What we mean when we say "Show the Thing"
We love a good catchphrase at GDS (such as "Look Sideways" and "the unit of delivery is the team"). "Show the Thing" is one of the oldest ones. It started out as a slide in a presentation. It became a …
Thoughts
How to write a good blog post
Posted by:
Angus Montgomery - Strategy Advisor, Central Digital and Data Office, Posted on:
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Categories:
Blogs, Communications, Guidance, Thoughts, Writing
At GDS we write blog posts to talk about our work. We encourage everyone who works here to write them. It’s part of our drive to make things open. But not everyone feels comfortable writing blog posts. Or feels confident …
What I learned from planning an away day
‘Away days’: a phrase that conjures fear in my mind. Images of awkward interactions that are too close for an office-based environment make me shiver and the thought of telling people about myself makes my ears buzz. Away days …
Describing your work in 140 characters or less
Could you describe what your team does in a single Tweet? Recently, I asked all the Technology Group teams to do just that, and the results were terrific. Compressing your thoughts and ideas into 140 characters takes quite some consideration. …
Nurture your soft skills for digital engagement
When we talk about digital engagement it’s often in terms of tools and execution. What content management systems are we using? How are we monitoring the impact of our blogs - Hootsuite or Sprout Social? At GDS, new digital engagement …
Hacking Periscope for accessibility
Posted by:
Mark Boxall and Graham Higgins, Posted on:
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Categories:
accessibility, Periscope, Social Media, Thoughts, Video
Over the last few months, we’ve been doing themed weeks on social media. We started with a week on agile, then user research and service design. This week was all about accessibility. For each one, we’ve done a live Periscope …
Periscope about accessibility in government
Posted by:
, Posted on:
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Categories:
accessibility, Periscope, Social Media, Thoughts, Twitter, Video
What is accessibility? How do you make digital services accessible? How do you scale accessibility across government? Alistair Duggin (@dugboticus), Head of Accessibility at GDS answered your questions live on Periscope. Interviewer: Hello, internet. We are broadcasting on Periscope from …
Periscope about service design in government
Have you heard of service design? Why do we need it? How do we design services in government? Louise Downe, Head of Design at GDS answered your questions live on Periscope. Transcript Giles: Welcome to another GDS Periscope. You’re looking …
Part 1: Insight into managing online communities
Posted by:
, Posted on:
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Categories:
Communications, Guidance, Social Media, Thoughts, Tools, Twitter
Ever wondered what community management involves at the Government Digital Service? My name’s Suhail, and I’m a Community Manager at GDS - I’m going to talk about how we manage our communities day-to-day in this two-part blog series. Understanding our …
Telling stories with data: the Performance Platform as a tool for digital engagement
It’s probably fair to say that citizens generally want government to be reliable and authoritative. We all have expectations, and would like those met, rather than be surprised by a sudden change of direction. If government can provide ongoing explanations …