Public Engagement in the Digital Age2009-09-10

 The Pew Internet & American Life Project just released the most detailed study I’ve seen on The Internet and Civic Engagement. It’s a must read for those who want to connect with the American public and build support for their ideas—online or off.

 This study puts a fine point on the tactical advice necessary to communicate with--and to persuade Americans: namely, we have to follow the trend of disaggregation to successfully engage our audience.

 While there is a distinct bias towards who is likely to get civically and politically involved (higher income/more educated Americans), or how particular cohorts take action (ex. adults are more likely to email a letter to the editor vs. send a physical letter through the US Postal System); it’s clear the most successful public engagement programs will use all communication methods at their disposal.

For example, online petitions are good, but more adults have signed paper ones--suggesting that old-fashioned shoe leather still needs to be part of any advocacy campaign. Likewise, email list serves are key (57% of wired group members use email as the primary mode of communication), but at the same time 28 percent of American adults involved in a civic or political group use offline tools exclusively like face-to-face meetings, newsletters and conference calls.

Overall, the online landscape hasn’t transcended the usual suspects typically involved in civic affairs; it’s just given those individuals more ways to communicate. Forty-five percent of those earning $100,000 or more each year are what Pew defines as “actively engaged” as opposed to only eight percent of those earning less than $20,000 per year. Of this wealthier cohort, 73 percent of online activists are also active offline.

 That being said, social media skeptics decrying Facebook, Twitter and blogging as nothing more than glorified narrowcasting for the under-30 set miss the point. Those who use blogs or social media sites for civic engagement are far more active in more traditional realms of political and non-political participation than other Internet users or those who don’t use the Internet at all—regardless of age.

In fact, according to the study blogs and social media are breaking down barriers and drawing in a more diverse socio-economic mix of participants, suggesting successful public engagement campaigns of the future will cast more lines even more narrowly to connect with their audience.