Mobile Blog Feed

In response to the growing use of mobile devices and the Digital Government Strategy, the Central Intelligence Agency has launched a new mobile site.

Readers can now access mobile-friendly versions of CIA.gov materials on their small screens:

• About CIA: Quick facts about our leadership, mission, and history.
• CIA Museum: Artifacts and stories from the CIA Museum, whose brick-and-mortar location is closed to the public.
• Press Releases and Statements: Browse back to 2010.
• Careers: Find out why CIA is an employer of choice.
• Offices of CIA: Overviews of our organization and what we do.
• Contact CIA

The mobile site will support CIA’s ongoing efforts to increase awareness of the Agency’s mission and its role in keeping the nation safe.

You can find more mobile products like the CIA mobile website on the USA.gov Apps Gallery.

The World Bank recently released the infographic below in conjunction with the Reboot Blog that highlights findings from it’s mobile ubiquity worldwide report. Here are some of the interesting findings:

• 75% of the world now has access to a mobile phone
• The number of mobile subscriptions will soon eclipse the world’s population
• The developing world is now MORE mobile than the developed world and most phones are owned by people living in low-income areas
• By 2016, it is estimated that worldwide, mobile data traffic will average around 16 million terabytes per month.

With the growth of mobile, agencies need to identify ways to produce anytime, anywhere services and information as was called for in the Digital Government Strategy.

To give their users anytime, anywhere access to information, the  National Institute on Drug Abuse recently implemented a mobile website.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s mobile Web site, m.drugabuse.gov, gives users quick and easy access to facts about illicit drugs, the science behind addiction, drug abuse research funding, and more. Mobile users benefit from easy-to-find English- and Spanish-language information and the ability to download publications for offline reading on any e-reader. Users also can share information through their favorite social networking sites.

You can find other government mobile products like the NIDA mobile website on the USA.gov Apps Gallery.

Business2Community recently released the interesting infographic below with stats from Comscore and other sources regarding how people are integrating mobile into their travel. Highlights from the infographic include:

• 51% of smartphone owners used their device to access flight or hotel contents (ComScore). Airlines list of mobile-related topics searched by users: prices, schedules and contact details
• Smartphone usage has almost doubled from 2011 to 2012 for both checking flight schedules and checking-in for those flights!
• Once at their destination, travelers use their mobile device to keep in touch, take pictures and video, schedule wake up times, make reservations and find directions to attractions.

Agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, the Departments of State and Transportation have already responded to these trends with mobile products aimed at the traveler. These trends prove that agencies with and without travel related missions should consider how they can serve people on the go.

 

Yesterday marked three months since the release of the Digital Government Strategy and agencies have been making great strides in meeting the milestones toward building a 21st Century Government. In his blog, Building-blocks of a 21st Century Digital Government, Steve Van Roekel said

Executing on this vision of government cannot happen alone. To provide the highest value of services, we must rethink from step one how government builds and provides services for the American people. We must unlock rich government data, information and services so that everyone from citizen developers and private sector entrepreneurs, to our very own Federal agencies can help provide the American people with the access to these services “anywhere, anytime, on any device.”

This blog was released in conjunction with the milestones deliverables page where you can find:

• /digitalstrategy pages – where agencies will be posting candidate data sets and services that they will mobilize or make available via API
• Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Toolkit – that includes key considerations, best practices, and examples of existing policies from successful BYOD programs launched at forward-leaning agencies.
• Governance Recommendations – guidance for agencies to stand up effective digital services governance structures consistent with Milestone Action #4.2. Read about the Agile “Sprinting” that took place to get there.
• Performance Metrics Guidance & Tools – to enable data-driven decisions on service performance, Milestone Action #8.2. Read Jim Wilson’s Meeting the Metrics Milestone blog about how NASA’s working on this now.
• Report on Mobile Security from National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) summarizes forthcoming publications on managing and securing mobile devices and information on how NIST’s standards and guidelines should be used in the mobile landscape.

What’s your agency doing to meet the milestones? Let us know about the great work you are doing, and remember to check out the Digital Services Innovation Center webpage and HowTo.gov digital strategy milestone page for guidance, resources, and training.

Post by Alycia Piazza and was feposted from Digital Gov Blog.

 

Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel highlighted the new Census Bureau app “America’s Economy” in his Digital Government Strategy update today. Here is what he had to say:

Today marks three months since we released the Digital Government Strategy (PDF/ HTML5) – as part of the President’s directive to build a 21st Century Government that delivers better services to the American people.

Executing on this vision of government cannot happen alone. To provide the highest value of services, we must rethink from step one how government builds and provides services for the American people. We must unlock rich government data, information and services so that everyone from citizen developers and private sector entrepreneurs, to our very own Federal agencies can help provide the American people with the access to these services “anywhere, anytime, on any device.”

Today agencies are making great strides towards putting a solid foundation for a 21st Century Digital Government in place.

For example, the Census Bureau recently released its first mobile app, called “America’s Economy,” and just today released an iOS version. The app mashes up Census data with economic statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics and provides the latest economic indicators that drive business hiring, sales, and production decisions throughout the nation in real time. Economists, planners, business owners, and the public can use the app to get a quick and easy snapshot of the health of the U.S. economy, look at trends, and receive notifications when indicators change. But as powerful as the app is, just as powerful is the way Census is releasing the underlying data through its first publicly available application programming interface (API).

The Census API, which pulls from the American Community Survey and the 2010 Census, has yielded an unprecedented level of interest from citizen developers. Over 800 external developers have already accessed the API since its release, and users have generated over 24 million data requests. And as an indication of how valuable and accessible this data is, it took only 24 hours for the first third-party app to be developed and we are excited to see the many more applications that will be developed using this data.

This is just one example of the power of unlocking rich government data sets and services to the public and is exactly what the Digital Government Strategy is trying to accomplish. But it is just the beginning.

Today, every major Federal agency is posting candidate data sets and services to open up over the next several months. While many focus on providing better services directly to the public, others focus on increasing internal government efficiencies to save taxpayer dollars. For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is planning to develop a mobile app for its revenue agents that will allow them to accept a paper check from a taxpayer, take a picture, and automatically deposit it for posting to the taxpayer’s account.

You can link to each of the agency lists via http://www.whitehouse.gov/digitalgov/deliverables, and I encourage you to weigh in on which candidates you think are the highest value. There, you can also find links to other recent products of the Strategy aimed at providing agencies with the tools they need to be successful and scaling existing best practices across government:

• A bring-your-own-device (BYOD) toolkit for agencies considering implementation of a BYOD program;
• A report on how the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) standards and guidelines are evolving to meet the challenge of mobile security;
• Recommendations on how agencies can stand up effective digital services governance structures; and
• Performance measurements tools that will help drive data-driven decision making around the Federal web space.

It’s been a busy three months, and I look forward to adding more building-blocks in the months ahead as we continue to deliver on the President’s vision of a more modern, efficient, and accessible government for the 21st Century.

Reposted from The White House Blog.

Barcode Scan Share Age Group Q4 2011 Q2 2012 Under 18

11%

8%

18-24

22

16

25-34

28

26

35-44

22

24

45-54

10

16

55 +

7

11

Source: Scanbuy/Marketing Charts, August 2012

With the continued growth of mobile, QR codes and other mobile phone scannable barcode formats are exploding in popularity. From the Center for Media Research:

According to a new study by Scanbuy summarized by Marketing Charts, and the ScanLife Trend Report, there were more than 16 million mobile barcode scans in the second quarter of 2012 with more than 5.3 million scans in June, becoming the highest scan month ever. Among mobile barcode scanners, half were aged 35 or older in Q2, a 22% increase over the first quarter.

Those aged 35-44 have grown to a 24% share, from 20% in Q1, while the 45-54 set and 55+ bracket also represent a growing proportion of barcode scanners. Data from ScanLife’s “Mobile Barcode Trend Report Q2 2012″ indicates that the top 5 marketer campaigns that generated the most scans in the second quarter by content, were:

• Contest
• Loyalty program
• Social media
• App download
• Video

Government agencies might want to think about using scannable barcodes to promote their missions via the top scanning campaigns listed above.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently launched the America’s Economy app as part of an effort to increase and improve access to their statistics. The app is currently available on the Android and iOS platforms. Census describes the app:

Take the pulse of the U.S. Economy straight from your phone. The America’s Economy app provides real-time updates for 16 key economic indicators released from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis. Key economic measures on employment, manufacturing, international trade, retail sales, and residential construction and sales allow those who follow the U.S. economy to be the first to see whether the indicator has gone up or down since the previous report, and trends over time.

The Census also recently released an API as part of information-centric approach outlined in the Federal Digital Strategy. You can find more apps like America’s Economy on the USA.gov Apps Gallery.

 

While there are a number of benefits to mobile technology, cell phone owners encounter technical glitches and unwanted intrusions on their phones.  In an April survey of mobile phone users, Pew identified the four most prevalent cell phone user problems. They included:

• Dropped phone calls
• Unwanted sales or marketing calls
• Spam or unwanted text messages (based on cell owners who text)
• Slow download speeds that prevent things from loading as quickly as you would like them to (based on those who use the internet or email on their cell phone or download apps to their cell phone)

Pew states that “Any problems that snag, stall, or stop users from connecting to the material and people they seek is at least a hassle to them and sometimes is even more disturbing than that in this networked world.”

Agencies should minimize these cell problems when implementing mobile products. For instance, SMS programs should set user expectations regarding the frequency of messages and offer easy opt-out of their programs. Mobile web and app implementers should test their product’s download speed to make sure they do not download slow.

The National Weather Service recently started sending severe weather warnings to smartphone users in the path of hazardous weather conditions in some areas.  The Wireless Emergency Alerts system will notify people of approaching tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, flash floods, extreme winds, blizzards, ice, and dust storms, by sending an up-to-90 character message to their smartphone.

The NWS Alert System is a way for those in the path of the storms to prepare beforehand or evacuate the area depending on the caliber of the natural disaster. The service is free to mobile subscribers that have a Wireless Emergency Alert capable phone. Users can unsubscribe at anytime if they choose so.

A list of smartphone models able to receive the alerts are also listed at CTIA wireless industry group website. The program plans to go nationwide this year.

<By Justin Goldberger

According to a recent survey from PEW Research Center, an increasing amount of television watchers are remaining connected on mobile devices while they are watching television (during commercial breaks, visit websites mentioned on TV, testing validity of statement made on TV, etc.). According to the report a little more than half (52%) of all adult cell phone owners use their phone while they watch TV.

• 38% of cell owners  keep themselves occupied during commercials or breaks in something they were watching.
• 22% of cell owners used their phone to check whether something they heard on television was true or not.
• 6% of cell owners used their phone to vote for a reality show contestant.

Three supplementary questions were asked of the 57% of cell owners who download apps, use the internet, or use email on their phones while watching TV:

• 35% of cell owners who use the internet, email or apps on their phone used their phone to visit a website that was mentioned on television (that works out to 20% of all cell owners).
• 20% of cell owners who use the internet, email or apps on their phone used their phone to see what other people were saying online about a program they were watching (that works out to 11% of all cell owners).
• 19% of cell owners who use the internet, email or apps on their phone used their phone to post their own comments online about a program they were watching (that works out to 11% of all cell owners)

Government agencies need to think about these new user habits when considering their Digital Government Strategy.

<By Justin Goldberger

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Federal agency mobile implementation is an important aspect of the Digital Government Strategy, so last week the Mobile Gov team and Digital Gov University partnered for a “Mobile First” Webinar. A “mobile first” approach is where new websites and applications are designed for mobile devices first, instead of designed for the traditional desktop.  Representatives from government and the private sector spoke about what it means to be “mobile first.” You can listen to the entire webinar, but here are some highlights:

Ken Fang from Mobomo Inc. talked about the importance of a mobile first approach, citing the increasing percent of traffic routing from mobile devices. Fang  proposed three steps to consider when choosing a device and platform to develop.

1. Consider your audience needs and remembering who and what you are making the app for.
2. Think about what kind of content will be sent out.
3. Think platform strategy —answering whether you develop for one device or choose a different route such as an API or responsive design.

Janice Clark discussed the State Department’s efforts in creating the m.state.gov site.

• State realized that they were getting a lot of traffic (more than 300,000 hits) via mobile and decided, with strong support from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to develop a mobile site based on the most seasoned stuff of the State.gov site.
• Clark said it just “made sense” to start the development of mobile. Also, a factor in the decision was their audience, most of which are in airports and may not have the time to sit down and find a desktop computer.

Kim Taylor from the U.S. Department of Agriculture talked about how the agency was receiving a lot of traffic to the site via mobile devices and decided to make the AskKaren project mobile.

• Taylor said that similar to the State Department, USDA leadership was supportive of the idea and allocated proper funds to pursue the endeavor.
• USDA will adopt a “mobile first” approach in the future.

For more information on future Digital Gov University Webinars and events please click here.

<By Justin Goldberger

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The US Census blog Random Samplings announced that the Census  just released a new API that includes both 2010 Census data and American Community Survey statistics on every neighborhood in the US. According to the blog:

This information-centric approach is outlined in the recently released Federal Digital Strategy, and promises to be the new default for all public data – users of all varieties will benefit by creating new ways and tools to explore the data they want to, rather than the government restricting its use through PDFs and impossible to download formats.

Census is also coming out with the new app, “America’s Economy,” later this month.

The point is, while we are genuinely excited about some of the changes we’re making to census.gov, they’re all meaningless if they don’t meet the needs of our users. We greatly appreciate and encourage your feedback…”

To send Census feedback on the API, please send a message to cnmp.web.comments.list@census.gov.

< by Justin Goldberger

According to a comScore press release last Wednesday, a new study put on by the comScore MobiLens service found that nearly half of the users who acquired a smarthphone during April 2012 had switched to it from another device. This marks a climbing trend with a 9.5% increase of smartphone adoption in the U.S.

Out of the 110 Americans who switched to smartphones in April of 2012 (up 40% from last years), 61.5% switched to an Android operating system, 25.2% switch to an iOS system, and 7.1 opted for Microsoft smartphones.

Mark Donavon, comScore SVP of Mobile had this to say about the report:

“The growing number of smartphones available to consumers, accompanied by the decrease in price points and surge in mobile media content, have made smartphone ownership possible and desirable for many more Americans. Within the year, we expect to see smartphone owners become the mobile majority, a milestone that represents not only the evolution of the mobile landscape but highlights the enormous potential for marketers as these powerful, ubiquitous devices open new opportunities to reach a growing audience of consumers.”

As citizens are adopting more and more smartphones, it’s important for agencies to think mobile first!

We will be having our next Mobile Gov Wikithon tomorrow Tuesday, July 31 at 3p.m. in downtown D.C. This will be the most hackathon-like wikthon we’ve ever had!

USASearch and the Mobile Gov are teaming up to cohost the “USASearch” Mobile Gov Wikithon. The USASearch team will be coding updates to the USA Search function AND working on their responsive design rollout. In addition, they will be there to get your feedback on USASearch.  We’ll also be doing the regular wikithon things like creating new user accounts and creating content.

Remember participation on the Mobile Gov Wiki will earn you badges!

Details:
USASearch Mobile Gov Wikithon
Tuesday, July 31st 3-5 pm
In Person Location Only
801 18th St NW # 1 Washington, DC 20006. (202) 785-2024. We have reserved the large “board” table at this location.

Tell a friend, bring a friend and earn badges!

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There’s an easier way to get content and data into the hands of citizens. Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs, are web services that allow people to more easily consume content and data in multiple ways–via mobile devices,  mobile apps, innovative mash-ups, and much more.  Simply put,

To help agencies better understand APIs, DigitalGov University hosted a webinar, An Introduction to APIs, with experts from NASA and CDC.  The webinar explains why APIs are  important and how you can use them to meet requirements of the Digital Government Strategy.

Attendees have already said the most useful part was hearing these case studies:

Jim Wilson of NASA talked about how pulling APIs into NASA.gov has helped them release content and data to the public more quickly and easily.  It’s also made their internal publishing processes more efficient.  Before they began using APIs, the process of adding new content–especially video content–was cumbersome and labor intensive. It required them to:

• Generate linking files
• Cut and paste photos and other multimedia
• Publish pages in multiple ways

Now they simply upload a video and tag it.  Via API, the video is distributed on multiple channels in real-time.

Fred Smith spoke about CDC’s content syndication program and how it provides for the automatic export of web content from a CDC.gov page to a partner’s Web page in real-time.  This has proven especially valuable during public health emergencies, when it’s critical for partner sites–such as state and local health departments–to  pull the most current health information from the authoritative source.  The result is that government is able to use a more efficient publishing model and consumers get accurate, trusted information and services.

Gray Brooks from GSA’s Digital Services Innovation Center provided lots of helpful tips for agencies to get started.  If you’re a developer, a great resource to check out is FCC’s API developer page, which shows how FCC has made its digital content available via API, so it can be easily distributed and reused.

We’re hosting a whole series of API webinars throughout August and September so be sure to check the DigitalGov University schedule for a list of future events.  Please join us!

>Reposted from Digital Gov Blog.

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, has recently implemented the Department’s first responsive design site at StudentAid.gov.  StudentAid.gov is among several federal websites using responsive design by using technologies that the new Digital Government Strategy directs federal agencies to use in order to deliver digital services to any device, anytime, anywhere.

StudentAid.gov is the first step in a multi-phase project to provide consumers with a one-stop website where they can access federal student aid information, apply for federal aid, repay student loans and navigate the college decision-making process. Whether you’re a student, a parent, a borrower in repayment, an educator or a professional engaged in influencing and informing students and borrowers, StudentAid.gov has useful information for you. The site, available in English and Spanish, combines content and interactive tools from several U.S. Department of Education websites and makes it easy for you to find the information you need.  It also features videos and infographics to help answer the most frequently asked questions about financial aid.  Check it out on your smartphone or tablet to find everything you need to know about preparing and paying for college.

To learn more about the new site and the suite of social media tools launched in conjunction with the new portal, join us for a Twitter town hall at 6pm on Wednesday, July 25–(ie tonight)!  To participate in the on-line conversation, follow @usedgov & @FAFSA or the #AskFAFSA hashtag on Twitter.

To see more mobile products like StudentAid.gov mobile, please visit the USA.gov Apps Gallery.

According to this infographic from T-Mobile , more and more Americans fear leaving home without their smartphone in hand.

Most surprisingly, of those surveyed, 11% (1 in 10 people!?) would rather leave their house without wearing their pants than leave without their smartphone.

Over half (55%) of women said they would rather leave home without makeup. Just under 30% would rather leave the house without cash or without a credit card. Two in five people surveyed would begin missing their smartphones in less than an hour.

All in all, more Americans are beginning to be diagnosed with smartphone separation anxiety. That’s why it is imperative for agencies to develop a “Mobile First” approach to be able to engage with mobile users. Interested parties can learn about how agencies are adopting a Mobile First approach during our Mobile First webinar tomorrow at 2p.m. EST.

“Mobile First” webinar details and sign up info here!

>By Justin Goldberger

Sandia National Laboratories has recently implemented a new responsive design site at sandia.gov. The website’s flexible content and data embodies the epitome of responsive design, keeping the data structure in place no matter the device or the screen size of the device.

Unlike some responsive design sites, Sandia’s mobile responsive design page (to fit smaller screens) puts the most relevant and recent information at the top, playing to the needs of users who want information quickly while on the go.

Similar to Sandia’s site, AIDS.gov has also replaced its mobile and desktop sites with a single fluid responsive design site (see AIDS.gov Wiki Mobile Gov Experience for mobile gov experiences in responsive design). For more on responsive design and implementing responsive design within your own organization check out Howto.gov’s Responsive Design Webinar Series.

You need resources and we are here to help! Here are our July events to jump start your agency’s digital gov efforts.

TOMORROW! API Webinar Series: An Introduction to APIs

API’s are an important data element agencies need to address when implementing the Digital Gov Strategy. In this first installment of our API webinar series, experts from NASA and the CDC will explain what APIs are, why they are important, and how they are covered in the Digital Government Strategy. This webinar will be moderated by Gray Brooks, Senior API Strategist at GSA’s Digital Services Innovation Center.

What You’ll Learn

• What an API is
• API examples and practices from the private and public sectors
• What the Digital Government Strategy says about APIs
• How your agency can get started

When: Thursday, July 19, 10 a.m.-11a.m. EST

Sign up for free!

July 25: Mobile Webinar Series: Mobile First

In this second webinar in our mobile webinar series, you’ll learn how to get your agency thinking “mobile first.” The Department of State and NIH’s National Cancer Institute will share their “mobile first” experiences in a webinar moderated by Gwynne Kostin, director of GSA’s Digital Services Innovation Center.

What You’ll Learn

• How a “mobile first” approach can support device–agnostic content delivery—as called for in the recently released Digital Government Strategy
• How to cultivate a “mobile first” approach in your agency
• How challenges, lessons learned and tips can help you think “mobile first”

When: Wednesday, July 25, 2-3 p.m. EST

Sign up for free!

July 31: USASearch Mobile Gov Wikithon!

USASearch and the Mobile Gov PMO are teaming up to cohost an “Improving Mobile Search” wikithon where members of the USASearch team will be working on improving their mobile search results and their responsive design implementation.