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

Twitter

• 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 …

e-democracy.org

A new Athens for Democracy?

e-democracy.org

The Big Problem

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

ONLINE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 101

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

Organize Supporters – Gather E-mail

e-democracy.org

Government Transparency

State list maintained by Center for Fiscal Accountability

e-democracy.org

Government E-Alerts

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

Reusing Local Gov/Other Data

• Everyblock.com– http://everyblock.com

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

SOCIAL MEDIA IN (LOCAL) PUBLIC LIFE

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

17 Examples, 17 Seconds Each

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

Placeblog

• Pelican Rapids Minnesota 56572 Blog– http://www.56572.blogspot.com

e-democracy.org

Placeblog + Journalism

• LocallyGrownNorthield– http://www.locallygrownnorthfield.org

e-democracy.org

Community News Aggregator +

• Twin Cities Daily Planet– http://

www.tcdailyplanet.org

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

Statewide Videosharing Contest

• Belll Museum’s MinnesotaMinute.Org– http://

minnesotaminute.org

e-democracy.org

Maps, Camera, Mobile, Action

• FixMyStreet.com (UK) – mySociety.Org– http://fixmystreet.com

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

Change.Gov and Online Engagement

• Change.Gov Highly Interactive, Next?– http://change.gov

• Online Consultation Community of Practice– http://groups.dowire.org/groups/consult

e-democracy.org

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?

e-democracy.org

Schools and Online Engagement

• Moundsview Public Schools– http://www.moundsviewschools.org

39

e-democracy.org

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.

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

Live Rural Villages Town Meeting, India –

e-democracy.org

Sometimes Fun

e-democracy.org

ISSUES FORUMS AND PARTICIPATION 3.0

e-democracy.org

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.

e-democracy.org

Connect the Word• Blog

• Forum

• Online News/Blog Comments

• Chat

• Social Network

• Online Consultation

• Online Working Group

• Web Feed

e-democracy.org

What’s Your Model

Vs.

e-democracy.org

What’s Your Model

Vs.

e-democracy.org

What’s Your Model

Vs.

Vs.

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

The Problem

• Lack of Participation in Local Democracy– Time– Trust and accountability– Loss of civility– Sense your voice won’t be heard

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

Private Spaces with “Public” Qualities – v. Online Public Spaces

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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.

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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?

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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”

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

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

e-democracy.org

More

• http://blog.e-democracy.org• http://e-democracy.org/webinars• http://stevenclift.com• http://dowire.org