TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

U.S. and China Leverage Official Apps

R. Colin Johnson | Date: 04-28-11 | Comments

The governments of the world are issuing smartphone and touch-screen tablet apps to stoke their public relations efforts, with recent new offerings from both the White House and Beijing.

Both the United States and China have well-documented cyberspace attack strategies, but each is also adding a carrot to their stick, by offering free downloadable apps for iPhone, iPad and Android that portray a more flattering super-power profile.

The U.S. Administration has had over 400,000 downloads of the Whitehouse iPhone app so far, and hopes to match or exceed that mark with its recent upgrade and announcement of support for the Android operating system, too. The app was crafted because smartphones and touch-screen tablets are increasing their presence, according to the Administration, with nearly 7 percent of visits to WhiteHouse.gov currently on iOS or Android operating systems, up from 3.6 percent for the same period last year.

The White House app provides a news blog authored by the Administration as well as video clips of the president's major addresses and instant message alerts of impending live Obama speeches that users can watch within the app.

The White House iPhone app includes its official blog, which recounts all the major announcements as well as covers all the current events surrounding the president, from new legislation and programs to positioning statements and behind-the-scene photos. And a video tab lists movies, from speeches to Q&As to the recent Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn.

Under the photos tab, the White House iPhone app shows a page of thumbnails that serve as starting points for slideshows featuring President Obama with dignitaries from around the world, roaming the halls of the White House, traveling to all points of the globe and interacting with the people of America at his Town Hall meetings.

The newsroom tab keeps users up-to-date, with the transcripts of every major speech and talk, and many of Obama's informal conversations, as well as the statements given by his press secretary, and the various formal remarks and proclamations made by the president. But the crowning technological achievement of the White House iPhone app is its ability to give advance notice of Obama's talks, forums and other speaking engagements, which can then be viewed live from within the app.

China One-Ups U.S. with iPad App

The White House app runs on the iPad, but is not yet optimized for it like China's State Council Information Office app. SCIO crafted the China SCIO app to offer "white papers" on various topics in Chinese and English, from national defense to ethnicity to human rights to Internet development. The app also features videos of new conferences and an image gallery, but not much else.

China's iPad app, produced by its State Council Information Office, offers views of the people and culture of China, as well as its development agenda and official party line. (Source: Apple Store)

China's SCIO app doesn't hold a candle to the White House app today�ditto for China's attempts to one-up Google with its own search engine services, one-up Twitter with its own microblogging sites and one-up YouTube with its own online video portals. However, as the world's biggest economy grows, the Chinese will likely improve all these efforts over time.