e-democracy.org

Citizen Media andOnline Engagement:

Webinar Part 2 – Issues Forums

Steven Clift, E-Democracy.Org

Listen to this webinar from: http://e-democracy.org/webinars

e-democracy.org

E-Democracy.Org Issues Forums

Steven Clift, Founder and Board Chair

E-Democracy.Org

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 reader comments on news sites

• Demand for local information and news in a democracy

• Low-cost, volunteer-based, network of service club like local democracy committees – 15+ communities

e-democracy.org

World First – Democratic Roots•We created the world’s first election web site way back in 1994 …

•After the election, people kept talking in our Minnesota Politics forum.

•We realized that it was our job to be a trusted, neutral host of ongoing dialogue among those from diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

•Talk is cheap.Actually, “Conversation is cost-effective.”

e-democracy.org

Blogs are not everything.

Need to pick and choose among

multiple tools based on your goals.

Goal: Two-way local dialogue.

Tool: E-mail list/web forum

e-democracy.org

Need Public Spaces – Online Versions of Town Halls, Capitols

• Online public spaces, not just “public” commercial spaces

• Need– Decorum and civility– Local relevance– Agenda-setting and

impact on decision-makers

– Real names and accountability

<- The Minnesota Capitol Rotunda

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

Some Stories• Dairy Queen in the public

parks– Park board members starts

discussion– Daily paper absent from board

meeting– Vigorous debate online gets in

paper– Decision reversed at next

meeting packed with the public

e-democracy.org

Dori from St. Paul• Active citizens and

“average” citizens raise their voices

• Ten minute “GSE” (Gopher State Ethanol) video at – http://e-democracy.org/experience

• Dori Ullman raises her voice about the stench

e-democracy.org

Jamal from Minneapolis• Large Somali community

in Minneapolis

• Their “voice” was missing despite past outreach

• Bus strike provided motivation and real world reason to join and post to forum

• Contacted by Mayor, media after forum posts

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Mayor Rybak from Minneapolis• In 2001, RT Rybak

announced mayoral candidacy on forum before press conference

• More video clips– The Seven O'clock Meeting– Budget Issues - Informing– Let’s Ski - Gathering Ideas– Two-way Won’t Kill You

• More video:– http://e-democracy.org/experience

e-democracy.org

Issues Forums – E-Democracy.OrgRecent Topics

• Local schools• Support for area war veterans• Neighborhood park changes• Water quality and shortage• Crime and policing• Candidates and elections• Feral cat problem• Racetrack noise pollution

e-democracy.org

Issues Forums

e-democracy.org

Local Issues Forums Today• Bemidji, MN – 100 members, Just opened• Cass Lake Leech Lake – 153 members, New• Cook County, MN – Opening soon• Grand Rapids, MN – Opening soon• Minneapolis, MN – 1051 members

– Cedar Riverside – 103 members, Just opened– Seward NHood – 192 members– Standish-Ericsson NHood – 310 members – Powderhorn Nhood – Opening Soon

• St. Paul, MN – 628 members• Roseville, MN – 197 members• Winona, MN – 87 members • Las Vegas, NM – 112 members• Central Ohio Region – 126 members

• Brighton and Hove, UK – 280 members• Newham, UK – 177 members• Bristol 2 NHoods, UK – 220 members• Oxford 3 NHoods, UK – 318 members • Canterbury (Christchurch), NZ – 223 members

e-democracy.org

How Issues Forum Work, Starting One

Steve Kranz

e-democracy.org

PersonalNetworks

Citizens

Starting with “private” citizens moving toward public e-citizens

Extensive personal online networks exist –

friends, family, co-workers

How Issues Forums Work

e-democracy.org

Local E-Democracy group creates the public “space”, defines charter

(scope)

PersonalNetworks

Citizens

Issues ForumGroupServer e-mails posts

web view

How Issues Forums Work

e-democracy.org

PersonalNetworks

Citizens

Issues ForumGroupServer e-mails posts

web view

Subscribe onceCommitment secured

Recruit citizens, elected officials, media, etc. with

“sticky” opt-in

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– Understand they can be suspended for

violations

– Forum is facilitated, NOT pre-moderated, those posting content are 100% responsible for what they post

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

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

GroupServer – E-mail/web

• Easy to find – By geography

• E-mail or web- your choice

• Technology enhancements – Share through open source – Leveraging blogging standards, web feeds– More: http://e-democracy.org/groupserver

e-democracy.org

Sample Forum – Web View

Entering reply here

e-democracy.org

Sample Forum – E-mail View

e-democracy.org

Our Approach

• Leverage democratic information from government, media, political sectors

• Open sharing of lessons, how-to• Open source software• Local up – do not colonize• Low cost – volunteer driven, shared

infrastructure and org. identity

e-democracy.org

Start Up Overview• 5-10 Person Steering

Committee• Volunteer Forum

Manager• Other participant roles• Recruit 100 initial

participants• Open forum and

facilitate• Enforce civility/scope

rules

e-democracy.org

Form Steering Committee

• A local “democracy committee” – based on the service club model – Lions,

Rotary

• Can form in association with related efforts – e.g. KAXE’s online community media initiative

• Needs convening spirit – Key to community trust is a mix of public

members not all part of one political faction

e-democracy.org

Drafting Your Charter

• Two-three sentence description will determine scope, set tone for years

• Longer charter is your local detailed description that guides the forum

• Supported by universal E-Democracy.Org rules (terms of participation)

• Use charter drafting to involve the community in a “what do we really want” conversation to ensure broad sense of ownership

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”

e-democracy.org

Forum Facilitation

• Forum manager guides the forum, enforces the rules

• Selected and held accountable by local steering committee

• Peer training/support with E-Democracy.Org’s network of forum managers

• Issues Forum guidebook chapter, Minneapolis lessons: – http://e-democracy.org/if

e-democracy.org

Participant/Volunteer Roles

• Readers – Active “listeners” are crucial to forum’s value

• Opinionators – Everyday talkers, often have views on everything

• Starters – Discussion starters, look for topics in the news, etc., ask questions

• Seekers – Seek out and share community announcements, links to government agendas, documents, etc.

• Goal – A mix, with 15-20% posting participation rate of registered users each month

e-democracy.org

Open the Forum

• Introductions – Humanize forum with round of introductions

• Seed Discussion Topics – If/as needed• Special Events in Forum – Guest

speakers (Canterbury), State of the City Text/Video (St. Paul)

• Build “e-citizen” skills of community overtime

• Think long term, encourage sense of community ownership, value based on what people contribute not how they are served

e-democracy.org

Local E-Democracy Committee

• Define and assign ongoing volunteer roles, meet ~quarterly

• Set twice a year outreach/new member goals

• Help Forum Manager raise quality of discussion when needed

• Hold Forum Manager accountable, review complaints/rules appeals

• Promote local “e-democracy” improvements in government and media and through special projects

e-democracy.org

Conclusion

e-democracy.org

What Makes Us Different• Many to many with real names and civility

• Strength in people-based model and processes that allow us to adapt technologically

• Agenda-setting – Real world pragmatic approach versus empowering citizens isolated from influence

• Recruitment process leads to far deeper geographic participation that pure blogs or social networks

• Technology choice – e-mail, web, blog feeds, future social network application

e-democracy.org

One final story …

e-democracy.org

Steven Clift posted humorously about the “public health risks of a large squirrel population” in the Minneapolis forum’s early days.

From Southwest Journal newspaperby Martiga Lohn

Most days, mpls-issues is a substantive discussion of important public policy issues…However … here are a few excerpts from this burning issue …

> Go to hardware store…buy trap…set track…kill squirrel. End of public policy question.

> Grab a trap and KILL the squirrel????????? Why must we destroy a living thing as a solution?

> Rocky and his friends are out of control. … If you want evidence, try to eat a sandwich on a bench in Loring Park.

> Quit telling people to move their nasty attack squirrels to wooded areas (i.e., Minneapolis parks) — we already have our fair share.

> I ran on an anti-squirrel platform for Student Legislature at Syracuse University in my freshman year in college. I promised to eradicate the nuisance squirrel population. It was my first election loss.

Squirrel Story

e-democracy.org

Conclusion

• If this inspires you …– Let’s form a steering committee– Find a local forum manager– Draft a charter– Recruit 100 people– Open to dynamic and useful local public

issue discussions online – any where, anytime participation

– Change local democracy forever

e-democracy.org

Act Now

• Visit http://e-democracy.org/if

• Read, watch, then fill out worksheets:– http://pages.e-democracy.org/Start_A_Forum

e-democracy.org

Additional Training Slides

e-democracy.org

What Makes Us Different• Some comparisons

– Blogs – Hyper-individualistic and more male, democratize national punditry more than empower locally – Our model equitable two-way conversation with greater female participation

– Citizen media/online news – Vastly more expensive starting point per community – Our model create demand for better local news, brings stories to the surface

– Social networks – Publicize private life – Our model make real geographic public life accessible anywhere, any time

– Independent efforts – Often fail due to lack of knowledge or use of inappropriate technology – Our model is tried and tested over a decade with a shared network for support and proven technology that reduces volunteer burn-out and help local democracy online efforts launch successfully – That said we hope that for every community that joins our network, 10 other projects will learn from or be inspired by us including citizen media projects

e-democracy.org

Small Groups• Come up with a rule and a technology feature

that would:– 1. Increase the diversity of opinions– 2. Increase participation by women/youth/older

citizens – diversity of participants– 3. Make posting by elected officials more likely– 4. Increase respect for those with differing opinions,

increase trust or civility among members– 5. Help readers/posters find value more quickly– 6. Move participants toward consensus or allow

group to agree on what they disagree about– 7. Avoid alienating political minorities while allowing

majority positions to become known– 8. Hold forum managers/hosts more accountable to

their responsibilities– 9. Troll group – List strategies for destroying an

online community, technologies you prefer

e-democracy.org

Your Questions/Challenges

• What do you need to know?

• What are you concerned about?

• Have you had a different experience you’d like to share?

• There are 5 right ways and 95 wrong paths. How do you choose which is better?

e-democracy.org

Report Back

• Small groups – Write down:– One rule– Best tech idea

• Questions:– Top question– Best advice/example

e-democracy.org

Who makes a good Forum Manager?

• Sincere belief in value of dialogue• Respect for diverse ideologies• Patience• Thick skin, can handle public criticism• People skills – easier to teach tech skills• Not intimidated by technology• Common sense approach to facilitation,

ability to ask questions, guide diplomatically, act quickly when required

• Time available, committed

e-democracy.org

Forum Management Tasks - 1

• Keeping the space “safe” or civil for all participants

• Encouraging/enforcing compliance with forum rules

• Keeping discussions on topic (within scope or purpose of forum)

e-democracy.org

Rules• Rules summary - http://e-democracy.org/rules

– 1. Sign Posts - Use your real name.– 2. Limits on Posting - Two per member per day in most forum charters.– 3. Keep Topics within Forum Purpose - Local issues on a local forum, for example.– 4. Be Civil - This is a public forum with real people. Respect among citizens

with differing views is our cornerstone.– 5. No Attacks or Threats - This keeps the forums safe. If content is illegal it will

be forwarded to the proper legal authorities.– 6. Private Stays Private - Don't forward private replies without permission.– 7. Avoid False Rumors - Asking for clarification of what you've heard in the

community can be appropriate if issues-based. You alone are responsible for what you post.

– 8. Right to Post and Reply - Sharing your knowledge and opinions with your fellow citizens is a democratic right.

– 9. Items Not Allowed in Forums - No attachments, etc.– 10. Public Content and Use - You are sharing your content, but you retain your

copyright.– 11. Warnings - You may receive informal or official warnings from the Forum

Manager.– 12. Suspension - With your second official warning in one year, you are

suspended for two weeks. It goes up from there.– 13. Appeals Process - You can appeal a warning(s) once you receive a third

warning and six-month removal. About one in 1,500 forum members each year have appealed a six-month removal in past years.

e-democracy.org

Forum Management Tasks - 2

• Welcoming new members

• Managing message volume – in both unmoderated and moderated forums

• Introducing new topics– Sharing media/website links– Asking a question

• Encouraging alternative viewpoints– Moving discussion along

e-democracy.org

Forum Management Tasks - 3

• Supporting and encouraging good behavior

• Responding to participant questions or complaints– Waiting for complaints versus

public/private action

• Ongoing recruitment

• Tasks can be distributed/shared

e-democracy.org

Additional Models• E-Debates –

Candidates (parties) on the virtual stage for two weeks– Four major

themes debated, rebuttals required

– Ten short answer questions

– http://e-democracy.org/e-debates

e-democracy.org

Additional Models• Voter Voices response

to e-debate and more - Video, pictures, blog posts tagged “mnpolitics” – http://e-democracy.org/v

oices

• E-Democracy.Org’s Wiki– Election links directory– Community links– Citizens Guide to St. Paul

e-democracy.org

Bonus SlidesWinona Case Study

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

Starting Point• City of 25,000• Existing channels of civic

engagement (newspaper, public meetings, speaking events, etc.)

• Reasonably accessible elected officials.

• Content

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

Goal To give everyone a greater voice in

decisions that affect the community, increase civic participation, and help encourage more input into solutions to local problems.

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

• Held and event like this.• Contact information was collected.• Invitation to follow up meeting to

discuss implementation in Winona.• Eight people attended & agreed to

form a steering committee.• Email list created for organizing.

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

• Created website with more detailed information, so that interested people could find out more.

• Virtual Door Knocking.• Recruited local organizations to do

virtual door knocking. (LWV, teachers’ union, city government, local universities) – 850 email addresses.

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

• Endorsing Organizations & Founding Members to build credibility.

• Offline recruitment: brochure, newspaper coverage, cable-access television, table events.

• Launched with 106 members.• First topic: What are the three most

important issues in the community?

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

Snapshot of First Eight Weeks• 238 posts by 53 different authors.

(4.5/day)• Participation included elected

officials and government administrators.

• Variety of Discussions, including:

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

Example Discussion Topics• Identifying dangerous intersections.

(mayor)• Improving digital divide. (county

human services)• Shortfalls in education funding,

rebuilding historic courthouse, plans to increase railroad traffic.

e-democracy.org

Winona Story

• Expanded to 230 people• Hosted mixed live/online events• National/International attention.