Blog entries

Reflections at the end of a contract

Lisa Harvey — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:15:03 +0100

There are turning points in the life of a business that turn it up or down. Nearly 3.5 years ago we had one of the up turning points that gave us both challenge and opportunity. It was a contract from FaHCSIA to build an information clearinghouse for the homelessness service delivery sector, the National Homelessness Information Clearinghouse.

This was, by a long way, the biggest job we had ever bid for and we needed a lot of luck to get it. That luck came in the form of a...

Gov2 Gold Stars - Charities Commission NZ

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:53:24 +0100

At the Connecting Up Conference last week I was pleased to meet and talk with two of the clever people from the Charities Commission of NZ. They were beside themselves with excitement over their new innovation and I am too.

The Charities Commission is the regulator for non-profit and charities in NZ. There they have one place and one way for a non-profit to register. In Australia we have many many confusing and convoluted rules and registration processes.

They also collect data ...

Open, Trust and the Big Bad Wolf

Lisa Harvey — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:13:06 +0100

At his talk at Linux.conf.au in Brisbane last week, Mark Pesce talked about trust and openness.

If you can’t examine the source code, how can you really trust it? This is an issue beyond maintainability, beyond the right to fork; this is the essential element that will prevent paranoia. ‘Transparency is the new objectivity’, and unless any particular program is completely transparent, it is inherently suspect." @mpesce http://blog.futurestreetconsulting...

#LCA2011

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:02:52 +0100

Last year I spoke at the Linux Conf Public Sector Miniconf via Skpe. This was a pretty unsatisfactory way of speaking. Reflecting on it as I flew to Brisbane to speak in person at this years conference, I considered that they could have gotten bored with me, turned the video off and gone for a beer and I would have still continued along with my talk oblivious to my oblivion.

Of course they didn't switch me off, and it must have been as difficult for the audience as a conference experie...

Dear Blogosphere

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 08:57:41 +0100

Dear Blogosphere,

I am sorry that I have not been around much lately. It is not that I have not thought of you. In fact, I think of you often. But my life has many priorities and I have not been able to give you the attention you deserve.

I know that you could get by perfectly well without me. But I do miss you.

I hope you can forgive me. I really want to speak with you more, and there is so much to say.

Yours Truly

lisa.

My top 10 for the new PM

Lisa Harvey — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:26:28 +0100

Dear Julia,

I know you are busy so I'll keep it short. Here is my list, not in priority order:

1. Lose the internet filter. Let's just pretend it never happened.

2. Stay the course with the RSPT. The loudest oponents are Australia's billionaires. I think that is the point.

3. CPR for the CPRS. For some reason those who think that the market can resolve everything are opposed to the market resolving carbon pollution. Go figure.

4. Open Governmen...

When Clouds Breach Privacy Legislation

Lisa Harvey — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:21:03 +0100

The Cloud presents a whole other set of privacy issues. If you have a list of your contacts members or clients on google docs – do you know where in the in the world it is located? And if it is not located in Australia chances are, you are in breach of Privacy Legislation.

This is a real problem with “in the cloud” systems and SAAS. Where is your data? – the personal info of your clients, contacts, members, donors, etc.

The implications of not knowing where your data is locate...

We need an 'I kind of agree with your T&C' button

Lisa Harvey — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:24:00 +0100

Terms and conditions are the things that “manage” privacy online. They are everywhere and I agree to one set or other at least once a week.

I had a recent twitter conversation with @kalska about T&C. She suggested that instead of an “I have read and agree with the T&C” button we need an “I haven’t read and may not agree but I want to continue anyway” button. I thought we also needed an “I have read and with a few changes I’l...

Is Watching your Students on Twitter Ok?

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:56:56 +0100

This week is National Privacy Awareness week. Privacy is a thing I think about a lot in our line of work. It’s an issue that arises every day. In recent weeks several examples have arisen. I’ll blog on those over the next few days.

At a seminar on Accessibility, I spoke about Gov 2.0 issues including social media. Someone asked “We are watching what our students say about us through Twitter. Is that ethical? “

My first reaction was that they are saying stuff about you in publ...

Small vs Big

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:29:29 +0100

Senator Lundy is once more delivering in the practical policy department in the Australian Government.

This article in the Australian describes an "IT Supplier Advocate" someone standing up for small business within Government.

As a small business owner, providing services aroun Open Source products, I have two disadvantages when dealing with government. Small business usually means invisible or "too risky" and Open source usually means, well the same things.

...

Filter Feeders

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:11:34 +0100

It's been a long time between blog posts. After the end of the Taskforce there have been a lot of business things to attend to. Sometimes, however, an issue demands a response.

The #nocleanfeed lobby has plenty of momentum, lots of actions planned and many words published. As is usual in a public debate players on each side will make its argument with varying degrees of credibility.

For me the debate is not about the technical issues of filtering, which is variable with time and ...

Realising our Broadband Future Forum

Lisa Harvey — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:21:40 +0100

After 2 intense days I am finally finding some time to reflect. The Realising Our Broadband Future Forum was an attempt at a new way of engagement for big issues. Some might see it as just rah-rah and a talk fest of people congratulating themselves on their mutual agreement, but it was a lot more than that. The format wasn't perfect, and I think I'll talk about that in another post, but the substance was strong and positive.

All the sessions were recorded. As well as the the ones I mention be...

Presentation from Broadband Future Forum

Lisa Harvey — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:36:43 +0100

I was in the e-community stream on the panel discussing "what are the possibilities".

Listen in.

My slides is below, and the text follows:

Let me start with a quote from Tim Berners-Lee - the inventor of the internet.

"The danger is not that we ask too much of the internet, but too little, that we turn it into just another piece of kit when it could be so much more significant than that, a new platform for how we could organise ourselves, to find knowledge together,...

#govhack

Lisa Harvey — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0100

#amazing #inspiring #reallygladtohavebeenapartofit

Several speakers over the weekend described the event as "historical". There were also "histerical" moments, but it was indeed a first for Australia and possibly for the world - a government sponsored event to hack the government. What a cool idea.

I arrived with some other members of the Gov2.0 taskforce and the room was full of anticipation. Some speeches, announcements, introductions of the experts and mento...

Launch of The Institute for Cultural Diversity website

Lisa Harvey — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0100

On Friday I attended the launch of the Institute for Cultural Diversity's website and the Human Rights E-Forum. This was very exciting as it is a project that the Energetica Team has been working on for many months.

http://www.culturaldiversity.net.au/

The site is a great example of Government 2.0. It shows how government can create environments for community led discussions and be able to participate and listen and this is what I spoke about in my presentation.

The text of...

Data be free

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:00 +0100

With the Gov2 Taskforce and keeping the business prospering I haven't had time to blog much recently on my own blog. It certainly isn't because there is nothing to say!

This is worth taking the time for.

The Taskforce today launched the Mashup Australia Competition and data.australia.gov.au. These two initiatives are both huge leaps forward in Government 2.0, open government, access to PSI and innovation.

mashupaustralia.org invites people to submit entries that us...

Is Gov2.0 so scary?

Lisa Harvey — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:00:00 +0100

I invited a long time friend of mine to participate in one of the Gov2.0 Taskforce Roundtable discussions. He has a lot of ideas and a great deal of experience with technology and government.

I was on my way to the meeting when he called to say that his manager refused to let him come. He is a senior public servant, was invited by a government appointed taskforce to come and participate in a discussion and he wasn't allowed.

I have been speechless since then and am still fin...

Technology and holidays

Lisa Harvey — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:00:00 +0100

I've been on holidays. It has been a wonderful regenerating time in new places and familiar places with old friends.

The USA is a pretty tech friendly place for travellers. All the hotels we stayed in, and the dorms at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh had free wireless internet access. All the friends we stayed with had internet access. Even some of the airlines had internet access. This means I could twitter, yammer, skype and email my way around the USA. I could access my business doc...

Thoughts on Us Now

Lisa Harvey — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:00:00 +0100

I was at the screening of Us Now in Sydney last night. It is a documentary about civic engagement and it had some great stories to tell. While there was a lot in the introduction about how grass roots online engagement will change government and democracy forever (in the UK at least) the stories were about social engagement and few of them were "nation changing".

Don't get me wrong I think that the point is still clear, when citizens gather, either online or offline, they can ...

Taskforce Banner Design Competition

Lisa Harvey — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:00 +0100

Its been 3 days since the announcement of the Government 2.0 Taskforce and it seems to have created quite a fuss. Good fuss with lots of discussion and ideas already.

One bit of fuss that was less expected is around the design competition. It seems that we have offended a whole lot of designers. Perhaps we could have predicted the ensuing discussion and more and more , and maybe we would have run the competition anyway.

The motives behind the competition are in the spirit of ...