Ameritocracy is how regular people hold politicians and the media accountable: by reporting, fact-checking, or simply rating short, specific claims from talking heads, campaigning candidates, and other sources of political media and information.
Link to [ Ameritocracy ]
The Internet is an attractive tool for promoting and practicing democratic values. Honestly…otherwise we would not have commented on “Internet on Democracy” in previous posts. For busy candidates, policy wonks, and activists, however, tapping the Internet’s full potential can be a daunting, time consuming task. Fortunately, the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet assists politicians during their quest to quickly master the Internet as a communication tool.
As an extension of George Washington University, the IPDI publishes research on the conversion of technology and politics including the following:
Political Advertising Online - Reaching voters through targeted advertising placements and SEO marketing.
Poli-fluentials - Identifying people willing to donate disproportionate amounts of time to campaign efforts.
Politic Rumors - An analysis of political rumors spreading through Egypt.
London based MySociety.org is a charitable project dedicated to improving civic life through simple and efficient websites. Guidelines for the organization are streamlined to the core triad of cheap scalability, tangible outputs, and high usability. Three full-time staff members guide MySociety projects, but a volunteer community of marketing, design, programming and fund-raising professionals help make quick iteration a reality. Below are some descriptions of current and past MySociety.org projects:
FixMyStreet is a portal allowing UK residents to report graffiti, potholes, litter, etc through a mapping/messaging platform. After submitting, FixMyStreet redirects the report to the proper officials.
PledgeBank is a collective action platform similar to (but less Robust) than ThePoint. The site allows users to promote altruistic campaigns reliant on group participation.
NotApathetic encourages citizens to voice reasons for not voting on a public forum. The project launched for the 2005 UK General Elections but a reincarnation might be beneficial for the upcoming 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.
Anyone interested in championing either FixMyStreet or NotApathetic with me in the U.S.? If so, please express your interest in the comment section.
Link to [MySociety.org]
Crowdsourcing, a term coined by Jeff Howe in a June 2006 issue of Wired magazine, is a model of labor that has been fully embraced on the Internet over the past couple of years. Crowdsourcing takes tasks traditionally done by a single person or small groups of people, and farms them out to a global workforce. The large-scale committee approach is powerful because it leans on the concept of the “wisdom of crowds” (to a certain extent) which says basically that the more input, the better the output.
The term has become popular with business authors and journalists as shorthand for the trend of leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals. However, both the term and its underlying business models have attracted controversy and criticism.
Here is a look at some of the tools used to help you crowdsource.
Link to [ ReadWriteWeb on Crowdsourcing ]
The League of Technical Voters is a nonprofit 501(c)3, nonpartisan organization dedicated to motivating and assisting technical experts to improve lawmaking and governmental process.
Their goal is to involve more technical people in the political process, especially in relation to the use of technology by government.
We are in a position to provide a priceless resource to our country by helping to improve governmental policies and use of technical resources. We believe that many of the current problems have more to do with a lack of education than with partisan issues.
Link to [ League of Technical Voters ]
Academics and Internet pioneers recognized the Web’s democratic prowess at an early stage. From sharing of previously guarded information to remote discourse among thought leaders, the early Internet was positioned to radically transform government, business, and domestic life. Unfortunately, the true political potential of the Internet failed to mature as quickly as the commercial and leisure Web.
Since 2008 is an election year and many pundits are analyzing the use of new tools in campaigns, it seems like an appropriate time for the repeated question “Can the Internet really improve the democratic process?”
Minneapolis based E-Democracy.org believes the answer to the above question is “Yes” and aims to improve citizen participation through a structured Wiki environment. The platform helps strengthen, expand and diversify citizen engagement with a unique clause - participants can only post commentary to the group twice per day. This unlikely restriction promotes thoughtful discussion and prevents dominance from special interest groups. Check out the project blog for additional information.
Link to [e-democracy.org]
EFF is the leading civil liberties group defending your rights in the digital world.
From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990 — well before the Internet was on most people’s radar — and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.
Link to [ Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) ]