Communication

Words make digital experiences human-centered, and require just as much thought as the branding and code. As federal agencies strive to use human-centered design, they need to remember that words and design work together. See how interfaces rely on language, and how your writing can make or break an experience. Learn principles for UX writing that anyone who works on digital products can apply to their own work.

Katherine Spivey

Andy Welfle

Communities

8 Ways Community of Practice (CoP) Managers Can Improve Member Engagement on Listservs

Are you a Digital.gov Community of Practice (CoP) lead? Find yourself participating in a CoP discussion and wondering what else you can do? We’ve got some suggestions.

Katherine Spivey

May 21, 2021

Learn how to brand yourself as a plain language expert and get the credit at work that you deserve!

Watch Video

Wendy Wagner-Smith

Katherine Spivey

Deep fakes are an emerging threat that can disrupt agencies’ communication efforts and federal agencies should be prepared. Learn about deep fakes on social media, and how federal agencies can plan to combat a deep fake if they are targeted.

Watch Video

Alex Cohen

Gabrielle Perret

Join the SocialGov Community of Practice for the latest updates on social media topics including advertising campaigns, content archiving, and podcasting.

Watch Video

6 Ways To Navigate the Civic Tech Sea of Newness

Two former private-sector marketers now serving as Presidential Innovation Fellows share tips for building relationships and finding your way as a civic technologist.

Raashee Gupta Erry

Vivian Lee

Mar 24, 2021

Come join us as we focus on concerns and opportunities shared by the Section 508 and plain language communities in Government!

Watch Video

Bethany Letalien

Katherine Spivey

Alex Wilson

Marketing

Five Insider Secrets to Engaging Emails

Engaging readers who receive hundreds of emails a day is not easy, but it starts with the most critical starting point—empathy for their time.

Victoria Bitzer-Wales

Peter Lenentine

Gabrielle Perret

Feb 26, 2021

2020 has been an unprecedented year for challenges and opportunities in social media. SocialGov’s Federal Social Media Week 2020 will bring you some interesting perspectives on how to keep social media moving and successful for 2021.

Watch Video

Victoria Bitzer-Wales

Tanner Iskra

Join us for discussion from government and private-sector leaders on how to advance plain language in government communications. Hear lessons learned and victories of every size.

Product lessons from the front lines of COVID-19 civic tech response

Two Presidential Innovation Fellows share how we can build digital services quickly without compromising quality for the public in times of crisis.

Likhitha Patha

Dr. Kaeli Yuen

Oct 16, 2020

Take this three-hour online workshop to learn how to write and edit in plain language.

Watch Video

Katherine Spivey

Take this three-hour online workshop to learn how to write and edit in plain language.

Watch Video

Katherine Spivey

Bringing Our Human(ity) to Work: 5 Ingredients for a Delightful Town Hall

How to design impactful and engaging Town Hall or large group meetings.

Ashley Wichman

Nina Bianchi

Jun 30, 2020

See how our Office of Strategic Communication used A/B testing to resolve a difference of opinion within a cross-functional design team.

Watch Video

Kristal Byrd

Learn about the skills and needs of American readers, how we are failing our audiences, and ways to do better.

Katherine Spivey

Meredith Larson

Findability

Experimenting with SpecialAnnouncement Markup (Updated June 09, 2020)

What USA.gov learned during its pilot with SpecialAnnouncement markup to make COVID-19 information easier to find in search results, now updated to reflect changes by major search engines.

David Kaufmann

May 11, 2020

Connecting Americans to Coronavirus Information Online

The American people need access to the most up-to-date public health guidance and information on coronavirus testing facilities. To help Americans find coronavirus information online, incorporate Schema.org’s new standard tags into all web pages related to COVID-19. — via The White House

Apr 24, 2020

Let’s Talk Shop: How USAGov Outreach Connects With Agency Partners

USAGov Outreach connects with agency partners in a variety of ways—if you’re from a federal agency looking for new ways to reach your audience, learn about partnering with USAGov! — via USA.gov

Apr 21, 2020

Watch this special presentation featuring 18f Content Strategist, Ryan Johnson, where he discusses how you can effectively write accessible web content.

Watch Video

Ryan Johnson

Communication

Plain Language Webinar: Using Words to Build Better Digital Experiences

8 Ways Community of Practice (CoP) Managers Can Improve Member Engagement on Listservs

Positioning Yourself as a Plain Language Editor

6 Ways To Navigate the Civic Tech Sea of Newness

Plain Language: Accessibility for Content

Five Insider Secrets to Engaging Emails

2020 Federal Plain Language Summit

Product lessons from the front lines of COVID-19 civic tech response

Plain Language Basics: Online Workshop

Plain Language Basics: Online Workshop

Bringing Our Human(ity) to Work: 5 Ingredients for a Delightful Town Hall

Short Case Study: A/B Testing for Data-Driven Design

The Average American Reader Needs You to Write (Even More) Clearly

Experimenting with SpecialAnnouncement Markup (Updated June 09, 2020)

Connecting Americans to Coronavirus Information Online

Let’s Talk Shop: How USAGov Outreach Connects With Agency Partners

Writing for the Accessible Web

More News and Events on Communication