en.europa-eu-audience

How News Consumption is Shifting to the Personalized Social News Stream

Source :

http://owni.fr/2010/08/12/le-nouvel-age-de-l%E2%80%99info-personnalisee/

References :

http://mashable.com/2010/08/10/personalized-news-stream/

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News/Summary-of-Findings.aspx?r=1

The social network of a reader is quickly becoming their personalized news wire. That’s because in the last five years, a revolutionary shift has taken place in the way we consume news. We have gone from consuming news through traditional media and news websites to having the news broadcast to us by our social network of friends.

 

In fact, 75% of news consumed online is through shared news from social networking sites or e-mail. Social news is finding us.

Readers who still actively seek out the news want, and almost expect, it to be personalized and customized to their tastes and interests. News organizations, social networks and technology companies are all attempting to respond with sites and tools that address this changing shift toward a personalized social news stream.

EC, Public Sector Information - Raw Data for New Services and Products

Source : http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/psi/index_en.htm

 

Public sector information is data produced and collected by public bodies (digital maps, meteorological, legal, traffic, financial, economic and other data). Most of this raw data could be re-used or integrated into new products and services which we use on a daily basis, such as car navigation systems, weather forecasts, financial and insurance services.

Re-use of information means that individuals or legal entities can copy, publish and disseminate it for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Public sector information has great economic potential. According to a survey conducted by the European Commission in 2006 (MEPSIR study), the overall market size for PSI in the EU is estimated at EURO 27 billion.

In 2003, the EU adopted the Directive on the re-use of public sector information. It has introduced a common legislative framework regulating how public sector bodies should make their information available for re-use in order to remove barriers such as discriminatory practices, monopoly markets and a lack of transparency. All 27 EU Member States had notified the Commission that they had finished implementing these rules into national legal order. Read about PSI rules in each Member State. On the 7 May 2009  the Commission published a review of the application of the Public Sector Information Directive encouraging Member States and Public sector Bodies to take proactive measures to promote reuse.

In the context of the "Digital Agenda for Europe"; the review of Directive has been signaled as a key action of the initiative and is foreseen for 2012. The re-use of PSI has been highlighted as a key driver to develop content markets in Europe, and has been included within the Digital Single Market area. The Commission is starting to work on the revision and is planning to carry out as a first step a stakeholders' consultation shortly.

Latest news and further information

• What's new?
• Commission's present and future activities

Older Adults and Social Media

A PEW Report

by Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet & American Life Project
August 27, 2010

 

Overview

While social media use has grown dramatically across all age groups, older users have been especially enthusiastic over the past year about embracing new networking tools. Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled—from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010.

• Between April 2009 and May 2010, social networking use among internet users ages 50-64 grew by 88%--from 25% to 47%.
• During the same period, use among those ages 65 and older grew 100%--from 13% to 26%.
• By comparison, social networking use among users ages 18-29 grew by 13%—from 76% to 86%.

“Young adults continue to be the heaviest users of social media, but their growth pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users,” explains Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist and author of the report. “Email is still the primary way that older users maintain contact with friends, families and colleagues, but many older users now rely on social network platforms to help manage their daily communications.”

• One in five (20%) online adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up from 10% one year ago.
• Among adults ages 65 and older, 13% log on to social networking sites on a typical day, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009.

At the same time, the use of status update services like Twitter has also grown—particularly among those ages 50-64. One in ten internet users ages 50 and older now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves or see updates about others.

 

Continue reading the full report at pewinternet.org.

Are you a Public Servant? What are your Open Data Challenges?

Source : http://eaves.ca/2010/08/27/are-you-a-public-servant-what-are-your-open-data-challenges/

27 August 2010 | David Eaves | Canada

 

A number of governments have begun to initiate open data and open government strategies. With more governments moving in this direction a growing number of public servants are beginning to understand the issues, obstacles, challenges and opportunities surrounding open data and open government.

Indeed, these challenges are why many of these public servants frequent this blog.

 

This is precisely why I'm excited to share that, along with the Sunlight Foundation, the Personal Democracy Forum, Code for America, and GovLoop, I am helping Socrata in a recently launched survey aimed at government employees at the national, regional and local levels in the US and abroad about the progress of Open Data initiatives within their organization.

If you are a government employee please consider taking time to help us understand the state of Open Data in government. The survey is comprehensive, but given how quickly this field and the policy questions that come with it, is expanding, I think the collective result of our work could be useful. So, with that all said, I know you're busy, but hope you'll consider taking 10 minutes to fill out the survey. You can find it at: http://www.socrata.com/benchmark-study.

What I’m Reading on Gov2.0 today ?

I read constantly to keep up-to-date with the Gov 2.0 and Web 2.0 world, so I thought I'd publish a list of what I've read today based on the pages I have open currently in my web browser.

 

Source and Read the whole post on http://egovau.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-im-reading-on-gov20-today.html , Sat, August 14,2010

USA, ACSI E-Government Satisfaction Index Q2 2010

Citizen satisfaction with federal government websites dropped nearly half a point this quarter, according to the second quarter release of the ACSI E-Government Satisfaction Index. Despite the slip, many e-gov sites are "top performers" meaning they scored over 80, and many Federal government sites rival even private sector stalwarts like Amazon.com and Google.com.

Find out what's behind the trends in e-government citizen satisfaction -- complete the form below to download the free ACSI E-Government Satisfaction Index Q2 2010.

 

See more on http://www.foreseeresults.com/research-white-papers/ACSI-e-government-satisfaction-index-q2-2010.shtml

Digital reading spaces : How expert readers handle books, the Web and electronic paper

Version française

Source :

http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2762/2504

Abstract 
This paper focuses on changing reading characteristics and presents a study among a group of expert readers. Considering technological bases of reading and applying corporeal and material perspectives, this study examines manners in which proficient readers handle printed and digital texts, attempting to explain differences in digital and paper–based reading. Based on findings, this paper reflects on how long–form text can be productively transferred into the digital reading space ... 

UK redevelops legislative database to support and encourage reuse

Version française

Aug 18, 2010-08-23

Source : http://egovau.blogspot.com/2010/08/uk-redevelops-legislative-database-to.html

 

A good idea also for EUR-Lex at EU level

 

Brought to my attention by Mia Garlick via Twitter, the UK has redeveloped its legislative database with a focus on reuse by external parties.

The recently released site legislation.gov.uk covers 800 years of legislation from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

According to an article from Cornell University Law School, Legislation.gov.uk, John Sheridan, Head of e-Services and Strategy at The National Archives says that the site was designed to meet two objectives,

to deliver a high quality public service for people who need to consult, cite, and use legislation on the Web; and to expose the UK’s Statute Book as data, for people to take, use, and re-use for whatever purpose or application they wish.

 

The Crown Copyright for the site specifies that,

You are encouraged to use and re-use the information that is available on this site freely and flexibly, with only a few conditions.

This type of approach makes legislation vastly more accessible to the public and, through an API provided by the site, supports the development of applications and services that assist the public, organisations and lawyers to understand and apply the law.

More information on why and how the site was designed is available in the article referenced above.

Australia isn't yet at the same point. Our legislation, detailed at Comlaw, is not yet supported through APIs or other machine-readable data formats and is covered under a more restrictive licensing regime,

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved.

Is Facebook suitable for govt transactions?

Version française

Source : http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2010/aug/16/facebook-suitable-govt-transactions/ . By Robin Hicks | 16 August 2010

 

Why not to use Facebook for a wider dissemination ?

Last week, an airline in the United States became the first company to allow customers to book directly through its Facebook page. Will citizens soon be able to transact directly with government on social media? In interviews with FutureGov, officials in Indonesia and Singapore say that despite data security concerns, some government transactions on Facebook or Twitter will very soon be possible.

 

Delta Airlines launched a “Ticket Window” on Facebook that enables travelers to reserve flights directly without leaving the site. To date, airlines and other businesses have only used social media for promotional purposes.

 

Some government entities already use Facebook to allow direct transactions - although for relatively non-sensitive business. The National Library Board of Singapore uses the Facebook appliation NLB myLibrary that can be automatically linked to a patron’s library account. The app pulls up borrowed books and due dates. However, the app does not allow books to be renewed or fines paid. “Patrons must go to the official library web sites and login separately,” a Singaporean official explained. 

McNally Jackson Books Will Introduce Espresso Book Machine

Version française

About the espresso bookmachine , see the vidéo on http://www.ondemandbooks.com/video2.htm

 

Source :

http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/mcnally-jackson-will-soon-be-printing-books-while-you-wait

 

By Jason Boog on Aug 11, 2010 03:23 PM

McNally Jackson Books in Manhattan will introduce an Espresso Book Machine soon, bringing print-on-demand publishing inside the walls of the bookstore.

As you can see in the video embedded above, the machine can print and bind a new book in just a few minutes. According to the New York Observer, there are 37 Espresso Book Machines operating around the world right now. The machine also provides a unique alternative to the instantaneous nature of eBook--delivering a print copy with the same ease as a wireless eBook reader.

Here's more from the article: "Buyer John Turner sees the machine as a way to expand inventory. It also reduces the hassle and wait time associated with ordering books by request. 'For me the biggest issue is, quite simply, as a medium-sized bookshop we can't fit every book in the world on our shelves,' Mr. Turner said. 'This will let us provide a wider variety to our customers.'" (Via Publishers Weekly)