Rock Creek Roundup (April 30 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Apr 28, 2010 1 Comments

FEMA hits a home run with a mobile website, Pew says public use of government websites is holding strong, government websites get good grades for satisfying visitors, and the 2010 Government Web and New Media conference is virtually buzzing with interesting info, all in this week’s edition of the Rock Creek Roundup.

—“Guys, good enough.” That’s the idea that FEMA Director Craig Fugate tried to get across as his team worked through the technology issues and channels necessary to release a mobile version of the FEMA website that contains only the information one would most likely need in a crisis situation. The new website, located at m.fema.gov, offers users simple menus with links to safety information related to hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and more. We couldn’t be more impressed by FEMA’s efforts—being able (and willing) to release something that is less than “perfect“—in this case, releasing a mobile site that relies on a button on the main site’s homepage to get mobile users to the right place—shows innovation and courage in a way that a slick UI never could. With hurricane season coming up and having just braced one of the wildest winter’s in DC’s history, all we can say is: Thanks for getting the info out there and solving the contract issues later. Nice work, guys!

—Public use of government websites seems to be holding strong. According to a recently released report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project, 60% of American adults have accessed government websites within the past year. Nearly half of Internet users have researched information about a federal, state, or local public policy or issue, and more than a third have sought out government stats or documents. One of the most interesting survey findings, however, is the fact that 31% of adults online have interacted with government agencies via Gov 2.0 methods like social networking, blogs, e-mail, text messaging, and more. We expect to see all of these numbers rise as agencies work within the Open Government Directive to develop more creative ways to share information with the public.

—The majority of people who visit government websites consider themselves satisfied with the interactions they have had during the first few months of 2010, according to a recent report released by customer satisfaction management firm ForeSee Results. The firm’s ASCI E-Government Satisfaction Index ranked government websites at a 75.1 out of 100, one and a half points higher than the first quarter of 2009. ForeSee executives credit the Obama Administration’s Open Government Directive with the steady and sustained satisfaction increase. The report highlights the successes of the Social Security Administration’s Retirement Estimator, iClaim, and Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Care Costs as applications receiving the highest satisfaction scores.

—This week’s 2010 Government Web and New Media conference was the site of a ton of excitement surrounding new tools and services available to agency web managers. Among the topics discussed were:

• Collaboration software IdeaScale’s ability to create government social collaboration portals instantly Section 508 compliant with the check of a box
• Recent functionality added to Apps.gov that streamlines the social media signup process for federal web managers
• The launch of FedSpace, a social-media-style secure communication and collaboration tool for federal employees
• The availability of Go.USA.gov’s new URL shortener that gives government employees a branded option for shortening URLs without relying on a third party solution

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Meagen Ryan

Director of Strategy

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