What if the government ran more like Silicon Valley? Engineer Matt Cutts shares why he decided to leave Google (where he worked for nearly 17 years) for a career in the US government -- and makes the case that if you really want to make an impact, go where your help is needed most. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For many years Matt worked on defending the quality of Google's web search results, and you may know him as the creator of the first version of SafeSearch.As Paul noted on the show, he was seen as one of the few people with whom ordinary folks could communicate about the often inscrutable world of Google search results and rankings. You can read his blog here. In 2016 Matt joined USDS, initially at the Department of Defense. Since 2017, Matt has served as the USDS Administrator and is responsible for setting the overall direction and strategy for projects. He has worked on everything from Healthcare.gov to online services for veterans to fraud prevention at the IRS. Topics discussed on this episode: The 1993 comedy film Dave, in which Kevin Kline plays a presidential body double who manages to fix government and melt the steely heart of Sigourney Weaver. Open source as an ever growing trend, even inside of big government. Which organization has more meeting and process, Google, or the US federal government? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Matt Cutts, the acting administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how his team is trying to modernize government agencies and make services like Medicare and veterans’ benefits more user-friendly. Cutts spent nearly 17 years working at Google before he joined the USDS under President Obama, but says that the organization’s mission has not changed under President Trump, and its work has remained nonpartisan. He explains how even simple technological tweaks — like a progress bar or web forms — can make a huge difference for the beneficiaries of the USDS’s work, and shares his pitch for an ambitious goal that would make everyone’s life easier: “Get rid of the paper.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices