Research and Best Practices eNewsletter 08/26/2011

Research

Social Media in Disasters (summer 2011) – Americans are relying more and more on social media, mobile technology and online news outlets to learn about ongoing disasters, seek help and share information about their well-being after emergencies, according to two new surveys conducted by the American Red Cross

Americans and their cell phones (08/15/2011) – Mobile phones have become a near-

ubiquitous tool for information seeking and communicating–83% of American adults own some kind of cell phone, according to a new Pew report. The report explores the pros and cons of having a cell phone and how these devices impact their owners’ daily lives.

The Social Business (02/2011) – Organizations that successfully integrate social computing into business can deepen customer relationships, drive operational effectiveness and optimize the workforce, an IBM report finds.

Engaging Citizens in Government (08/22/2011) – Most federal agencies’ Open Government Plans didn’t fully meet the standards that will create high-quality public participation, according to AmericaSpeaks, an organization specializing in citizen engagement. The IBM Center for the Business of Government presented AmericaSpeaks’ findings in a report recommending improvements to increase the public’s role in shaping federal policy and identifying best practices in agencies’ public participation initiatives.

Best Practices

Tectonic plates and social media (08/25/2011) – When the earthquake hit the East Coast Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey used Twitter and Facebook to update the public, recruit citizen data-gatherers and reach out to employees.

NYC BigApps Challenge Winners (08/11/2011) – The New York City government challenged the public to share app ideas for residents, businesses and visitors in its recent NYC BigApps Ideas contest. The top ten ideas included: an app to rate any street within the five boroughs, an app that allows residents to rate their building’s owner and an app to aggregate bike accident data.

State IT Award Finalists (08/12/2011) – The National Association of State Chief Information Officers selected 30 state IT initiatives as finalists for its 2011 Outstanding IT Achievement awards. Finalists submitted projects in categories that included Digital Government and Cross-Boundary Collaboration and Partnerships.

QR Codes for passports (2011) – The Canadian government is now using Quick Response (QR) Codes in its online passport application process. As information is added to each field in the form, the QR code automatically includes each new piece of information, so when the form is submitted, the QR code can be quickly scanned to upload this data into the system.