True that the telephone is accessible, but at least in the US, phoning many government services gets one into a tree (thicket) of recorded menus and canned answers. Sometimes useful but a simple question can take an age to find the answer to, and anything more complex becomes an exercise in frustration.
Information is part of the goal, but presentation of it in a user friendly way is key, and often that means what in cyberspeak is sometimes termed speaking to a "live person." (Don't want to think of the alternative.) Quoting Kenan Jarboe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Andy -- thanks for posting this. Sometimes we forget how powerful the > "old" technologies (i.e. telephones) can be. I think the thrust of this > report is important -- "which electronic channels work best" I would even > drop the word "electronic". Our goal is access to government information, > services and decision-making -- through whatever means (channels) work best. > > Ken > > > > > > At 12:00 PM 5/6/2005, you wrote: > > > From GovTech.net, a UK story on achieving E-Government for All... -ac > > > > > >Want E-Gov? Pick Up the Phone > > > >In an attempt to find out which electronic channels work best for local > >governments -- and what local citizens think of the channels available for > >using e-government services -- the United Kingdom's Office of the Deputy > >Prime Minister conducted a study called the e-Citizen National Project. > > > >"One piece of good news is that Britons seem to like the idea of being > >e-citizens. Few, however, have tried it," writes Michael Cross in The > Guardian. > > > > The report highlights two groups of potential users -- the > > "progressives" include male, high-income earners with access to > > technology, and the "contenteds," who are happy with local government and > > comfortable with technology. But the report says these two groups need > > online government services the least, while the poor, minorities and > > other disenfranchised groups who need the services most aren't using > > them. That is partially because this segment of the population simply > > does not have access to the technology that Britain's local authorities > > want them to use when it comes to e-services. Nor do they particularly > > care to use computers to interact with government. > > > > Buried within the report is this fact: The most universal "e" channel in > > the UK is the telephone, to which 94 percent of the population has > > access. That percentage is about the same here in America." > > > ><snip> > > > > > >http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.php?channel=17&id=93902 > > > >-- > >----------------------------------- > >Andy Carvin > >Program Director > >EDC Center for Media & Community > >acarvin @ edc . org > >http://www.digitaldivide.net > >http://www.tsunami-info.org > >Blog: http://www.andycarvin.com > >----------------------------------- > > > > > Kenan Patrick Jarboe, Ph.D. > Athena Alliance > 911 East Capitol Street, SE > Washington, DC 20003-3903 > (202) 547-7064 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.AthenaAlliance.org > http://www.IntangibleEconomy.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
