Feb 01, 2010
Ed Mullen
Change begins when someone first perceives the value of something others overlooked and advocates for a realignment of our systems and structures to embrace it.
Before the campaign that organizes the rally that begins the debate that leads to the law that establishes the protection, something very important and subtle happens. Someone sees something and determines that it is valuable. That it’s special; worth fighting for. They say, ‘Now wait a minute… what’s this? Huh. This… this is… AMAZING!’
This is the moment of conception. It’s the spark. At this moment, something magically shifts from the “unimportant” column to the “this is important to me” column.
Oct 10, 2011
Ed Mullen
Recently the General Services Administration conducted an open, public dialogue to solicit ideas about how the government could improve Federal .gov websites. The dialogue was conducted online using the IdeaScale platform and will be archived for future review. I’ve compiled my thoughts on the dialogue for the GSA team. It’s long, but I want to give as much feedback as I can.
You can jump to the ideas I found most useful.
Sep 18, 2011
Ed Mullen
The Federal government is asking for your input and guidance. They are seeking input from the public, in particular those professionals who have deep know on the various aspects of content, search, usability, accessibility, social media, multilingual content, and online services.
The National Dialogue on Improving Federal Websites is a two-week online discussion of how the Federal government can better deliver information and services online. The dialogue will launch Monday, Sept. 19 at 2 pm ET and run until Friday, Sept. 30. You’ll be able to access it at: http://web-reform-dialogue.ideascale.com/. Please join in the discussion.
I will be participating as a “dialogue catalyst” to help keep the conversation moving. I’ll be trying to connect ideas and ask good questions; draw people into the conversation who may not already be in it. I’d appreciate if you do the same. Join in. Share what you’ve learned. And if you think particular people would add to the conversation, reach out and ask or contact me and I will.
You can also follow comments about the dialogue on Twitter using the hashtag #dotgov.
Jul 25, 2011
Ed Mullen
If I look back at my career so far, one of the things that has been most helpful is my seeming inability to stick to the scope of the project at hand.
That doesn’t mean I’m a pushover when I’m prodded to deliver more than originally agreed upon. It means I pretty much always stick my nose where I haven’t been asked. Not forcefully, of course. Just out of inquisitiveness.
You know those moments, don’t you? When you feel that the thing that needs to be done isn’t exactly what you’ve been asked to do. It’s a bit beyond that. It’s the thing that others think isn’t really necessary. But you know, if you just did it, they’d see it’s value and it will make everything better. You can always just skip it, but sometimes it’s an opportunity.
Jul 20, 2011
Ed Mullen
Last summer, I was asked to join the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) team that was going to be building out HealthCare.gov—one of the earliest requirements of the Affordable Care Act—as Design Lead. How this came to be is pretty amazing.
In late January of 2010, I was walking to my office, stewing about something I had been listening to on the radio before I left home about the proposed Health Reform bill. At the time, there was still a question over whether or not it would be supported by those on the left advocating for a public option.