Weekly Research and Best Practices

Research

1. Digital Economy Rankings 2010 (06/2010) Economist’s annual benchmarking study of the digital development of seventy countries. Study finds evidence that the digital divide is narrowing and that in some cases; developing countries are adopting innovative technologies faster than developed countries. http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/EIU_Digital_economy_rankings_2010_FINAL_WEB.pdf

2. Australian Government’s Draft Social Media Handbook (July 2010) – This “unofficial” social media handbook is built on a wiki accessible to Australian government workers. Drawing upon the collective intelligence of public servants using social media, the government hopes leverage their wisdom to develop useful policy. http://government20bestpractices.pbworks.com/Australian-Govt-Social-Media-Handbook-DRAFT

3. Government 2.0 in Germany (06/2010) – Analysis of eParticipation and Web 2.0 Applications in Germany’s 50 largest cities and 16 federal states. Study illustrates that while eParticipation is on the agenda, states and municipalities still have a long way to go to fully engage in it. http://assets1.csc.com/de/downloads/CSC_policy_paper_series_06_2010_government_20_beta_phase_English.pdf

News

1. Tennessee state portal improves access to government services (07/15/2010) -TN.gov launches a redesign that customizes content based on each user’s interest, click behavior, and geographic location. Includes a mobile-optimized site for access to most common information and services. http://www.centredaily.com/2010/07/15/2096788/new-tngov-improves-access-to-government.html#ixzz0uWLCq9ah

2. Customers Know Best – It’s Their Results That Count (07/15/2010) – Do you know what your customers really want and how successful they are in completing the task? Do you make assumptions or do you really do testing and research to find out? Learn about how important this research is and a fun website that will challenge your assumptions about knowing which websites are “best”. https://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/customers-know-best-its-their

3. DoD Unveils New Social Media Hub (07/21/2010) – New site is designed to pull together the services’ many online efforts while providing troops with fresh guidelines on Internet do’s and don’ts. http://socialmedia.defense.gov

4. 10 gov Web apps that get results (07/19/2010) – Great examples of how agencies use new media for public engagement.http://gcn.com/articles/2010/07/19/great-gov-apps-summary.aspx