Developing a Methodology for Costing the Impact of Digital Exclusion

This online consultation (they explain) was commissioned by the National Audit Office to inform its understanding of the evidence on the costs and benefits of digital inclusion activities.


The site

Econsultancy's Report on value of social media (sample only)

The Value of Social Media Report, produced by Econsultancy in association with Online Marketing Summit, looks at the extent of social media marketing being carried out by organizations, the tactics being used and the business objectives they are trying to impact through related activity.

Social media marketing includes the use of social networking sites and on-site activity including blogging, wikis, user-generated content, ratings and reviews.

The 59-page report, which is also available as a presentation, is based on an online survey of more than 400 (predominantly US-based) client-side marketers and agency respondents, which took place in December 2009 and January 2010.

The report includes sections covering:

* Social media activity
* Tactics and Web sites
* Budgets and investment
* Objectives, metrics and ROI
* Resourcing and barriers

Findings include:

* Facebook is the Web property mostly commonly used in social media, with 85% of companies using this site as part of their marketing strategy. This is followed by Twitter (77%), LinkedIn (58%) and YouTube (49%).
* Almost two-thirds of respondents (61%) say their organizations are “poor” (34%) or “very poor” (27%) at measuring ROI.
* Almost two-thirds of companies (61%) say that they “have experimented with social media, but not done that much.”
* A third of companies (32%) do not spend anything on social media marketing and a further 36% spend under $5,000 a year.
* A third of respondents (32%) are getting less than 1x the return on investment from social media.


download the sample report from econsultancy

BBC One 'should have more over-50s,' report says

Moira Stuart: removed from TV by the broadcaster (Getty Images)

A leading provider of housing and care for the elderly has accused the BBC of not having enough older people in its programmes compared to rival ITV.
[Link to story on BBC site]

1999 radio programme about ageing

AGEING
Listen now(30 minutes)
In RealMedia only.
Last broadcast on Thu, 28 Jan 1999, 21:30 on BBC Radio 4.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ageing. In 1900, 1% of the world’s population were over 65. In the 1990s nearly 8% are. By the year 2020, nearly 1/5th of the world’s population will be over 65 - the figure rises to 25% in the UK.

We are now living longer than at any time in our history. How much do economic factors, rather than biological factors, determine what ageing really means and our attitude to it? And what are the ethical, economic and biological implications of living longer?


Link to 30 minute RealMedia download page.

Facebook overtakes Google to become the most visited website in the US

Read today's CAMPAIGN article.

CfP: HCI special issue - Designing for Personal Memories

Human Computer Interaction journal is calling for papers for a special issue on Designing for Personal Memories.

They say:

As more and more media become digital (whether these be photos, videos /audio snippets, or even olfactory or haptic cues), new ways of cueing our memory are emerging. These will support, enhance, or possibly even undermine the way we remember our experiences. The growing importance of this research area is indicated by “Memories for Life”, one of the seven grand challenges identified by the UK Computing Research Committee, and by ambitious research programs at Microsoft Research, supporting “Digital Memories (Memex)”, and projects such as MyLifeBits and SenseCam. 

The focus of this special issue, Designing for Personal Memories, is on ordinary people using digital media to help them remember in everyday situations. This could mean developing interactive systems or services for supporting, enhancing or extending personal memories, but also studies that inform the design of these systems. Contributions could come from diverse fields, such as HCI, psychology, sociology, interaction design, engineering, computer science, design, material culture, etc. 

Link to call on Usability News site.

Web access is 'a basic human right'

A new survey conducted in 26 countries around the world reveals four out of five people believe internet access to be a right, not a privilege.

[Link]

The role of design in tackling the digital divide

Simon Roberts, design anthropologist at Intel, and at the International Longevity Centre - UK, considers the role of design in tackling the digital divide in this blog.

Read here