OK, summer is over, you’ve had a week to get back into work mode, and so The Agitator is ready to offer some heavy lifting this week. We’ve been saving up some important stuff on social media.

First up is a new report from the Pew internet Project, called The Internet & Civic Engagement. As usual with Pew’s core research efforts, this one is packed with useful data and insights on how social nets are playing an increasing role in issue advocacy, discourse and donating.

I put it on the "Must Read" list if mobilizing people around causes and issues is part of your brief.

I can only barely scratch the surface by giving you their topline observations here:

• Whether they take place on the internet or off, traditional political activities remain the domain of those with high levels of income and education.
• There are hints that forms of civic engagement anchored in blogs and social networking sites could alter long-standing patterns that are based on socioeconomic status.
• Those who use blogs and social networking sites as an outlet for civic engagement are far more active in traditional realms of political and nonpolitical participation than are other internet users. In addition, they are even more active than those who do not use the internet at all.
• The internet is now part of the fabric of everyday civic life. Half of those who are involved in a political or community group communicate with other group members using digital tools such as email or group websites.
• Those who make political donations are more likely to use the internet to make their contributions than are those who make charitable donations; however, large political donations are much less likely to be made online than are large charitable donations.

Pew reports that just under one in five internet users (19%) have posted material about political or social issues or a used a social networking site for some form of civic or political engagement.

Of those who post issue material online, 33% make political/cause contributions (versus 18% for those who go online but do not post such material), 81% make charitable contributions (versus 74%), and 56% join political or civic groups (versus 38%).

Much to digest here. Make it your weekend project.

Tom

P.S. To our many non-US readers … I would be stunned if the behaviors and patterns evidenced in this US data weren’t paralleled in your neighborhoods.