The Obama administration has kept up its efforts on the pledge to use social networking and online outreach to encourage community service.

First, we'll note that federal statistics suggest that volunteer work is alive and well under Obama. In 2011, 64.3 million Americans did volunteer work through an organization, up by 1.5 million compared to 2010. In all, Americans volunteered nearly 8 billion hours, with a majority of Americans volunteering in some fashion and more than one-third actively participating in a civic, religious, or school group.

As we noted in our previous update, the focus for this effort has been the website serve.gov, run by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service. The site includes a blog, a search function to find volunteer opportunities by type and location, and ways to share personal volunteering experiences and to post your own project so other volunteers can join it. The website also directs visitors to a Facebook page and Twitter feed, both of which, like the blog, appear to be updated frequently.

Not every aspect of this lengthy promise is reflected in the website -- we didn't find a way to track individuals" hours of service, for instance -- but serve.gov appears to support the vast bulk of pledge made during the 2008 campaign. We rate it a Promise Kept.

During the campaign, President Obama pledged to use social networking and online outreach to encourage community service. When we last looked at this promise in January 2009, we rated it In the Works, since the administration set up a new website to connect people with volunteer opportunities. The website was still in early stages, and was focused primarily on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The website also stated that "details on how to stay active in the future will be coming soon." We're well into the second year of Obama's presidency, so we wanted to check how things have been developing.

Directing our Internet browser to serve.gov, it's clear that the web developers have been keeping busy. The website is now integrated with social networks like Facebook, which allows individuals to create projects and invite their friends to join. There are also "toolkits" that provide step-by-step guides on how to setup and coordinate various volunteering initiatives. To help users find volunteering opportunities, the site is integrated with All For Good, a website that serves as an aggregator of volunteering projects that are posted by various non-profit groups. Just type in a keyword and a zip code and the site will print out a list of opportunities in your area.

Still, Obama also promised that the new website will allow users to rate their experiences, keep track of hours, and even compete for awards from local foundations. We weren't able to find any of those features on the website. We spoke with a representative from Corporation for National and Community Service, a government body that oversees the website, and were told that there are plans under way to implement several of those features.

The new website isn't everything that President Obama promised, but users can now search for volunteering opportunities, the system is integrated with social networks, and there are plans to include additional features. For now, the rating remains In the Works.

Barack Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee created USAservice.org, a Web site to connect people with volunteer opportunities. The site's initial focus was on encouraging people to volunteer on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The site, which was unveiled Jan. 9, 2009, allows organizations to post service projects. Volunteers can easily search the projects to find one that meets their time and talents. The volunteers then sign up online and enter their contact information.

The site will continue in some form after the King holiday, according to information on its "Frequently Asked Questions" page.

"The goal is for MLK Day to reignite the American tradition of service and volunteerism and to that end the current call to action is viewed as a starting point. Details on how to stay active in the future will be coming soon," the site said.

While we wait to see what comes next, we're updating this promise to In the Works.