Future is Now - Online Engagement for Democracy and Community

Steven Clift
stevenclift.com
e-democracy.org
@democracy
Future is Now: Online Engagement in Democracy and CommunityPresented in Kenya, Oct. 2010
For related webinars see http://e-democracy.org/webinarsSlides: http://slideshare.net/netclift

Introduction

Introduction
1994 – I woke up hearing my name on the radio …
World’s 1st election info website

Government by Day, Citizen by Night

“Made for Internet” Candidate
Jesse “The Body” Ventura elected Minnesota Governor in 1998
Used Net to go around media, organize with few resources

Served One TermThen Adopted New Look
Gov. Ventura, didn’t use tech himself
New generation of more deeply “wired” elected officials now emerging

Gathered Stories. Ashoka Fellow.
Visits to nearly 30 countries from Iceland to Mongolia to Australia
Ashoka Fellowship allowed me to focus full-time on building E-Democracy.org from volunteer hobby to full NGO.

E-Democracy.org Today
Hosts 30+ Local “Issues Forums”
Mix of technology – e-mail, web, web feeds, Facebook, Twitter
Ford Foundation-funded “Inclusive Social Media” effort in low income, high immigrant communities (including Somali community in Minneapolis)

Internet Archeology

“The most democratizing aspect of the Internet is the ability of people to organize and communicate in groups.”- Steven Clift in “Democracy is Online” article published by Internet Society, 1998

Overview

Overview
Introduction
Know Your Goal
Tools, Tactics, and Examples
Social Media for Engagement and Community Building In-Depth
Further Exploration

Know Your Goals
Goals and objectives first
Democracy Building
Education, Awareness
Engagement
Accountability
Public Relations, Keeping Power
Advocacy, Protest, Change
Then choose tools and tactics

Know Your Goals
Presentation examples are tactics …
Don’t just set-up a Facebook Page and then ask what should we do with it?
Develop an online strategy

Competition for Revelancy
Time is the scarcity
Continuous diffusion of online spaces
Newer trend – Reaching people where they are – the “Web 2.0” world

“Digital Embassies” - Edelman
Reaching people “where they are” via third party social media tools versus websites you ”own”

Tools and Tactics

Campaigns and Advocacy

Advocacy - Mobile

Mobile Campaigning
Democrats.org iPhone Canvassing App

Information
The starting point
“Open Government” promises on the rise. WhiteHouse.gov/Open
“Needle in a Haystack” problem,

Government Online – PewInternet.org
April 2010 report brings fresh data:
48% of internet users have looked for information about a public policy or issue online with their local, state or federal government
46% have looked up what services a government agency provides
41% have downloaded government forms
35% have researched official government documents or statistics
33% have renewed a driver’s license or auto registration
31% use online platforms such as blogs, social networking sites, email, online video or text messaging to get government information
23% participate in the online debate around government policies or issues, with much of this discussion occurring outside of official government channels.

Democracy “Home”
Public-centric starting point
Bristol, UK
Palo Alto, California

Timely Access to Information
Key e-service –e-alerts so you can ACT on information before it is too late!

Representation – Cllr. Cam Gordon

Representation – Mayor Rybak
Great mix of social tools.
Why must official sites be boring?

Public Meetings On-Demand
Linked video, documents
Also see PublicMeetings.Info

Freedom of Information Requests
UK WhatDoTheyKnow.com shares results online

Accountability – Budgets, Spending
South Carolina state agencies must put spending information online
Candidates making promises

Using Open Data – Personalized to You
Everyblock.com
Data.Gov
Open KnowledgeFoundation
UK Government

Information – Creating New
FixMyStreet.com – UK
CrowdMap– Ushahidi- Kenya

Really Deep Transparency
Post-Communist Estonia appreciates “public=online”
Tallinn’s Document Register, National X-Road provides secure access to private data held on you

Engagement In-Depth

Engagement
UK Lessons
AskBristol.org
Redbridge.gov.uk – Budget balancer

Engagement - Public Input
Santa Cruz – UserVoice
Queensland, Australia
Manor “Labs” Texas

Engagement – E-Consultation
Queensland, Australia
King County, Washington
Open Gov Mongolia
Agenda Tetu - Kenya

Engagement – Facebook Page
U.S. Embassy - Kenya

Engagement - Lessons
Recruit, recruit, recruit
Expectations - Describe space accurately – who is LISTENING
Facilitate – First person is best
“Seed and Weed” – Actively share information and address problems in dialogue.
Ongoing v. time-limited

Engagement – Ooops.
Santa Cruz – UserVoice was time-limited example … now generates error, gather lessons when you can
ParticipateDB.org – Excellent listing of projects and tools

Community of Practice Exchange
NewTactics.org
Digital Inclusion Network
Kabissa.org
CityCamp on GovLoop

Community of Practice Exchange
UK – Idea.Gov.UK
WorldBank Open Forum - Live Event, On-Demand Video
Zunia – Collaborative Library on Development

Engagement – Multi-Channel
Trac in Uganda to mix community radio, web, SMS/mobile, in-person, and newspaper
Fix “Our” street together – Filled in worst pothole after SMS vote

Top Ten Lessons
BangTheTable – Ten Top Tips.
Me – Old, but timeless ten tips – stevenclift.com

Community Building In-Depth

Many Purposes
Meet
Communicate
Socialize
Share Information, Contacts, Advice
Support Neighbors
Exchange Opinions
Media Accountability
Community News
Announce/Invite
Organize
Collaborate
Problem-solving
Build bridges/Inclusion
Influence Government

Local “Community Sites”, Facebook
Stillwater, MN page has 10,000 friends (over 50% of local residents)
Citizen-run, others are government started

But wait, something is wrong …

Community News+
Terms: Citizen Media, Citizen Journalism, Hyperlocal News, Community Websites
TalkAboutLocal – UK, J-Lab - US
Seward Profile – Example
Posterous.com – E-mail to blog, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter all in one

Dear Neighbors …
This month the Southside Star Community Garden opened!
3.0 - Community collaboration, problem-solving
Opening “organic” hot topic on Standish Ericsson Neighbors Forum in Dec. 2008: http://e-democracy.org/se
Dear Neighbors, My name is Michael and I'm interested in establishing a community garden in our neighborhood.
Dozens of messages, offers to help, and a call for a meeting.
500 members, 10%+ of households in May 2010

Pew Internet and American Life Project
Neighbors Online27% of American adult Internet users use “digital tools to talk to their neighbors and keep informed about community issues.”That’s 20% adults overall.

Real names work, builds trust and communityNeeded in “public life,” not just Facebook’s private life

Our Issues …
<- Kenyan, Julia Opoti works with E-Democracy.org

Neighbor Issues Forums Stories
Somali community – 20 missing youth to crosswalks
“Little Mekong” and BoaLee’s lessons
Powderhorn Cinco de Mayoviolence
Community garden
Chickens in Bemidji
Leech Lake Native American majority rural forum
Inclusion evaluation in progress:http://e-democracy.org/inclusion

Conclusion

Conclusion More - stevenclift.com
blog.e-democracy.org
@democracy
Ready. Fire. Aim.Develop a strategy, do stuff, then refine. Do not wait. Thanks.

Resources

Sunshine 2.0 – Draft IndicatorsGovernment 2.0 Report Collection
http://e-democracy.org/sunshine
Guide for national League of Women Voters
20+ Government 2.0 Reports
Earn Five “Suns,” 25 Draft Indicators
Representation
Decision-Making
Information
Engagement
Online Features

Webinars, Unconferences
Using Technology to Build Community In-Depth Webinar, Podcast:
http://e-democracy.org/webinars
CityCamp – Local Gov 2.0 meet Citizens 2.0
http://citycamp.com
http://e-democracy.org/citycamp - Forum

Twitter Hashtags
#edem – General e-democracy
#opengov – Open Government
#gov20 – Government 2.0
#opendata – Open Data
#hyperlocal – Local News
#citycamp – Local mix of everything above

Further Information
Steven Clift
clift@e-democracy.org
@democracy on Twitter
+1-612-234-7072
netclift – on Skype
Links
http://blog.e-democracy.org
http://e-democracy.org/p3
http://stevenclift.com
Slides also available from:
http://www.slideshare.net/netclift

Future is Now - Online Engagement for Democracy and Community

by Steven Clift on Oct 11, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

Future is Now - Online Engagement for Democracy and Community — Presentation Transcript