Obama on Facebook, DHS form woes and more
News and notes from around the federal IT community.
Obama joins Facebook
The commander in chief has a Facebook page.
President Barack Obama's first post had a short video of him strolling through his backyard, the South Lawn of the White House, and included a call for global action on climate change.
"I hope you'll think of this as a place where we can have real conversations about the most important issues facing our country -- a place where you can hear directly from me, and share your own thoughts and stories," the post reads.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter joined Facebook in May.
Report: 1 of 95 DHS immigration forms online
The government has spent more than $1 billion digitizing immigration records, but only one out of 95 forms can now be filled out online, the Washington Post reported.
The project, run by the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, was supposed to cost a half-billion dollars and be done in 2013. It is now projected to cost as much as $3.1 billion and be completed almost four years from now, the articles states.
Two of the agency's immigration forms were taken off-line because much of the software and hardware from the original system had been scrapped.
New agency office seeks tech, data, new-media guru
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an executive branch agency that supports cultural institutions nationwide, wants to hire a tech leader.
The agency is accepting applications for deputy director of its brand-new Office of Digital and Information Strategy until Nov. 20. The job listing says the agency is seeking a "visionary thought leader" with a degree and experience in computer engineering, data management and/or related fields.
The winning candidate will drive innovative IT work at the agency, which includes managing, storing and analyzing data; implementing a social media strategy; and building an effective tech team.
The Washington-based gig has a pay range of $126,245 to $158,700.
ODNI testing information-sharing playbook
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is experimenting with a "playbook" for law enforcement, intelligence and national security agencies to securely share information, FedScoop reported.
The playbook, which was developed by the nonprofit IJIS Institute, is based on certain principles, including:
- Automation is the key to testing and speeding the deployment of information-sharing environments.
- Decisions should be made at "the lowest possible level of organizational competency."
- Advanced methodologies, such as agile development, pay off.
The playbook is based on one from the U.S. Digital Service. ODNI and the Information Sharing Environment are now testing the playbook with federal, state and local partners, the article states.