Atlantic Media’s Government Executive Media Group is launching a new “Emerging Tech” blog on Nextgov.com. At its helm is Frank Konkel, who will cover such issues as privacy, cybersecurity, cloud computing, policy, big data/open data and other issues that combine government and tech. (And hopefully he’s going to bring all this down to earth so we can possibly understand it.)
As it just so happens, Konkel’s “second goal” is to write about emerging technologies in government without being ‘boring, lame, or yawn-inducing,'” he writes in his blog’s first post Tuesday.(By the way, his first goal is to write about the emerging technologies across government as well as the people who govern and operate them.)
Some high-profile tech stories that he’s broken include the CIA’s massive $600 million cloud computing contract with Amazon Web Services, the NSA’s efforts to handle the massive amount of data it collects, and the trouble with IT at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to a bio on the pub’s website, he cut his teeth on technology at Federal Computer Week and previously reported on local and state issues at daily newspapers in his home state of Michigan. He also previously worked for Gannett from 2009-2012. He has a BS in Journalism from Michigan State University.
Konkel moved to D.C. two years ago. He was born on a dairy farm.
Among the weirder facts about Konkel is that he plays Pickleball. Before you think dill, it’s more a combination of badminton, tennis and ping-pong. Typically, senior citizens enjoy the social aspect of the sport, but clearly people of all ages can enjoy it. Konkel reportedly challenged seniors at Pickleball — we’ll do our best to find out if he managed to beat them.