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OPA News Release: [08/10/2004]
Contact Name: Peggy
Abrahamson
Phone Number: (202) 693-5052
U.S. Department of Labor Unveils E-mail Subscription
Service
Website Users Can Receive Automatic E-mail
Updates
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) today announced a new
effort to expand website usage with the introduction of an e-mail subscription
management system.
The new e-mail subscription service will allow citizens to subscribe to
receive updates by e-mail when specific information they are interested in
changes. The e-mail update includes a direct link to the page of interest.
Superior to previous e-mail communication systems such a listservs, e-mail
subscription management provides users with more options to personalize
information so they receive fewer unwanted e-mails.
The new effort is based on the fact that e-mail is still the most
common use of the Internet. According to the Pew Internet Life Project, nearly
half of Internet users access e-mail while only 9% visit a government website
on any given day. Users often do not remember how to get back to information
once they find it on a government website and upwards of 70% of visitors do not
return.
The new service allows DOL to reach out to citizens in a medium they
use everyday and directly points them to the information they want. DOL expects
its web site usage to increase as a result of the e-mail subscription service.
In a pre-launch of the system involving Fair Pay initiative information, over
2,000 citizens signed up for updates on the fact sheets relating to the
initiative in less than 1 month with minimal promotion.
The department will be rolling out the system in phases with the first
including several major agencies in addition to the Office of the Secretary and
other information available from the DOL homepage. Initially, there will be 99
initial subscription options across 15 categories.
The DOL selected the GovDelivery® E-mail Subscription Management
system, provided by GovDocs Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota, to automate management
of its e-mail subscriptions across all agency websites.
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