STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
B. BROADCASTING OF ABS DATA
27 Broadcasting in this context is defined as the proactive ("push") dissemination of information using the web site to suit a diverse range of user interests in a manner that facilitates communication. To do this effectively, we must ensure the information provided on the ABS web site is relevant to the diverse range of web users e.g. "visitors", "harvesters" and "miners". Reaching the potential audience will require some "pushing" of relevant data/information to the relevant users.
28 Email notification and RSS are current tools for "pushing" ABS data to subscribers. RSS is used to push Statistical Headline News whilst email notification is used to push hotlinks to publications. For the latter, we plan to refine the tool to provide better options for users to tailor the publication to their needs i.e. select targeted individual publications rather than targeted groups of publications. We are also keeping an eye on other "push" technologies that may be available for effective broadcasting of ABS data, such as the opportunities available from Personal Digital Assistants which increasingly have built-in wireless access to the internet.
29 The layered approach is fundamental to the ABS broadcasting strategy. "Tourists" who have limited knowledge of the types of statistical information available from the ABS web site, can browse the Statistical Headline News to look for interesting leads that will entice them to read more. On the other hand, experienced users, "harvesters"/"miners", can bookmark the relevant web page, thereby bypassing the common navigation paths and reducing the number of clicks required. Note that expert users of a particular field of statistics may well be a "tourist" in another field.
30 Animation and interaction are valuable options for enhancing communication of statistics and we will be looking for suitable opportunities to apply these techniques to more statistical material on the ABS web site. Traditionally ABS uses static graphs, charts etc. to give graphical representations of data. Recently we have included an animated population pyramid on the ABS web site, which demonstrates dynamically how the structure of the population changes from 1971 and 2051 (https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/home/population+pyramid+preview). For the 2006 Census, we plan to provide facilities on the web site for production of interactive thematic maps. Plans are also in place to use animation and interactive techniques for presenting statistical training materials on our Education Resource web pages.
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