessmen" caption="" >}}
{{< legacy-img src="2014/09/600-x-400-Businessman-Fighting-Bplanet-iStock-Thinkstock-181596463.jpg" alt="Fighting businessmen" caption="Bplanet / iStock / Thinkstock" >}}

We’ve had an excellent year of training and community events for the federal challenge and prize community, so for the month of December DigitalGov University has taken a look at the events we’ve hosted this year and rounded them up in line with this month&#8217;s [Crowdsourcing theme]({{< ref "2014-12-08-crowdsourcing-month-an-overview.md" >}} "Crowdsourcing Month: An Overview").

Expand All @@ -47,4 +48,4 @@ You may also be interested in watching [Why Your Challenge & Prize Competition N

If you are thinking about launching a video competition then you may be interested in watching [Running a Successful Video Challenge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaK90anXf7w&index=7&list=PLd9b-GuOJ3nFeJeAHAn3Z5opohjxIw8OC). The presenter for this event, **Jason Crusan**, Director CoECI NASA, presents a case study of how NASA has used professional crowdsourcing for video creation. **Tammi Marcoullier**, Challenge.gov Program Manager, reviews getting from A to B, or how to decide what kind of video challenge you want to execute by examining your goals.

Finally, you can take a look at the [summary of our event on Design Thinking](http://youtu.be/oLAtcfGCcdc?list=PLd9b-GuOJ3nFeJeAHAn3Z5opohjxIw8OC) and how this workshop helped folks working on challenge and prize competitions think through the design and execution of their challenge. Enjoy! For more events around challenge and prize competitions check out our [Events Calendar]({{< ref "/events" >}}. For questions about Challenge.gov or the [Challenge & Prize Community of Practice]({{< ref "challenges-prizes.md" >}} "Challenges & Prizes Community") email <Challenge@gsa.gov>.
Finally, you can take a look at the [summary of our event on Design Thinking](http://youtu.be/oLAtcfGCcdc?list=PLd9b-GuOJ3nFeJeAHAn3Z5opohjxIw8OC) and how this workshop helped folks working on challenge and prize competitions think through the design and execution of their challenge. Enjoy! For more events around challenge and prize competitions check out our [Events Calendar]({{< ref "/events" >}}). For questions about Challenge.gov or the [Challenge & Prize Community of Practice]({{< ref "challenges-prizes.md" >}} "Challenges & Prizes Community") email <Challenge@gsa.gov>.