Post on 10-Sep-2014
description
e-democracy.org
Social Media in Public Life
Steven Clift, E-Democracy.Org
e-democracy.org
1. Introduction
2. Online Civic Engagement 101 – “e-democracy”
3. Social Media in Public Life Examples
4. Issues Forums and Participation 3.0
e-democracy.org
Introduction
• Steven Clift or – stevenclift.com– @democracy on
• Founder, E-Democracy.Org in 1994 – volunteer until today
• Executive Director today
• International e-democracy consultant, speeches across 26 countries, advised the UN, OECD, etc.
• Ashoka Fellowship supported 3 year full-time focus on E-Democracy.Org
e-democracy.org
One morning I awoke to hear …
• It all started in 1994 …
– Minnesota E-Democracy, the world’s first election information website
– Post-election “Issues Forum” continued – our role “discovered”: a trusted, neutral host of civil, agenda-setting online dialogue among people with differing perspectives and backgrounds
• Government by day, citizen by night …
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A new Athens for Democracy?
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The Big Problem
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The Big Problem
• Social media/networking is “publicizing” private life not building public life in our communities
• National politics online is stuck in divided partisan echo chambers
Source: The Political Blogosphere and the 2004 U.S. Election: Divided They BlogBy Lada Adamic and Natalie Glance
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Big Local Problem: Online News Comments
• Anonymous/Behind Aliases- Mainstream Media Adopting Poor, Divisive Model
• Negative, Vitriolic, Worst in Us Flame Fest
• Poisoning the pool for local use of the Internet for community engagement
• Media now undermining their democratic mission in community
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ONLINE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 101
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Defining e-democracy• E-democracy is:
– the use information and communication technologies and strategies
– by “democratic sectors”
– within the political processes of local communities, states, nations and on the global stage.
- E-Democracy.Org promotes active citizen participation by taking the “e-citizen” perspective
Political Groups
Non-ProfitCivic
Groups
Government
Media and Commercial
Content
E-Citizens
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Government Sampler
• Some Quick Examples Next
• For detailed government, media, advocacy, “democracy sector” examples see:
– Great Expectations: After the vote – citizens online, e-democracy in governance, and White House 2.0 – Slides and audio: http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/132
– How the Internet Can Support Government Transparency and Citizen Engagement Presentation: http://stevenclift.com/?p=232
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Organize Supporters – Gather E-mail
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Government Transparency
State list maintained by Center for Fiscal Accountability
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Government E-Alerts
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E-Petitions Hosted by Gov in UK
• UK Prime Minister’s E-Petitions– http://petitions.number10.gov.uk
• Kingston upon Thames– http://www.kingston.gov.uk/information/your_council/epetitions.htm
15
7+ percent of British population have signed an e-petition
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Democracy/Consultation Portal
• Queensland’s democracy portal, policy - AU– http://www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au
• Ask Bristol Consultation and Webcasting - UK– http://www.askbristol.com
16
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Reusing Local Gov/Other Data
• Everyblock.com– http://everyblock.com
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Read
• Sidewalks for Democracy Online, in Rebooting America book
• Ten Practical Steps for Government Support of Democracy Online commissioned by General Services Administration
• See “Articles” section at:– http://stevenclift.com
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SOCIAL MEDIA IN (LOCAL) PUBLIC LIFE
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Citizen Media
• Use of online tools by the public to express themselves, share news, etc.
• As individuals, as hosted by “media,” or via new associations
• “Local voices” – Our interest is in local/geographic uses by local people for local people – rural communities, neighborhoods
• Output: News, information, expression
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Online Engagement
• Highly interactive use of social media in public life NOT just private life
• Citizen-to-citizen, government/institution input from public or under hosts auspice
• Not well explored
• Output: Participation, informed public, expression, better decisions, public problem-solving, community building
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Minnesota Voices Online• Online community of practice leading
up to in-person “unconference”– http://e-democracy.org/unconf – Aggressive online outreach– Use of e-list/forum pre/post-event– Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, UStream, Blogs,
etc. during event, on-demand
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Facebook and Twitter Myths?
• Should Facebook and Twitter get all the attention?– Daily American Facebook Users (all ages) – 30 million– Daily American E-mail Users (just adults) - 130.5 million
• That’s 60% of adult Internet users checking e-mail on typical day, within 30% staying offline so only 10% who go online don’t check their e-mail that day)
Sources: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statisticsE-mail users: Pew Internet and American Life Surveys – http://pewinternet.org Twitter:
http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cs/2009/06/new_twitter_research_men_follo.html
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17 Examples, 17 Seconds Each
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Local Twittering
• Find Tweets by Place via Advanced Search– http://search.twitter.com/advanced
• Minnesota Recount #mnrecount “channel”http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23mnrecount
• Also note media use of: http://www.coveritlive.com
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Placeblog
• Pelican Rapids Minnesota 56572 Blog– http://www.56572.blogspot.com
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Placeblog + Journalism
• LocallyGrownNorthield– http://www.locallygrownnorthfield.org
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Community News Aggregator +
• Twin Cities Daily Planet– http://
www.tcdailyplanet.org
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Local Photo Sharing Communities
• Winona Place/Group– http://www.flickr.com/places/United+States/Minnesota/Winona
• Minnesota Road Side Marvels– http://www.flickr.com/groups/mn-roadside-attractions
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Looking Good on Wikipedia
• Small town Pine City, Minnesota does it– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_City,_Minnesota
Hin
ckle
y v.
Pin
e C
ity
v. D
ulu
th
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Community Wiki
• Kickapoo Valley, WI – Kickapedia http://kickapedia.wiki.zoho.com/Kickapedia-Home.html
• Citizens Guide to St. Paulhttp://pages.e-democracy.org/Citizens_Guide_to_St._Paul
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Statewide Videosharing Contest
• Belll Museum’s MinnesotaMinute.Org– http://
minnesotaminute.org
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Maps, Camera, Mobile, Action
• FixMyStreet.com (UK) – mySociety.Org– http://fixmystreet.com
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Local Facebook Groups (Ghost Towns)
• Private social networking goes public in Duluth – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=96177195640
• Living the Ojibwe language• http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6746062152
• Politicians/organizations gravitating to top-down elite “Fan” pages over groups and other more democratic two-ways models online
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Participation Inequality• Most User Generated Websites Suffer from Participation Inequality
– See http://www.90-9-1.com
– 2-3% of YouTube users actually upload video, but with huge base amount of video is staggering
• http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/30/youtubes-chad-hurley-we-have-the-largest-library-of-hd-video-on-the-internet/
– Twitter’s “public” approach attracts the extroverted with 10% of users generating 90% of posts with the median number of tweets for all those who set up accounts only 1
• http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cs/2009/06/new_twitter_research_men_follo.html
– Facebook’s “gated community” with interactivity among friends in private life seems to breakthrough with user contributions – with 15% updating their status to friends daily
– Consideration: Demographics of those using various sites – civic projects needs as inclusive a base as possible – see danah boyd’s talk on “The Not-So-Hidden Politics of Class Online”
• http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2009/06/30/pdf_talk_the_no.html
• Note for later … E-Democracy.Org’s Standish Ericsson neighborhood Issues Forum had 26% participation rate among registered participants posting at least once in May 2009
– Ability to push reply in e-mail and write only required skill– http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-staneric/stats.html
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Local Online Groups
• Minnesota Homestead– http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MMHomesteading
• GroupsNearYou.com – UK-based– http://www.groupsnearyou.com
• Standish Ericsson Neighbors Forum– http://e-democracy.org/se
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Change.Gov and Online Engagement
• Change.Gov Highly Interactive, Next?– http://change.gov
• Online Consultation Community of Practice– http://groups.dowire.org/groups/consult
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White House Open Government• WhiteHouse.Gov/Open
• Major breakthrough – Round 2 allowed public blog comments on U.S. GOVERNMENT website. Used comment community ratings to build decorum instead of government censorship.
• If the Feds can do this, what pressure does it put on the levels of government “closer to the people” to catch-up with real interactivity?
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Schools and Online Engagement
• Moundsview Public Schools– http://www.moundsviewschools.org
39
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Schools and Online Engagement
40
Mixed anonymous online survey using SurveyMonkey with length limited, real signed and moderated open public comment feature similar to a public hearing/roundtable discussion.
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Community Builders NSW - Australia
• Extremely Rare, Long-time Example
• Public collaboration hosted by government convening those working meet similar public challenges.
• Past articles on “public net-work” for OECD:http://stevenclift.com/?p=101
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Live Rural Villages Town Meeting, India –
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Sometimes Fun
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ISSUES FORUMS AND PARTICIPATION 3.0
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What is your objective?
• Too often tools are used for tools sake.
• Most e-participation projects fail to meet goals or last more than a few months.
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Connect the Word• Blog
• Forum
• Online News/Blog Comments
• Chat
• Social Network
• Online Consultation
• Online Working Group
• Web Feed
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What’s Your Model
Vs.
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What’s Your Model
Vs.
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What’s Your Model
Vs.
Vs.
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Issues ForumsE-Democracy.Org’s lessons from the field
leading to a “Participation 3.0” opportunity
Extended webinar and guidebook from:http://e-democracy.org/if
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The Problem
• Lack of Participation in Local Democracy– Time– Trust and accountability– Loss of civility– Sense your voice won’t be heard
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The Problem
• Need to Make Participation More Effective– Timely access to information and
opinions when it matters– Openness and inclusion– Building social capital– Need more deliberative opportunities– People need to experience lasting power
and influence
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We Are Building
• Any time, anywhere democracy
• Two-way online town hall meeting – NOT typical male-dominated political
blogs (Hyde Park) or reactionary anonymous news comments
• Low-cost, volunteer-based, network of service club like local democracy committees – 15+ communities
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Private Spaces with “Public” Qualities – v. Online Public Spaces
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Need Public Spaces – Online Versions of Town Halls, Capitols
• Online public spaces, not just “public” commercial spaces
• Need for decorum, civility, agenda-setting, relevance, accountability
<- The Minnesota Capitol Rotunda
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Blogofest Destiny?
• Blogs democratize media, provide accountability•Are highly individualistic often privately controlled spaces with rare dialogue
• Now Twitter, Facebook hypewaves obscure common sense, accessible approaches
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Local Issues Forums
• The online town hall– City-wide, neighborhoods as well– Where is local power? – We place an
online public space in the center– “Government websites don’t have
sidewalks.” (Or public hearings online.)– Need for independent online spaces for
media accountability– Locally “owned” by civic-inspired citizen
committee as part of E-Democracy.Org
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Position forum in center of real power
PersonalNetworks
Political Activist
Reporte
rCiti
zen
#1
Mayor
Citizen #2
Candidate
Res
earc
her
City Council
Neighborhood Leader
Student
Forum M
anager
Citizen
#500
Gad
fly
Citizens
Issues ForumGroupServer e-mails posts
web viewPost via e-mail/web
e-publish, many-to-many
How Issues Forums Work
e-democracy.org
How Issues Forums Work• Participants agree to rules
– Sign real name– Post no more than twice a day– Stay within scope of local charter– May be suspended for violations
– Forum is facilitated, NOT pre-moderated, those posting content are 100% responsible for what they post
– More: http://e-democracy.org/rules
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Issues ForumsAgenda-setting
discussions, “e-mail leaks,” facilitation and rule enforcement key
Leader’s Office
“SecondaryNetworks”
e-mail forwardsmedia agenda-setting
Council Department
PersonalNetworks
Local MediaCoverage
Political Activist
Reporte
rCiti
zen
#1
Mayor
Citizen #2
Candidate
Res
earc
her
City Council
Neighborhood Leader
Student
Forum M
anager
Citizen
#500
Gad
fly
Citizens
Issues ForumGroupServer e-mails posts
web view
Online discussions in the heart
of local power
Subscribe onceCommitment securedPost via e-mail/web
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Issues Forums – E-Democracy.OrgRecent Topics
• Response to mugging near light rail– http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/355
• Consultation on redevelopment– http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/224
• Community garden – Talk to action• Inaugural blue jean event in Cass
Lake– http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/189
• Local “think tank” in Cook County MN
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Mapping Local Power
• Recruitment to make the forum “matter” politically is essential, best upfront
• Elected officials, community leaders, local journalists, active citizens
• “Average” citizens will not waste time in a forum that does not matter
• Work from the “center” and avoid marginalization
• Gives the deliberations reach and local agenda-setting power
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Recruiting 100+ Members
• Build it and they will NEVER come
• Most similar efforts fail on recruitment not technology
• One at a time – In-person recruitment, community events
• Outreach - local media, “virtual door knocking”
• More: http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/372 Outreach in Cedar Riverside
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Forum Facilitation
• Forum manager guides the forum, enforces the rules
• Selected and held accountable by local steering committee
• Peer training/support network for forum managers
• Issues Forum guidebook chapter, Minneapolis lessons: – http://e-democracy.org/if
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Online courage?
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…”
Mayor RT Rybak on his participation in the online Minneapolis Issues Forum – Video from: http://e-
democracy.org/experience
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Leader “Challenges”
• Barriers To Use of Net by Community Leaders
1. Lack of time/tools to keep up with e-mail from constituents.
2. They thrive on face-to-face interpersonal connections. Online lacks that social cues they rely on to keep control of communication situations.
3. Sense that things are moving too rapidly to know where to best invest scarce time.
4. Diffusion of channels - website, e-newsletter, blog, twitter,social networks, local forums/blogs/news sites, etc. - where to start?
5. Desire to communicate one-way (be my "fan" on Facebook) versus two-way/many-to-many dialogue online.
6. Harsh nature of existing mostly anonymous/aliases based online political expression. Well below the "worth it" threshold and is poisoning the pool so to speak.
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Local Issues Forums Today• Bemidji, MN – 117 members, New• Cass Lake Leech Lake – 173 members, New • Cook County, MN – 173 members, New• Grand Rapids, MN – 89 members, Opening soon• Minneapolis, MN – 1114 members
– Cedar Riverside – 123 members, Just opened– Seward NHood – 223 members– Standish-Ericsson NHood – 352 members – Powderhorn Nhood – 232 members, New
• St. Paul, MN – 628 members• Roseville, MN – 197 members• Winona, MN – 94 members • Las Vegas, NM – 119 members• Central Ohio Region – 126 members
• Brighton and Hove, UK – 287 members• Newham, UK – 182 members• Bristol 2 NHoods, UK – 235 members• Oxford 3 NHoods, UK – 370 members • Canterbury (Christchurch), NZ – 227 members
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Participation 3.0
• Imagine the world’s deepest and most comprehensive local online civic engagement project
• 10% Households in Minneapolis and St. Paul core cities – ~30,000 participants everyday
• Did I say everyday?
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Issues Forums Tomorrow
• Neighborhood Issues Forums – Minneapolis/St. Paul pilots … Ford Foundation, others?
• Greater social networking infusion and connections
• Local everywhere – starting point for light weight start-up
• Electronic block-clubs on up …• “Now Do Something” public problem-solving
features• Americorps/VISTA explorations,
GroupsNearYou.com … promoting the field• Capital to innovate, transition to generate
community by community revenue for sustainability
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E-Democracy.org Todayin Minneapolis and St. Paul
2 city-wide Issues Forums – 10+ years6 new at the neighborhood level
“Online town hall” discussion and community life exchange based on bounded places – city boundaries, official neighborhoods/district councils
“Online town hall” discussion and community life exchange based on bounded places – city boundaries, official neighborhoods/district councils
E-Democracy.org hosts 25 community-wide and neighborhood online agenda-setting “Issues Forums” across 15 communities in three countries – US, UK, and New Zealand. Our largest base is in Minnesota, where we are proposing a Participation 3.0 pilot and prototype. More: http://e-democracy.org
Neighbor Forums
MinneapolisIssues Forum
St. PaulIssuesForum
e-democracy.org
Next Generation
Point-specific social networking connects people in neighbors-only “electronic block clubs.” People can join and self-organize with help.
Point-specific social networking connects people in neighbors-only “electronic block clubs.” People can join and self-organize with help.
Neighbor Forums
More Areas, Inclusion
More neighborhood-level Issues Forums, greater participation in city-wide Issues Forums and …
More neighborhood-level Issues Forums, greater participation in city-wide Issues Forums and …
MinneapolisIssues Forum
St. PaulIssuesForum
Add E-Block Clubs and More
Build next generation pilot based on our strengths and actual and existing local thousands strong “e-citizen” participant base.
Person/Household - Participant-centric social networking in “public life”
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Participation 3.0
• Most online civic projects lack participants/audience
• Need local partners – from cities seeking online surveys and input options to police/neighborhoods for e-block clubs to local non-profits for “do something” tools
• Key is to leverage the 30,000 participants and built or free services across the Net
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Participation 3.0
• Request outline draft to get involved:– clift@e-democracy.org
e-democracy.org
Local Issues Forums More
• Short TV Interview• 60 Page Guidebook• One Hour Webinar• And more …
– http://e-democracy.org/if
• Live forums: http://forums.e-democracy.org
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More
• http://blog.e-democracy.org• http://e-democracy.org/webinars• http://stevenclift.com• http://dowire.org