Senior research specilist Aaron Smith's GovDelivery talk about the latest Pew Internet research about public attitudes toward engaging with the government online.

1. Government Online: The
3 “P’s” of Success
Findings from Pew
Internet Project research
GovDelivery Conference
February 3, 2011

2. 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
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3. “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
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4. Trends in Technology Adoption: Where we are,
where we’ve come from
Title of presentation

5. Internet use
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6. Broadband adoption
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7. Mobile access
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8. Social media
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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9. Research in Online Government
Title of presentation

10. Types of online interactions
% of internet users who did following
in last 12 months:
Look for info about a public
48%
policy or issue
Most recent gov’t website visited:
Look up what services a gov’t
46%
agency provides 5%
Download gov’t forms 41%
7% Federal agency
Research official documents or
35% 32% State agency
statistics
Local gov't
Renew a driver’s license or auto
33% 27% Specific task
registration
Elected official
Get recreational or tourist info 30%
18% Other
Get advice/info about a health or
25%
11%
safety issue
Apply for gov’t benefits 23%
Apply for a gov’t job 19%
Pay a fine 15%
Apply for a recreational license 11%
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11. How users prefer to solve gov’t issues
Among all adults, phone is preferred Among internet users:
slightly to online contact
• 37% prefer online
6% • 33% prefer telephone
Phone
Among broadband users:
11% Web/email
35% • 39% prefer online
• 32% prefer phone
In person
20%
Desirability of phone/in-person
Letter contact increases with urgency
and severity of issue;
28% Other/Don't demographically, older adults
know and those with low
income/education levels are big
Email: 18% on phone and in-person contact
Website: 10%
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12. How users find what they need
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13. Types of online government users
• 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
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14. Users mix online and offline interactions
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15. Heavy web users prefer web…
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16. But in reality use many resources
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17. Heaviest users least likely to solve problems
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18. Other avenues for gov’t info
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
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19. Mixed views on social media outreach
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20. Views by people of color
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21. Nearly one-quarter of internet users are
“government participators”
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22. 40% of internet users go online for data about
government operations
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23. Mostly appeals to “elites”
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24. Final thoughts
• 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
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25. Thanks!
name: Aaron Smith
title: Senior Research Specialist
email: asmith@pewinternet.org
web: www.pewinternet.org
twitter: @aaron_w_smith, @pew_internet
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