Adapting Outreach Strategies for Changing Internet Use

The recent "Digital Differences" report from the Pew Internet Project contains a wealth of fascinating information on the ways in which different demographic segments of America's population access the internet. With a wealth of platforms used by community members to access the internet, a one-size-fits-all strategy for public outreach, such as simply developing a project website, may limit your potential pool of participants. As Haller notes, it is "important to consider other methods now gaining traction to
help you reach out to citizens in alternate ways to engage the citizens
of your community in the planning process."

Among some of the relevant findings on the report to consider when devising a public outreach plan:

• The rise of mobile is changing the story. Groups that have
  traditionally been on the other side of the digital divide in basic
  internet access are using wireless connections to go online. 
  
• Email and search are today's most common Internet activities, but other
  activities are becoming pervasive as well. Using social networking
  sites, a pursuit once dominated by young adults, is now done by 65% of
  Internet users- representing a majority of the total adult population.
• The 27% of adults living with disability in the U.S. today are significantly less likely than adults without a disability to go online (54% vs. 81%).
• One in five American adults does not use the internet. Senior
  citizens, those who prefer to take our interviews in Spanish rather than
  English, adults with less than a high school education, and those
  living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the least
  likely adults to have internet access.