en.europa-eu-audience

Australians' use and satisfaction with e-government services—2011

Source: http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/interacting-with-government-2011/index.html

 Foreword

This is the sixth and final study of Australians’ use and satisfaction with e‑government services under the 2006 e‑Government Strategy.  It shows that Australians continue to embrace the internet as a way of interacting with government. The internet has now become commonplace and a natural means for citizens dealing with government and is the preferred means of accessing government services.

Over the past three years, two thirds of people have used e‑government channels to contact government, confirming the importance of providing convenient and efficient government services online.

The study also saw an increased take up in the use of new communications technologies such as email, text messaging and social networking tools.

Satisfaction with government websites remains high, and since 2009 there has been an increase in satisfaction in the way government websites are designed.  In 2011 more Australians became aware of their ability to easily find information about Australian Government programs and services through the australia.gov.au website.

The opportunities for greater engagement with citizens through e‑government channels will continue as the introduction of high speed broadband through NBN and the increased use of new communications technologies provides Government with greater flexibility in delivering better services to people, communities and business and improved government operations.  

 

Don't forget the why of Gov 2.0

Source: egovau.blogspot.com/2012/01/dont-forget-why-of-gov-20.html

Putting users at the heart of the Digital Agenda for Europe

Have a look on 

http://cirn.wikispaces.com/Putting+users+at+the+heart+of+the+Digital+Agenda+for+Europe

and also

http://greatemancipator.com/2012/01/21/participating-in-a-democracy/

Eleven things to consider when using Facebook in government

Source: egovau.blogspot.com/2012/01/11-things-to-consider-when-using.html

Introduction

When websites first starting to become popular it became common for Marketing and Communications teams in organisations to receive requests from various areas saying "we need a website".

Now that social media is firmly embedded in Australia, I'm seeing and hearing about the same type of requests - particularly for Facebook.

So, drawn from a response I provided to one agency who asked for my views, I've compiled a list of 11 things to consider when looking to use Facebook in your campaign, program, consultation, activity or otherwise for your agency.

This looks like a long list, but realistically is no more than should be considered for other channels (particularly online). Many of these areas can be addressed quickly through borrowing strategies and approaches from other agencies.

Guideline for External Use of Web 2.0 in the Canadian Government

Sources: 

http://governingpeople.com/mikekujawski/24943/guideline-external-use-web-20-government-canada

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=24835&section=text

Extract

Will this guideline be criticized?

Of course it will. I can see a whole slew of negative comments already coming in:

• it’s too long
• it’s ambiguous
• it doesn’t tell me exactly what to do
• it’s overly polished
• it’s too restrictive

If you’re thinking one of the above, please stop. Instead, think about how much more you can do to build a case for more empowerment and engagement now that these are out. If you experience a roadblock, find a nugget within the guideline that can help you get around it, it’s full of them. As a starting point before complaining, I would suggest reading the entire guideline from start to finish, as I just did. Yes, there are plenty of things that could be improved, ignore them for now and highlight the positives. Use these to inform your colleagues, your bosses and your staff. Build understanding of this guideline into employee training programs. Hold guideline lunch n’ learn orientation sessions…you get the point. There is obviously still plenty of work that needs to be done in terms of building “social” into the fabric of the public service culture, especially at the senior levels.I urge all public servants that have been involved in pushing concepts such as collaboration, community and engagement over the last decade to leverage this opportunity and shift into 2nd gear, if not 3rd (at high RPM’s). Finally, I’d like to extend my own personal congratulations to all of you that helped make this happen. You know who you are. 

 

Deliberative Public Engagement – Nine Principles

Source: http://www.involve.org.uk/deliberative-public-engagement-nine-principles/

The aim of this document is to encourage and support good quality deliberative public engagement activities. The authors believe that when done well, such activities can help to create better public services, promote social cohesion and foster a thriving democracy.

The book has been produced by Involve, the National Consumer Council and Diane Warburton at Shared Practice as the lead author. The production of the principles was informed by a series of stakeholder discussions held between November 2007 and April 2008

 

Political future of social media

Source: http://www.paristechreview.com/2011/02/28/friending-revolution-north-africas-uprisings-political-future-social-media/

The revolution in Tunisia and the toppling of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak resemble any number of prior upheavals, except for one thing - the role played by social media. Facebook, in particular, which once seemed just a high-tech way for teenagers to waste time, is now emerging as an important political tool. Why has social media been so useful to the protesters in North Africa? How will it be applied next? Will it really change the world?

Search Engine Optimization Audit

Sources: 

http://blog.abondance.com/2011/10/infographie-audit-seo.html

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/the-20-minute-seo-audit-infographic/33181/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

Mobile and not only smartphone

Mobile is not just apps and websites, it includes SMS or text messaging. Here’s some new text use data from Pew Internet & American Life.

Some 83% of American adults own cell phones and three-quarters of them (73%) send and receive text messages.–Pew

 

Read more on

http://blog.citizen.apps.gov/howtomobile/2011/09/20/trends-on-tuesday-text-vs-voice/

Search and Email Still the Most Popular Online Activities

Source: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2079/-email-internet-search

Search and email remain the two online activities that are nearly universal among adult internet users, as 92% of online adults use search engines to find information on the Web, and a similar number (92%) use email. Since the Pew Internet Project began measuring adults' online activities in the last decade, these two behaviors have consistently ranked as the most popular, even as new platforms, broadband and mobile devices continue to reshape the way Americans use the internet and web. Even as early as 2002, more than eight in ten online adults were using search engines, and more than nine in ten online adults were emailing.

Perhaps the most significant change over that time is that both activities have become more habitual. Today, roughly six in ten online adults engage in each of these activities on a typical day; in 2002, 49% of online adults used email each day, while just 29% used a search engine daily. 

 

 

Read the full report, including details on use of search and email by different demographic groups, at pewinternet.org