Electronic Distribution of Local Government News and Information

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Electronic Distribution
of Local Government News
and Information

• Local Government Webmasters Meeting
• September 23, 2004 -- Seattle, Washington
• Quinn RobinsonMunicipal Research Services
  Center

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Information and the 21st Century

• Were drowning in information
• We need to search harder to find authoritative
  information and knowledge
• We have multiple sources to consult, both analog
  and digital, when looking for information
• Objectivity and bias continues to be a problem
  with news sources
• People expect corporations and governments to be
  open and transparent

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Things Used to Be So Much Easier...
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Overview

• Traditional Methods of Delivering Government News
  and Info
• Goals of Electronic Distribution of Local
  Government News and Information
• Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
  and Info
• Optimizing HTML and Graphics for E-mail Delivery
• Text and Typography
• A Sample Mass E-mail Application
• Conclusion

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Traditional Methods of Delivering Government News
and Info
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Traditional Methods of Delivering Government News
and Info

• Method Town Crier
• Benefits clear message citizens can ask
  questions and interact with town crier dress is
  very showy
• Drawbacks News travels only as fast as
  messenger must be present to hear the news town
  crier only a messenger, so if you ask a question
  you dont get authoritative answer

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Traditional Methods of Delivering Government News
and Info

• Method Bulletin Board
• Benefits citizens can access news whenever they
  visit information can be scrutinized
• Drawbacks some citizens unable to visit some
  citizens and children cant read notices can be
  removed by hooligans

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Traditional Methods of Delivering Government News
and Info

• Method Newspapers
• Benefits news delivered directly to citizens
  can reach a wide audience trusted source (?)
• Drawbacks news delivery is delayed controlled
  by media, not governments expensive to
  distribute

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Traditional Methods of Delivering Government News
and Info

• Method Television/Radio
• Benefits instant news delivery news delivered
  directly to citizens can reach a wide audience
  government cable channels/radio stations
• Drawbacks controlled by media, not governments
  expensive to distribute

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Traditional Methods of Delivering Government News
and Info

• Important NoteThese traditional methods
  (bulletin boards, newspapers, television and
  radio) are still valid and can be used in
  conjunction with new methods of delivering
  government news and information electronically
• You can still hire a town crier for local events

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Goals of Electronic Distribution of Government
News and Info
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Goals of Electronic Distribution of Government
News and Info

• Open government 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and
  365 days a year (366 days on leap years!)
• Allows communication with citizens wherever they
  are, even if out of range of newspapers,
  television and radio broadcasts
• Provide centralized and distributed access to
  news and information
• Connect and interact with citizens (two-way
  communication)
• Provide government services, electronic
  transactions and electronic messaging

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Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
and Info
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Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
and Info

• MethodUsenet Newsgroups
• Benefits Decentralized and inexpensive easy to
  post messages
• Drawbacks Requires computer and Internet
  connection need to download a news reader not
  really used for news much anymore
• More informationhttp//www.landfield.com/govnews
  /geid.html

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Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
and Info

• MethodWorld Wide Web Sites
• Benefits Centralized information presentation
  and management analysis of visitor statistics
  gateway for government information and news easy
  distribution of news, info and files
• Drawbacks Requires computer and Internet
  connection users must visit site in order to
  benefit slow connections for modem users
• More informationhttp//www.mrsc.org/Subjects/Inf
  oServ/localgov.aspx

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Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
and Info

• Important NoteUsenet Newsgroups and World Wide
  Web Sites are useful, but as compared to
  traditional methods of news delivery (town crier,
  newspaper, television and radio), these two
  methods dont really deliver news and information
  to citizens without user action. These two
  methods have their strengths but there are other
  methods that can deliver information to citizens
  more directly with less user action, similar to
  traditional methods

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Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
and Info

• MethodE-mail Newsletters, Bulletins and Notices
• Benefits E-mail centrally created but widely
  distributed no user action required after
  subscription news and alerts can be instantly
  delivered statistical analysis of delivey and
  clickthroughs possible
• Drawbacks Requires computer and Internet
  connection users must first subscribe to
  updates slow connections for modem users may be
  confused with spam
• More informationhttp//contacts.gsa.gov/listgov.
  nsf/FirstGovEmailListDistribution?Openform

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Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
and Info

• MethodRSS Feeds
• Benefits Centralized information information
  downloaded to citizens desktops easy
  distribution of news and hyperlinks not confused
  with spam
• Internet connection users must subscribe to RSS
  feeds to receive them
• More infohttp//channels.lockergnome.com/rss/res
  ources/
• Comparison between E-mail and RSS
  http//weblogs.asp.net/alexbarn/archive/2004/05/2
  2/139461.aspx

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Tools for Electronic Delivery of Government News
and Info

• Make it easy to subscribe to your e-mail
  newsletter possibly, add a link to subscribe on
  your homepage (see screenshot that follows)

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Optimize HTML and Graphics for E-mail Delivery
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Optimize HTML and Graphics for E-mail Delivery

• Use simple tables and specify table background
  colors (in case email software has colored
  background)
• Removing CSS tags from your messages (not
  supported in all e-mail readers)
• Avoiding JavaScript, Flash and Java applets (also
  not supported in all e-mail readers)
• Resizing and compressing images
• Slicing larger images into smaller images

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Optimize HTML and Graphics for E-mail Delivery

• Sample of two different versions of MRSC Web
  Update E-mail Notice
• Simple Design (lots of scrolling
  required)http//www.mrsc.org/Subjects/InfoServ/w
  ebmastr/040923/presentations/files/wedraft7.htm
• Compact Design (less scrolling required)http//w
  ww.mrsc.org/Subjects/InfoServ/webmastr/040923/pres
  entations/files/wedraft23.htm

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Text and Typography
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Text and Typography

• Use sans-serif fonts (Verdana, Arial, etc) for
  headlines and titles
• Use readable type for main text
• Ensure font harmony throughout the email
• Use GIF format for text graphics
• JPEG graphics dont do text graphics well

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A Sample Mass E-mail Application
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A Sample Mass E-mail Application

• Features
• Importation of existing e-mail lists
• Targeting e-mail messages to people based on
  user-defined attributes (zip code, employer,
  etc.)
• E-mail creation with or without knowledge of HTML
  (though greater control possible with HTML)
• Tracking of e-mail opens and clickthroughs using
  web beacons (images embedded in emails)
• Choice of HTML or text e-mails by subscribers
• Compliance with CAN-SPAM Act of
  2003http//www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html

Doesnt work if e-mail client has images turned
off by default
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A Sample Mass E-mail Application

• Screenshots (following this slide)
• E-mail Creation and Management Module (create
  e-mail from scratch or using HTML and graphics)
• Subscriber Management Module (import e-mail
  lists, add and remove addresses)
• E-mail Tracking Module (tracks e-mails delivered,
  opened and links clicked on)
• E-mail Content Scanner (provides suggestions to
  help your message NOT be deleted by spam filters)

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A Sample Mass E-mail Application

• There are many other mass e-mail applications on
  the market, and so we are NOT promoting one
  specifically here are some currently used
• MRSC uses ExactTargethttp//www.exacttarget.com/
  
• AWC uses MagnetMailhttp//www.realmagnet.com/
• A Local Companys Product (Microsoft)http//www.m
  icrosoft.com/smallbusiness/products/online/lb/deta
  il.mspx
• Business Listingshttp//www.business.com/director
  y/advertising_and_marketing/online_marketing/email
  _marketing/

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Conclusion

• Use electronic communication methods to support
  traditional methods of communication
• Help Web site visitors subscribe to e-mail
  newsletters and use newsletters to drive people
  to your Web site
• Start with the goal in mind
• Choose e-mail software vendors carefully
• Make your content accessible to different email
  readers
• Test your content without images turned on and
  make sure it looks OK