What Do We Need For "Tech Savvy Citizens?"
Brad Rourke As some folks know, I am leading (with Joe Peters of Ascentum) a session at the upcoming "No Better Time" conference on democracy called "Tech Savvy Citizenry." More here: http://is.gd/1jUCM
The basic idea is to talk about developments in how tech can help or hinder community participation. So, for instance, we might talk about how YouTube can be used as one tool to engage people in a local issue.
I want to pose a few questions to the group:
* What success stories have you seen or heard of? (Links!)
* What fail stories do you know about?
* What do you think project organizers ought to keep in mind as they deploy technology in support of community participation?
* What do ordinary people ("citizens") need to know or keep in mind?
(I am especially interested in flipping the notion of "what citizens need to know" on its head.)
Please help us out!
Thanks
Hildy Brad:
My quick answer is that technology must be one part of an overall community engagement plan. Where I see groups do well, their planning sees technology as just one of many tools to use in creating an engaged citizenry. Where I see it done less than well, folks are focusing first on the tools vs. focusing first on the vision for what is possible, and then backing out of that "What tools might we use?"
So my advice is start with the plan for overall engagement, and start that plan with the question, "What is possible if we are all working together? What could we accomplish together that we can't accomplish alone?" Then back your session's answers out of there.
More info is here if it's helpful: http://www.help4nonprofits.com/UseItToday/UseItToday-Success_on_Facebook.htm
Hildy- Brad Rourke That's really helpful Hildy.
At your link, you compare fretting about using social media to fretting about using the telephone:
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Imagine this conversation.
I am thinking about getting a phone. Who should I call? What should I say to them? How long before the phone will help us reach our goals?
Sounds silly, of course - but that is really what we are asking when we ask, “What should I talk about on Twitter or Facebook or MySpace?”
Just like a telephone, Social Media is simply a tool (or more accurately a group of tools) that can help facilitate engagement.
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So true that the tools can cloud people's judgment and thought about purpose.
It also puts me in mind of a post I recently wrote that makes the case that social media today is like the telephone circa 1915, when it comes to our social response to it: http://is.gd/1kgZE
Thanks again. 
John Brad,
One thing that I try to keep in mind is the value of "anytime, anywhere" engagement. We process our thoughts at different speeds, at different times, and in a variety of places. Is it possible that we establish our own false barriers to participation. A few examples of false barriers: 3 minutes at Citizen Forum; "submit your ideas in hardcopy along with ten copies" to the committee chair; "I never got your email... did you send it to my work address instead of my home email?"
We cook turkeys until they are done, right? "Anytime, anywhere" is an approach to engagement (or learning, in my business) where the tools offer a lot of potential, I think. If we don't use them, then we're not cooking the turkey properly, and it will never be done.
John
Caryn When it comes to giving an opinion or engaging in a conversation on line, people want to say their piece quickly and easily and be done with it. They don't want to register for something, and they especially don't want to have to go to their inboxes and click on a "confirmation" link before participating. It's a pain, and they are afraid they will be spammed once they give out their email addresses -- and they are usually right about the spam!
Problems with flaming and spam on the boards are the problem of the _people running the boards,_ NOT the citizens whom you want to participate in the discussions. Don't make the citizens jump through hoops so that you don't have to spend time reading the responses and removing spam and other inappropriate content. Reward the good guys by respecting their time and privacy.
Theresa I don't know if this will help or be relevant, but when a citizen group is overtaken by NIMBYs and starts a blog that contains propaganda and misinformation and isn't responsive to requests for corrections AND doesn't allow for comments, it silences participation. It is anti-democratic.
And I am sure you will have no idea what I'm referring to.
Bill I'm not sure this is relevant, but as an IT guy...I think the backbone needs to be well built, always be on. When a citizen wants to say something, the technology needs to work. The technology needs to be easy to use as well. My 74 year old mom uses/understands technology differently, than my 16 year old son. The learning curve needs to be short and sweet for both. The "technology" we use is still in its infancy, we can only augment the old tech with the "new" tech, if you want to be accurate and available.- Brad Rourke Bill that's an excellent point.