Government Technology - July 2008 - (Page 8)

the last mile Group Publisher: EDITORIAL Editor: Associate Editors: DON PEARSON dpearson@govtech.com STEVE TOWNS stowns@govtech.com EMILY MONTANDON emontandon@govtech.com CHAD VANDER VEEN cvanderveen@govtech.com MIRIAM JONES mjones@govtech.com KAREN STEWARTSON kstewartson@govtech.com JIM MCKAY jmckay@govtech.com ELAINE RUNDLE erundle@govtech.com ANDY OPSAHL aopsahl@govtech.com MATT WILLIAMS mwilliams@govtech.com HILTON COLLINS hcollins@govtech.com CORTNEY TOWNS ctowns@govtech.com TOD NEWCOMBE tnewcombe@govtech.com REID GOLDSBOROUGH, CHANDLER HARRIS, DAVID RATHS, JESSICA HUGHES, JESSICA JONES KELLY MARTINELLI kmartinelli@govtech.com CRYSTAL HOPSON chopson@govtech.com MICHELLE HAMM mhamm@govtech.com JOE COLOMBO jcolombo@govtech.com TOM MCKEITH tmckeith@govtech.com STEPHAN WIDMAIER swidm@govtech.com JOEI HEART jheart@govtech.com JUDE HANSEN jhansen@govtech.com JON FYFFE jfyffe@govtech.com TIM KARNEY tkarney@govtech.com EAST PAM FYFFE pfyffe@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL LESLIE HUNTER lhunter@govtech.com EAST SHELLEY BALLARD sballard@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL MELISSA CANO mcano@govtech.com EAST ERIN HUX ehux@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL GLENN SWENSON gswenson@govtech.com KRISTA O’SULLIVAN kosullivan@govtech.com LISA DOUGHTY ldoughty@govtech.com SABRINA SHEWMAKE sshewmake@govtech.com CHRISTINE CHILDS cchilds@govtech.com ANDREA KLEINBARDT akleinbardt@govtech.com WHITNEY SWEET wsweet@govtech.com LANA HERRERA lherrera@govtech.com KARIN PRADO kprado@govtech.com STACEY TOLES stoles@govtech.com JIM MEYERS jmeyers@govtech.com VIKKI PALAZZARI vpalazzari@govtech.com PETER SIMEK psimek@govtech.com MICHELLE MROTEK mmrotek@govtech.com JULIE DEDEAUX jdedeaux@govtech.com GOSIA USTASZEWSKA subscriptions@govtech.com DENNIS MCKENNA dmckenna@govtech.com DON PEARSON dpearson@govtech.com CATHILEA ROBINETT crobinet@centerdigitalgov.com LISA BERNARD lbernard@govtech.com PAUL HARNEY pharney@govtech.com ALAN COX acox@govtech.com DREW NOEL dnoel@govtech.com BY C HA D VA NDER VEEN ASSOCIATE EDITOR Chief Copy Editor: Managing Editor: Justice and Public Safety Editor: Copy Editor: Features Editor: Assistant Editor: Staff Writer: Editorial Assistant: Contributing Editor: Contributing Writers: We’re All Gonna Die! nuclear attack on Washington, D.C., which would kill tens of thousands of Americans, is inevitable and will happen within 20 years. At least, that’s according to a headline on The Drudge Report. The fearsome phrase links to a more level-headed story by The Washington Post about a hypothetical nuclear disaster. The story quotes Cham E. Dallas, who runs the Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction Defense at the University of Georgia. Dallas said “it’s inevitable” when referring to a nuclear attack on the district. Perhaps it is, but one person saying so probably doesn’t justify such a headline. A of America News declared: Health Study Shows Males and Females are Different. A couple years ago, The Associated Press let us in on this helpful tidbit: Osama Bin Laden Keeping a Low Profile. Wow, really? And according to The Toronto Star, TV Watchers Watch TV. Some headlines are actually quite clever. Last year, Canada’s CANOE network reported a Sharp Decline in Knife Attacks. Still others are simply boring or uninspired — something we here at Government Technology are occasionally guilty of. A story we ran in 2006 came with the headline Planning Ahead, which is about as unexciting — and uninformative — as a headline can get. However, we’ve also featured DESIGN Creative Director: Senior Designer: Graphic Designers: Illustrator: Production Director: Production Manager: Internet Director: PUBLISHING VP Strategic Accounts: VP Bus. Development: Sr. Director of Sales: Regional Sales Directors: Account Managers: When the public sector issues a news release, the headline is usually straightforward. Sure, government is rarely sexy, but at least citizens know what they’re getting. Of course, this sort of inflammatory rhetoric is typical of headlines and always has been. If it bleeds, or if it might bleed at a later date, it leads. Consider this terrifying headline from The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee: Amtrak Train Strikes, Kills Man in West Sacramento. Really? From that headline, one might conclude that a sentient — and evidently evil — train derailed itself with the sole purpose of selecting a victim to murder. Headlines don’t always involve breathless hyperbole. Sometimes they’re just stupid. CNN, for example, asked readers: Does Your House Have Ghosts? In 2005, Voice horribly dull headlines that are, in fact, quite informative. April 2006’s Electronic Tolls left little doubt as to what the story was about. The point is, a lot of what we’re exposed to by the media isn’t always what it appears to be. Being a part of the media, I know very well what goes — or doesn’t go — into the creation of a headline. When the public sector issues a news release, the headline is usually straightforward. Sure, government is rarely sexy, but at least citizens know what they’re getting. Although, occasionally I wouldn’t mind seeing a release that led with something like: Software Goes Live, Devours Office. Business Development Dir.: Bus. Dev./Sales Associates: Regional Sales Admins: Dir. of Marketing: Dir. of Custom Events: Associate Dir. of Custom Events: Custom Events Coordinator: Dir. of Custom Publications: Custom Publications Writer: Dir. of Web Products and Services: Web Services Manager: Proj. Manager, Web Products and Services: Web Advertising Manager: Subscription Coordinator: CORPORATE CEO: Executive VP: Executive VP: CAO: CFO: VP of Events: Marketing Director: Government Technology is published by e.Republic Inc. Copyright 2008 by e.Republic Inc. All rights reserved. Government Technology is a registered trademark of e.Republic Inc. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of the publisher or editors. Article submissions should be sent to the attention of the Managing Editor. Reprints of all articles in this issue and past issues are available (500 minimum). Please direct inquiries to the YGS Group: Attn. Erik Eberz at (800) 290-5460 ext.150 or governmenttechnology@theygsgroup.com. Subscription Information: Requests for subscriptions may be directed to Circulation Director by phone or fax to the numbers below. You can also subscribe online at www.govtech.com. 100 Blue Ravine Rd. Folsom, CA 95630 Phone: (916) 932-1300 Fax: (916) 932-1470 www.govtech.com JULY_08 PRINTED IN THE USA 8 http://www.govtech.com http://www.govtech.com http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - July 2008

Government Technology - July 2008 Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions for ... Generation 2.0 at Work Dangerous Convenience Tainted Justice? Are You Ready? E-Discovery Basics Smart Docs Advanced Math Online Video Blues Spectrum Personal Computing Products signal:noise

Government Technology - July 2008

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