Weekly Research and Best Practices Summary

Research
1. How does your state match up digitally? (09/28/2010) – 2010 Digital States survey evaluated states in eight categories, such as leadership and innovation; citizen engagement and open government; and administration and human resource management. Top Digital States: Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania and Virginia. http://www.govtech.com/enterprise-technology/50-State-Report.html

2. Friends, Followers and Feeds (09/2010) – New study by the National Association of Chief Information Officers shows how state governments are using social media tools and captures best practices. Study also looks at concerns in the areas of acceptable use, security, and legal terms of service. http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/NASCIO-SocialMedia.pdf

3. Rise of the Apps Culture (09/14/2010) – New PEW Report finds 35% of U.S. adults have software applications or “apps” on their phones, yet only 24% of adults use those apps. 11% of cell owners are not sure if their phone is equipped with apps. http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/The-Rise-of-Apps-Culture.aspx

Best Practices
1. Want to improve your customer service? (09/20/2010) – Focus on solving their problems as quickly as possible. Web customers crave speed, not emotional experiences. http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2010/nt-2010-09-20-Crave-speed.htm

2. Sustainable e-participation in Estonia (09/2010) – Estonia has made great strides using technology to include citizens in the democratic process. The author offers concrete recommendations on how to make the vision of e-participation a reality. http://www.jedem.org/article/view/45

3. Bright Ideas Program (09/29/2010) – Harvard University Ash Center announced 173 government programs selected for its newly-created Bright Ideas program. Bright Ideas [can remove 2nd hyperlink if it’s the same as the first] recognizes and shares creative government initiatives around the country with interested government, nonprofit, and academic communities. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100929005240/en/Bright-Ideas-Program-Recognizes-Innovative-Government-Programs

4. The age of persuasion (09/16/2010) – NASA and the U.S. Army are using video games as recruiting tools and to steer trends and behavior. NASA is using them to get more kids to go into science, technology, engineering and mathematics while the Army hopes to generate new recruits. http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/09/08/f-videogames-recruiting-education.html?ref=rss