#GMIS.

It was once a number sign and a pound sign, I swear! Who decided it was a hashtag – and when? Well, apparently it started back in 2007 with a tweet by San Francisco techie and former Google developer Chris Messina. He wrote on Twitter, "How do you feel about using # (pound) for groups?" Two days later, a fellow Google dude named Stowe Boyd suggested that the "number sign" be called "hashtag." It's all in the link I reference above and noted as a cultural phenomenon. It is a cultural phenomenon.

By Justin Heyman, GMIS International 3rd Vice President and Conference Director

Yes, fellow GMIS members, you read that right – a conference update in December. Why, that’s like Christmas in July! The conference team has been hard at work, so I have quite a bit of details to share with everyone!

Meet your new 4th Vice President on the GMIS International Board!

Rick Bazzano, I.T. Manager
GMIS member since: chapter circa 1975; member since 2000
Number of IT staff: 2
Population: 23,600
IT budget: $210,000

In the coming year, top state tech officials aim to ramp up efforts to secure digital systems as they shift to the cloud, consolidate data centers and move on a host of other priorities. (CIO)

Amid the push to open access to more healthcare data, government and industry officials caution that datasets must come with context in order to provide meaningful insights for patients and researchers. (CIO)

Momentum is building to bring fiber broadband Internet to Middleton, R.I. Town technology directory Matthew Wainwright, president of GMIS International, is slated to speak. (Newport Daily News)

Again and again, I hear folks talk about the "cell phone basket" at meetings, where everybody drops their little piece of electronic addiction into a basket so that they can focus on the task at hand. Except, it’s ridiculous to blame technology for the core problem: meetings that aren’t engaging. (Jonathan Feldman)

Some of the most highly respected CIOs in government agree. Giving staff the leeway to do their jobs and listening to what they have to say were the traits most often cited by the five IT leaders we interviewed. (Techwire.net)

There are numerous benefits to creating a mobile workforce, including improved information sharing, increased productivity and greater work flexibility. (American City & County)

The rising capital reserves of state and local governments, and a new generation of digital technology and applications are helping to spur a resurgence in public IT sector spending. (State Scoop)

In the New Year, municipalities will face the challenge of ensuring that their data-driven approaches empower them to be responsive to citizens’ wants, needs and ideas. (Government Technology)

Business technology is undergoing a major shift. Mobile continues to grow. The cloud is gaining steam in the business world. Data is growing by leaps and bounds. Thanks to all of these trends, the role of the IT department is changing. CIOs and IT leaders face evolving challenges. (Cup of Joe Blog)

Mobile apps, sensors, and other technologies help cities handle growing challenges. (MIT TEchnology Review)

Federal grants and loans will go to 19 states to support more than two dozen telecommunications projects. (StateTech)