Data has surpassed voice traffic on mobile phones. But how much data is being consumed? According to Cisco’s Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update Global mobile data traffic grew 2.3-fold in 2011, more than doubling for the fourth year in a row. In 2011, Mobile data traffic was eight times the size of the entire [...]

Answering that age-old question, “What is a Wikithon?” Who says government can’t be fun? This past Wednesday, celebrating Leap Year, a score of people drank coffee, talked about data.gov and mobile, built and vastly improved pages like those about the  Open 311 standard,  GPS and data and mobile. Come see for yourself at the next [...]

In case you missed it, there is a Federal Mobility Strategy in the works. From Federal CIO,  Steve Van Roekel [T]here is more we can do to seize the mobile opportunity, and we need to be bold in doing it. We need to address the massive variations in the way we pay for mobile services [...]

The Leafsnap app allows a user to identify a species of tree just by submitting a photograph of a tree’s leaf.  The app utilizes visual recognition software and was developed via partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and researchers from Columbia University and the University of Maryland. Leafsnap, available for the iPhone and the iPad, uses databases for the Northeastern United [...]

Making federal government data more user-friendly and accessible to the public gives citizens an opportunity to ensure government accountability and encourages engagement and influence in the decision-making process. Data.gov has been a tremendous asset in accomplishing this goal, allowing anyone  to download government datasets, large and small, However, while experts on the data can extract [...]

Last week we had two champions debate the pros and cons of mobile websites versus native apps. Neil Bonner, from the Transportation Security Administration, was our proponent of mobile websites. Mike Pulsifer, Department of Labor, was our firm believer in the value of mobile apps. These gladiators were joined by Dalroy Ward from EPA as [...]

The Set in Style App allows users to have the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibit “Jewelry by Van Cleef and Arpels” in the palm of their hands. The exhibit, displayed at the National Design Museum in New York, features beautiful jewelry that highlights the design innovation and style by Van Cleef and Arpels which contributed to jewelry [...]

In 2008, 1% of the traffic to Facebook came from mobile devices. Today–three short years later–one in three visitors are coming from a mobile device. Twitter has doubled their mix from mobile in two years. What About .gov? Take a look at your web traffic and see how much is coming from mobile devices. Check [...]