governing as social networking lee rainie – director pew internet project irmco – cambridge,...

GOVERNING AS SOCIALNETWORKING

Lee Rainie – Director Pew Internet ProjectIRMCO – Cambridge, MarylandApril 22, 2009

New information ecosystem: Then and Now

Industrial Age

Info was:

Scarce

Expensive

Institutionally oriented

Designed for consumption

Information Age

Info is:

Abundant

Cheap

Personally oriented

Designed for participation

2000

46% of adults use internet

5% with broadband at home

50% own a cell phone

<5% are content creators

0% connect wirelessly

<10% use “cloud”

= slow, stationary connections built around my computer, simple chat and

information exchange

The internet is the asteroid: Then and now

2008

75% of adults use internet

57% with broadband at home

82% own a cell phone

~40% are content creators

62% connect wirelessly

>53% use “cloud”

= fast, mobile connections built around outside servers and storage and social / civic

engagement

Personal ecosystem changes

4.22.2009 5E-government

Media ecology – thenProduct Route to home Display Local storage

TV stations phone TV Cassette/ 8-track

broadcast TV radio

broadcast radio stereo Vinyl album

News mail

Advertising newspaper delivery phone

paper

Radio Stations non-electronic

Tom Wolzien, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co


Media ecology – nowProduct Route to home Display Local storage

cable TiVo (PVR) VCRTV stations DSL TVInfo wireless/phone radio DVD“Daily me” broadcast TV PC Web-based storage content iPod /MP3server/ TiVo (PVR)Cable Nets broadcast radio stereo PCWeb sites satellite monitor web storageLocal news mail headphones CD/CD-ROMContent from express delivery pager individuals iPod / storage portable gamer MP3 player / iPodPeer-to-peer subcarriers / WIFI cell phone pagers - PDAsAdvertising newspaper delivery phone cable boxRadio stations camcorder/camera PDA/Palm game console

game console paperSatellite radio non-electronic storage sticks/disks

Adapted from Tom Wolzien, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co



1.Volume of information grows

2.Variety of information increases

3.Velocity of information speeds up

4.The times and places to experience media enlarge

5.People’s vigilance for information expands AND contracts



6.The immersive qualities of media are more compelling

7.Relevance of information improves8.The number of information “voices”

explodes – and becomes more findable

9.Voting and ventilating are enabled10.Social networks are more vivid

A different personal ecosystem and a different sense of …

• Expectation about access to information and people

• Persistence of the “digital me” and “digital you”

• Place … and time … and presence with others

• Possibilities of conversation and community -- scalability

• Personal efficacy

• Boundaries and contexts – public and private

• Social networking possibilities – new layers, new audiences

News ecosystem changes


Getting news on the internet

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Millio

ns o

f ad

ult

s

Ever get online news Typical day

113 million

64 million


The internet and political news/information% who use the internet to get info about the campaign

4%

18%

29%

44%

22%

33%

52%

60%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1996 2000 2004 2008

General public Internet users

Pe

rce

nt o

f ad

ults


People-Press news consumer typology

Political ecosystem changes


Using the internet for politics

21%

37%

55%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2000 2004 2008

% o

f adu

lts


35% of adults have watched politically related video

---

Up from 13% in 2004

Other activities


14% of adults have used social network sites for political news and information

Other activities

The process of citizen decision-making and

problem-solving changes


Background of research

• Institute for Museum and Library Services grant

• UIC partnership• Government

Printing Office query

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/231/report_display.asp




Basic question

• How do people get information to help them solve problems that could have a government connection or be aided by government resources?

Problem – 1 (… in the past two years) Yes

Dealt with a serious illness or other health condition, either yourself or someone close to you

45%

Made a decision about schooling, paying for education, or getting training for yourself or for a child

39

Needed information about property taxes or income taxes

34

Changed jobs, retired, or started your own business

25

Needed information about Medicare / Medicaid / food stamps

23

Problem – 2 (… in the past two years) Yes

Needed information about Social Security / military benefits

20%

Wanted information about voter registration or a government action, program, or policy 19

Look for help from local government with a problem like traffic or schools

15

Involved in a criminal matter, a lawsuit, or other legal action

10

Became a citizen / helped someone with immigration

5

79.5% had experienced at least one problem

=Approx. 169 million adults

and that is the target population for this

research


What sources did you use for most recent problem?

• 58% of those who had recently experienced one of those problems said they used the internet to get help (not including secondary internet users)

• 53% said they turned to professionals such as doctors, lawyers or financial experts

• 45% turned to friends and family members


What sources did you use …? (2)

• 36% consulted newspapers, magazines, books

• 34% directly contacted a government office or agency

• 16% consult television and radio

• 13% went to the public library

• 11% used another source not mentioned in survey


Who turns to government agencies for problem solving?

• 40-somethings = 40%

• College grads = 37%

• Internet users = 35%

• No gender or racial/ethnic variance

• No income variance

Source of info.

Health Education TaxesMedicare/Medicaid

Change job status

Social Security

Internet 46% 77% 60% 45% 66% 41%

Professionals 83% 40% 48% 43% 27% 38%

Family or Friends 51% 50% 26% 28% 58% 31%

Print sources 37% 38% 32% 33% 43% 27%

Government Agency 15% 27% 56% 60% 27% 71%

TV or Radio 16% 15% 21% 14% 14% 14%

Library 10% 20% 10% 10% 11% 7%

Problem

Search success in problem solving

Very Successful A lot of information

Government agency 65% 49%

Public library 64% 36%

Internet 63% 55%

Professionals / experts

61% NA

Newspapers, mags, books

57% NA

Family and friends 56% NA

TV and radio 55% NA


Average searcher/decider

• Used 2-3 sources of information – not an either/or world

• Relied on an “outside” human being somewhere in the process to find or assess information – so humans were filters and assessors of information

• Did not “self diagnose” and “self medicate” – relied on an expert sources before making the final decision

There is a new pattern of communication, influence, and support in a world of

networked individuals


The two-step flow of communication has become a four-step “cycle”

• Attention

• Acquisition

• Assessment

• Action


How do you….

• get a citizen’s attention?– leverage your traditional platforms– be a “news node” - offer alerts,

updates, feeds– be available in relevant places on

his/her terms, not just yours– find pathways through his/her social

network


How do you….

• help a citizen acquire information?– be findable in a search-driven, “long

tail” world– pursue new distribution methods– figure out your role in the “link

economy”– participate in the conversation about

your work


How do you….

• help a citizen assess information?

– be transparent

– be an archivist

– when you make mistakes, seek forgiveness

– decide if you can be a trusted aggregator


How do you….

• assist a citizen act on information?

– offer opportunities for feedback

– offer opportunities for remixing

– offer opportunities for community building

– be open to the wisdom of crowds


How are we doing in the Twittersphere?http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23irmco

“What are the metrics for citizen engagement beyond levels and

diversity of participation?”

Usability and navigationFeedback

Buzz and participationAid in social networkingAid in problem solving

Trust


Thank you!

Lee Rainie

Director

Pew Internet & American Life Project

1615 L Street NW

Suite 700

Washington, DC 20036

[email protected]

202-419-4500

governing as social networking lee rainie – director pew internet project irmco – cambridge,...

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