"Nobody has come up with a blueprint that says this is how social media must and will be used in all disasters, because it changes fast. We're trying to figure out how to get into conversations with the public without getting into one-on-one transactions, which would be next to impossible."

-W. Craig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, The Grill: W. Craig Fugate, ComputerWorld, March 21, 2011.

“In progress.” When it comes to government, we hear those words a lot. It’s no surprise: meeting the needs of a geographically large nation with diverse constituents is challenging. Change and progress require time…and patience.

Technology is one area where progress is evident. Change is afoot everywhere, from optimizing government websites for mobile devices, to coordinated healthcare services and discussions about creating a national dashboard to share meaningful information. The goals are familiar:

• Better communication.
• Improved efficiency.
• Greater transparency.
• Fiscal responsibility.

Poor communication, inefficiency, and lack of transparency contribute to financial leakage. They invade the workplace via redundant tasks; duplicate payments; time wasted digging for answers or waiting for replies; recreating missing files; and researching and re-keying data from one system to another.

Cost control: recycle useful information

Shrinking budgets, ballooning deficits, and public demand for fiscal prudence require new responses to the crusade for efficiency. Inefficiencies silently hemorrhage cash. The only way to stop the bleeding is by smarter information management, which first demands recognizing its full value so you can maximize meaningful use.

Smart administration involves streamlining without adversely affecting constituent services. One of the most effective ways is to deploy enterprise content management (ECM) to connect information systems. ECM creates a firm foundation, centralizing access to scattered information and making it secure, searchable, and useful while laying the groundwork for automation. Yet ECM can only reach its potential when it’s backed by a strategy that enables meaningful use of the information that drives decision making.

Auctori:city’s newly released Business Directory Module allows city administrators to assist residents in easily locating merchants by organizing businesses and vendors in their local areas. With Auctori:city’s web content management system, city administrators have the ability to create, manage and update their website’s business directory module with vendors, and real estate listings.

When a business is listed on Auctori:city’s new Business Directory Module, it benefits not only the vendor and the citizen who is looking for their products or services, but also the community in which the vendor lives. Keeping money in the community creates more local jobs and stimulates the city’s economy. The Auctlori:City Business Directory Module was created specifically to serve this purpose.

Citizens can effortlessly search for products and services by category and vendor name. Not only does the Business Directory Module provide easily accessible vendor contact information, it also provides optional Google Maps to vendor locations.

With slight modification, Auctori:city’s Business Directory Module can be used for Real Estate listings as well. Both Realtors and home builders can benefit from posting their new/existing/ inventory home listings onto the city’s Business Directory Module. Listing available homes in a respective city will increase opportunities to bring new residents into the community.

By using Auctori:city’s content management system, city administrators have the ability to frequently change, update, and add information to increase opportunities for new business in their community without requiring assistance from a web developer .