Research and Best Practices eNewsletter 11/10/2011

Apps Culture (11/02/2011) – Adults have doubled their app downloads to cell phones in the past two years, according to a PEW survey. Overall, apps that provide regular updates about everyday information (news, weather, sports, or stocks) and those that help people communicate are the most commonly downloaded. http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Apps-update.aspx

Growing Mobile (11/07/2011) – A report from Ericsson says mobile data traffic will grow ten-fold between 2011 and 2016, mainly driven by video. Mobile broadband subscriptions are also expected to grow rapidly over the same period. http://hugin.info/1061/R/1561267/483146.pdf

Citizen 2.0 (11/2011) – Global innovations in crisis mapping, ideation, public diplomacy, nation branding, and agenda setting are highlighted in this new report from RedCut. The examples show that it is not about the tools, but about why and how we put them to work. http://citizen20.redcut.ch/

Smart Generation (11/03/2011) – Nielsen’s third quarter survey of mobile users reveals that while only 43 percent of all US mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone, the vast majority under age 44 now have smartphones. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/generation-app-62-of-mobile-users-25-34-own-smartphones/

Rethinking Citizen Engagement (10/25/2011) – A new report issued by Pepperdine’s Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership highlights seven community engagement success stories in California. A key finding is that to be successful in this current financial environment, government must be prepared to work collaboratively with citizens and provide a high level of customer service. http://www.ncoc.net/GoldenGovernance

Best Practices

StumbleUpon (11/02/2011) – Social bookmarking site StumbleUpon drives more traffic than any other social platform. A new article by Ragan.com finds StumbleUpon has a “half life” significantly longer than Facebook and Twitter. Half-life is defined as “the point in time when a link has garnered half of the engagement it will ever get.” http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/43870.aspx

Top Digital Cities (11/03/2011) – Center for Digital Government and Digital Communities announced the top-ranked digital city governments for 2011. The winners successfully used technology to achieve efficiencies and attain strategic objectives despite current fiscal constraints. http://www.digitalcommunities.com/survey/cities/

Anatomy of a Social Media Policy (10/14/2011) – There is no one-size-fits-all approach when developing a social media plan for your organization. A new Mashable article suggests using common characteristics such as personal responsibility, reputation management, honesty and transparency to create a better, smarter social media strategy, http://socialmediatoday.com/saraheaton/376324/anatomy-social-media-policy