Publicyte will be successful if it influences public and civic sector professionals, he said. "If we can change the way people think about issues like social media and government, we've done our jobs," he said.

and their social networks and he said he can apply some of that work to his current position running Publicyte. He's been working in Microsoft's Public Sector division for about a year-and-a-half.

Microsoft has been in a heated battle with Google over the past couple of years for contracts to offer products and services to public sector organizations, like government agencies and schools. Publicyte and the civic innovation office appear aimed at shaping Microsoft's image and boosting its success in the sector.

The IDG News Service