What The 'New Social Operating System' Means For Government

Over the past 12 years, the influence of the Internet has grown to the extent that Americans now “live in networks,” according to an expert on how digital trends are affecting American society -- and that development has serious implications for the way federal agencies interact with the citizens they serve.

The growth of broadband networks and mobile devices since 2000 “has brought new actors into civic spaces,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. “These folks are sometimes on the warpath, and government agencies need to be responsive to that.”

Rainie spoke Monday at Nextgov Prime, a Government Executive Media Group event on technology and government’s future. Fully 85 percent of Americans are now Internet users, according to Pew’s research, and 66 percent of them have broadband connections at home. Even more significantly, large numbers of those online have become content creators. Almost 70 percent use social networking sites. Even among those 65 and older, 50 percent are online and 38 percent use social networks.