Government 2.0 Camp is the unconferenceabout using social technologies (aka web 2.0/social media tools) to create a more effective, efficient and collaborative U.S. government on all levels (local, state and federal).

Government 2.0 Camp will bring together the leading thinkers from government, academia and industry to share Government 2.0 initiatives that are already in process and collaborate about Government 2.0 ideas that are currently just visions.

Taleb says that Wall Street risk models, no matter how mathematically sophisticated, are bogus; indeed, he is the leader of the camp that believes that risk models have done far more harm than good. And the essential reason for this is that the greatest risks are never the ones you can see and measure, but the ones you can’t see and therefore can never measure. The ones that seem so far outside the boundary of normal probability that you can’t imagine they could happen in your lifetime — even though, of course, they do happen, more often than you care to realize. Devastating hurricanes happen. Earthquakes happen. And once in a great while, huge financial catastrophes happen. Catastrophes that risk models somehow always manage to miss. (New York Times, January 2, 2009)

In keeping with Obama’s pledge to run the most open and transparent transition in history, his staff is voluntarily releasing the names of its donors on a monthly basis through a nascent Web application called Blist. The Seattle-based start-up launched its program in beta form in February and is backed by Frazier Technology Ventures and Morgenthaler Ventures. (National Journal, January 5, 2009)

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., told House leaders Tuesday that few members of Congress have availed themselves of secret briefings meant to educate them about outsiders trying to penetrate lawmakers’ computers and steal sensitive information. Despite “repeated assurances” that the House leadership would inform members of Congress about threats to their computer systems and personal electronic devices, members are still at risk of being hacked by foreign and domestic sources, Wolf wrote in a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders, which was obtained by National Journal. In September of last year, the Republican and Democratic caucuses held classified briefings for lawmakers about cyber risks, but “the meetings were sparsely attended,” Wolf wrote. “I fear that Members are no better informed today than they were before.” (National Journal, January 6, 2008)

U.S. government spending to secure military, intelligence and other agency computer networks is forecast to rise 44 percent to $10.7 billion in 2013 from $7.4 billion this year, according to a report by market forecaster Input.

Security-system spending will grow 7 percent to 8 percent annually, “significantly faster” than information-technology, which has increased about 4 percent a year in the past five years, said John Slye, an analyst at the Reston, Virginia, company.

Obama, in a July 16 speech at Purdue University, said he would make cybersecurity “the top priority that it should be in the 21st century.”  (Bloomberg, December 30, 2008)