USDS head Mina Hsiang wants Big Tech’s best minds to help fix the government
The most interesting part of this interview was the host’s mental model around government services. For example he asks:
The tension there that seems really apparent to me is that if you’re the person in charge of the Social Security Administration, the way people experience it is through SSA.gov. It might be that the administrator of the Social Security Administration needs to be the product manager because they’re ultimately accountable for the success of the thing that people only experience through a website or an app or something. Is that just me inventing a tension, or is that a real tension? Do those people get that they understand that the user interface of their product is the product?
She answers the product manager question, but rightly wraps the answer up by putting a more service design lens on civic tech:
Then, taking a further step back and saying, “Your product is not just your website; it’s your website, as you said, and your call center and your in-person service.” And how do we stitch those together? Because, for a variety of reasons, over time, those are all managed by completely different business units with completely different technology systems, so there’s a real need to sort of pull those together and have product mindset from the top down.
I 💚 websites. I’ve been helping teams make great ones for over 25 years. It’s a passion and how I help feed my family. But I know it’s only one part of the puzzle, especially in civic tech. I suppose that’s why service design is so interesting to me.
“Ghost stories have also developed a strong connection to winter: the long nights seem to demand these tales, inviting listeners to huddle closer by the fire and imagine the terrors that lurk out there, unseen in the darkness.”
There is an interesting conversation going on over at kottke.org around the question: Where do you call home? And why? Lot’s of different perspectives. Is home a place, a feeling, a community, a culture, a physical place or the people in it? What changes your idea of home: divorce? children? aging? I think I agree with this commentor’s definition the most:
Home is two things:
- Home is a comfortable living space that you like, that fulfills your space needs, where you can relax, be safe, and recharge your batteries, figuratively and literally, every day.
- Home is a place where you are an active participant in a supportive community where people care about you, and you care about them. You see these people regularly, ideally every day, and over time, you build strong bonds with them.
atomic research allows for the identification and tracking of insights that stand on their own but can be brought together to paint a bigger picture.
Having walked at all times of day, I can assure you that nighttime offers the best walking there is—the trees cutting sharp shapes against the sky; the lights in houses coming on, shedding light on lawns that prickle with grass.