The internet can provide access to many valuable services, resources, education, information and opportunities of particular value to underserved communities. Yet one in five U.S. adults still did not use the internet. Could mobile internet access help underserved communities leapfrog ahead? What role might local initiatives play? A new report offers some insight from around the world.

This spring, a new report from the New America Foundation Open Technology Institute, Mobile Leapfrogging and Digital Divide Policy, examined the adoption of advanced or state-of-the-art technology in areas where immediate prior technology had not been adopted. For instance, regions where people went from having no telephony to using mobile phones to conduct or augment everyday activities; or where some types of education became available for the first time through distance learning, etc.

This report noted, "Mobile internet access has proven effective in strengthening social ties within marginalized communities, and has enabled many community members to improve their earning potential via the information and professional contacts accessible online."

What does the digital divide look like in the U.S.? According to Pew Internet's April 2012 Digital Differences report: 20% of U.S. adults do not use the internet. These people are most likely to be over age 65, lack a high school education, or live in households earning less than $20,000/year.

Why aren't these Americans online? By and large, it's not a matter of cost, lack of local internet access, or lack of devices. Rather, among current U.S. non-internet users, almost half (48%) told Pew that the main reason they don't go online is because they don't believe the internet is relevant to them.

This represents an opportunity for local initiatives to engage underserved communities:

1. Discover what interests or entertains them most -- whether it seems like an important or local issue, or not.
2. Use this insight into their interests to demonstrate why the internet is relevant to their lives or interests.
3. Once they're motivated to get online, help them do so -- including via the mobile devices they probably already use daily. Teach them useful skills and show them helpful resources. (Grants from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce Broadband technology Adoption Program may help.)

1. Fun is relevant! The report noted that research from South Africa and elsewhere found that mobile usage was much higher for entertainment and social activities (including social media) than for "serious" content and services such as news and education. If your community is more likely to use mobile devices than computers, understand that the internet is somewhat more challenging to use via mobile devices -- so it needs to provide a considerable and immediate emotional payoff to spur motivation. Therefore, make sure you're offering (or pointing to) at least some mobile-friendly online resources that are mostly fun and/or sociable -- not just serious, practical stuff.

Never underestimate the power of funny videos and images, local music and culture, sports and other fun stuff to serve as engagement hooks to get underserved communities interested in going online at all. Fun is inherently relevant to everyone; don't dismiss it. If fun stuff that may seem trivial entices people to get online and learn basic digital skills, that will make more serious or useful offerings more accessible and interesting to them.

2. Know what mobile does, and doesn't, do well. At this point the mobile internet experience isn't exactly equivalent to a computer with wired or wifi broadband access. Even with faster 4G mobile networks, smartphones and tablets tend to lack memory and processor capacity compare to laptop and desktop computers. They also present more challenges for typing, printing, saving files for offline use, and variable connection speed. Plus, since most U.S. carriers no longer offer unlimited wireless broadband plans, data charges have become a constraining factor for some of the most compelling high-bandwidth mobile internet uses such as streaming video. (Unless users have easy access to cheap or free wifi.)

Therefore, it's important to understand what's easy to do online via mobile devices, and which use cases really do require a computer with a broadband connection. Then, target your digital/mobile initiatives, training, and services accordingly. For instance, the Grand Rapids Community Foundation encourages community members to use computers to fill out complex scholarship applications -- but sends text message reminders about finishing pending applications before the deadline.

3. Make locally relevant content mobile friendly. The report found that around the world, one of the biggest obstacles to communities benefitting from mobile internet access has been the lack of mobile-friendly content that is locally produced, or locally relevant. This tends to steer mobile internet users to major content platforms and social media such as Google, YouTube, WikiPedia and Facebook.

Also, according to the report, research in several countries has shown that information seeking is not a leading activity for mobile users. Rather, they tend to do more passive information gathering (from watching videos to scanning social media), not searches or deep dives into websites -- unless they're trying to accomplish a specific task, such as finding out where to call to register their child for school. Given this, if the people that you're trying to engage or serve rely mainly on mobile devices for internet access, offer a mix of "passive" content (stories, explainers, etc.) and easy-to-use "active" content, such as searchable databases, directories, or lists of useful links.

Also, use your own smartphone to check out what local governments, schools and service organizations are offering online. Are there opportunities to make their online content or services (including e-mail newsletters) more mobile-friendly? Could their websites be easier to navigate with a small touchscreen? Might text messaging for alerts or interactivity, maps, appointment schedulers, 311-style information services, or click-to-call functionality play a role? Advising and helping more local institutions to better serve your community via mobile can encourage people to use their phones more to improve their lives.

Low computer skills and literacy are a barrier to mobile internet use. According to the report, research in several countries has shown that people tend to use the mobile internet more if they have some prior experience with computers (especially going online from computers) and if they have at least basic literacy. This is the second-level digital divide: "The gaps in relevant technology usage skill sets that can persist even after disparities in technology access have been addressed." If computer skills and literacy are lagging in local underserved populations, it would make sense to address those gaps first -- and later move on to showing people how to do more with their phones.