Online Hispanic Trends

Share Your Ideas on How Federal Websites Can Better Serve Limited English Proficient Latinos Online

If you have ideas regarding how the government can improve federal websites, please join the discussion and share them in the National Dialogue on Improving Federal Websites that started today!

It's a two week online dialogue, from Sept. 19-30th, and the government would like to hear your ideas and suggestion on what it should do to improve federal websites in the following areas: 

1. Creating better user experience, navigation, and design
2. Improving content to make it more readable, engaging, and useful
3. Improving how services and transactions are delivered
4. Providing universal access to government content online, regardless of device or technology
5. Optimizing the way the public is able to search for federal content, via federal websites and commercial search engines
6. Ensuring content on federal websites is integrated with social media and other third-party websites
7. Improve how federal websites protect privacy and security
8. Reaching global audiences and people with limited English proficiency 

You can access the general discussion here, and if you'd like to comment specifically on how the government can improve its communications with limited English proficient Latinos and other multilingual audiences (Point #8), share them here. 

There will also be a mini-dialogue specifically dedicated to the last point - better serving multilingual audiences and limited English proficient audiences - on September 26th at 1:00 pm EST, so save the date and join us in a real-time, interactive discussion on the topic.

 

 

How the CDC and the March of Dimes are Effectively Engaging the Online Hispanic Community

Please join us on March 23rd at 1:00 pm for a free webinar on the topic of how government agencies and nonprofit organizations are using social media to reach and engage Latinos online. 

 

For more information and to sign up, please visit Bixal's Blog.

 

Public-Private Collaboration to Increase Latino Academic Achievement

Univision, the Department of Education and the Gates Foundation have recently teamed up on an exciting three-year, multi-platform national education initiative called "Es El Momento" (The Moment is Now) aimed at improving academic achievement of Hispanic K-12 students. The campaign is focused on improving the high school graduation rate, which is currently at 55 percent for the Hispanic population as compared to 69 percent for their non-Hispanics peers.

In addition to PSAs, TV and radio, the campaign is offering a comprehensive web presence and mobile resources, including questions and answers with the popular motivational radio personality Dr. Isabel, a school locator widget and weekly mobile text alerts with relevant educational tips. Visitors will also be able to find local resources through website feeds in the future. 

This is a terrific example of public private partnerships creatively coming together to address the pressing needs of the community. We should see more of this happening on a regular basis.

Check out the online presence here or by clicking the image below.

Source: Hispanicad.com

Latinos Changing the US Political Landscape

By now most people recognize that Latinos are changing the US political landscape. But are political parties, both Democrats and Republicans, listening to what Latinos have to say?  Probably not, or at least that is the reading of an article by Washington Post staff writer Peter Levin on how “Republicans look to gain traction with Hispanic voters.”

Levin highlights a recent NBC-Wall Street poll that shows a drop of Hispanic support for the Democratic Party, just a year after voting in record numbers for President Obama.  

The article also cites hard-liners and “tea party” activists’ posture on immigration issues as the main reason why Republicans are still struggling to engage Latinos voters.

The article provides hard data on how political parties should be paying close attention to Hispanic voting behavior and population changes. Hispanics are the fastest growing segment in the US and their voting power has increased twofold over the last two decades. The article also underscores how important is that politicians listen to Latinos to really understand their perspectives and priorities.

Reaching Out to Hispanics: What Government Agencies Need to Know

I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by Rockcreek Strategic Marketing on what I think government agencies should take into consideration when reaching out to the quickly growing Hispanic / Latino community.

You can read the interview here: Reaching Out to Hispanics: What Government Agencies Need to Know

FEMA launches a Revamped Spanish-language Website

An article in Federal News Week highlights the debut of FEMA's revamped Spanish-language website, which offers news about disasters, preparedness assistance, a family registry and a locator service in Spanish.

Craign Fugate, FEMA admistrator said “We are happy to announce this updated Web site, which will ensure that communities across the country continue to have the tools necessary to be prepared before an emergency or disaster strikes.”

FEMA follows the  U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, which launched a Spanish-language site with interactive features in September.

The list of other federal agencies who offer Spanish-language sites includes GobiernoUSA.gov - a Web portal to multiple federal agencies, the Social Security Administration, and the Veterans Administration, which offers part of its information on benefits in Spanish.

 

Source: Federal Computer Week and Scott Johnson of Rockcreek Strategic Marketing

NASA Astronaut Starts Agency's First Bilingual Twitter

NASA, one of the government agencies that has been doing some interesting work in the use of social media for the general market, has figured out a way to promote its mission with the Hispanic community. 

Jose Hernandez, who is set to fly aboard space shuttle Discovery in August, will be twittering about his training experience in English and Spanish.

Read the Nasa press release to learn more about this initiative and Jose's interesting background and sign up to follow Jose at http://www.twitter.com/astro_jose.