government online: the 3 “p’s” of success - findings from pew internet
DESCRIPTION
Senior research specilist Aaron Smith's GovDelivery talk about the latest Pew Internet research about public attitudes toward engaging with the government online.TRANSCRIPT
Government Online: The
3 “P’s” of Success
Findings from Pew
Internet Project research
GovDelivery Conference
February 3, 2011
Title of presentation
About the Pew Internet & American Life Project
• Funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable
Trusts
• Part of the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan
“fact tank” in Washington, DC
• Study of how technology is shaping society and
individuals
– Provide high quality, objective data to
thought leaders and policy makers
– Do not promote specific technologies or
make policy recommendations
– Go beyond topline findings
• Our research is based on nationally
representative telephone surveys of:
– Adults 18+ (teens data based on 12-17 year
olds)
– Drawn from dual-frame (landline + cell)
samples
2/3/2011 2Trends in Online Government
Title of presentation
“Government Online”
• Based on a survey of 2,258 adults conducted
November 30 – December 27, 2009
• Our first look at how Americans use the internet
for government interactions since 2003
• Key research questions:
– What is the current state of online
government interactions? How has it
changed (or not changed) since 2003?
– How are Americans using social media in
their government interactions?
– How to Americans feel about the internet’s
impact on government service?
– Have the “Gov 2.0” / online transparency
movements resonated with ordinary
Americans?
• Goal of this talk: give a sense of the
importance/relevance of online content to
ordinary users, help contextualize the
presentations that follow
2/3/2011 3Trends in Online Government
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Trends in Technology Adoption: Where we are,
where we’ve come from
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Internet use
2/3/2011 5Trends in Online Government
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Broadband adoption
2/3/2011 6Trends in Online Government
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Mobile access
2/3/2011 7Trends in Online Government
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Social media
2/3/2011 8Trends in Online Government
Other online activities
(% of adult internet users)
• Email (94%)
• News (75%)
• Online video (66%)
• Social networking sites (61%)
• Visit government website (60%)
• Wikipedia (53%)
• Podcast (21%)
• Blogging (14%)
• Twitter (8%)
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Research in Online Government
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Types of online interactions
2/3/2011 10
32%
18%11%
27%
7%
5%
Most recent gov’t website visited:
Federal agency
State agency
Local gov't
Specific task
Elected official
Other
% of internet users who did following
in last 12 months:
Look for info about a public
policy or issue48%
Look up what services a gov’t
agency provides46%
Download gov’t forms 41%
Research official documents or
statistics35%
Renew a driver’s license or auto
registration33%
Get recreational or tourist info 30%
Get advice/info about a health or
safety issue25%
Apply for gov’t benefits 23%
Apply for a gov’t job 19%
Pay a fine 15%
Apply for a recreational license 11%
Trends in Online Government
Title of presentation
How users prefer to solve gov’t issues
2/3/2011 11
35%
28%
20%
11%
6%
Among all adults, phone is preferred slightly to online contact
Phone
Web/email
In person
Letter
Other/Don't know
Among internet users:
• 37% prefer online
• 33% prefer telephone
Among broadband users:
• 39% prefer online
• 32% prefer phone
Desirability of phone/in-person
contact increases with urgency
and severity of issue;
demographically, older adults
and those with low
income/education levels are big
on phone and in-person contactEmail: 18%
Website: 10%
Trends in Online Government
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How users find what they need
2/3/2011 12Trends in Online Government
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Types of online government users
2/3/2011 13
• Four in ten online government users did 5+
different online government-related
activities in preceding twelve months
• Demographically, these users tend to be:
– Well-educated (half have a college
degree)
– Relatively well-off
– Skew towards middle-aged (not as
many young adults or seniors)
• Also very tech-savvy:
– 90% are home broadband users
– 90% get news online
– 2/3 use social networking sites, 1/3
use status update svcs like Twitter
Trends in Online Government
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Users mix online and offline interactions
2/3/2011 14Trends in Online Government
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Heavy web users prefer web…
2/3/2011 15Trends in Online Government
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But in reality use many resources
2/3/2011 16Trends in Online Government
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Heaviest users least likely to solve problems
2/3/2011 17Trends in Online Government
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Other avenues for gov’t info
2/3/2011 18
31% of internet users did at least one of the following activities in the
preceding 12 months:
• 15% of internet users watched a video on a government website
• 15% of email users signed up to receive email alerts from a government
agency or official
• 13% of internet users read the blog of a government agency or official
• 5% of internet users followed or become a fan of a government agency or
official on a social networking site
• 4% of texters signed up to receive text messages from a government
agency or official
• 2% of internet users followed a government agency or official on Twitter
Trends in Online Government
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Mixed views on social media outreach
2/3/2011 19Trends in Online Government
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Views by people of color
2/3/2011 20Trends in Online Government
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Nearly one-quarter of internet users are
“government participators”
2/3/2011 21Trends in Online Government
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40% of internet users go online for data about
government operations
2/3/2011 22Trends in Online Government
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Mostly appeals to “elites”
2/3/2011 23Trends in Online Government
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Final thoughts
2/3/2011 24Trends in Online Government
• Need for multiple channels/tools for info and assistance users
want/expect offline and online help
• Populations with greatest need for government services often have low
levels of access / technology skills
• Go beyond branding and press releases -- make online engagement
with government actually engaging
• “Is…government scaled up and prepared to deal with citizens as
individual human beings at a massive scale?” (Mark Drapeau)
• Many “Gov2.0” offerings currently appeal to elites (white, upper class,
educated, male, etc) but need to move beyond that crowd to be truly
useful and attain widespread adoption
Title of presentation
Thanks!
name: Aaron Smith
title: Senior Research Specialist
email: [email protected]
web: www.pewinternet.org
twitter: @aaron_w_smith, @pew_internet
2/3/2011 25Trends in Online Government