Sharing Innovative Technology at the NACo Annual Conference

The Digital Map Products team had the honor of speaking at the National Association of Counties? annual conference in Pittsburgh this past weekend. Our long-time client, Mr. Webster Guillory from the Office of the Assessor in Orange County, California, chairs the Essential Technology Subcommittee and asked us to share our thoughts with the group on citizen communication using online maps.

In our presentation we discussed how citizens? expectations for information access and communication with their local governments have been shaped by our plugged in, technology driven world. Our lives are defined by information, and as such, residents expect 24?7 online access to data, two-way conversations, and the ability to engage with government using familiar technology.

We shared examples of how online maps have been used successfully to publish property, agency, and community information to the public, improving constituent service and also agency efficiency. We also touched on a few tips on creating maps the public will love: 1) think of your end user and invest in your user interface, 2) be obsessed with the performance of your online maps and keep your data as current as possible, and 3) make your maps easy to find on your site.

If you?d like to learn more about using online maps to communicate with residents, you can watch our recent webinar, Talk to Me.

While at the conference, we attended some incredibly informative sessions, all focused on how counties can leverage technology to improve their agency operations and resident quality of life. We saw a demo of a new site, dubbed the ?App Store,? designed to help municipalities share IT knowledge and jointly procure IT solutions. Mobile access was another recurring topic. Governments recognize they need to embrace mobile devices in their citizen communications lest they risk alienating an entire generation. One of the biggest challenges facing counties in the mobile space is data security. The use of social media to connect with residents, Twitter in particular, was another popular subject. Cumberland County found that leveraging Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube helped the county better broadcast and control the quality of public information, significantly reducing the incidence of misinformation and rumors. The use of social media also increased their community engagement.

NACo is a fantastic organization that not only embraces technology for the advancement of local government, but also the sharing of knowledge and solutions. This is the kind of thought leadership we need to solve many of our current community challenges and elevate government service. If you aren?t already familiar with NACO, we encourage you to learn more. We?re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share our mapping knowledge with conference attendees and hear the latest trends in government technology.

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Source: http://digmap.com/blog/index.php/2012/sharing-innovative-technology-at-the-naco-annual-conference/

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