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This is a great story because it does what the Congress Online Project can't do - it names a couple Congressional web sites that stink. Every major state newspaper should do a review of their Congressional delegation web sites. The reporter should not only mention the leading features, but also name those poorly designed or maintained sites which demonstrate a lack of commitment to online constituent communications. In my opinion, any member of Congress that does not provide a simple e-mail address for their constituents are acting in a fundamentally undemocratic manner. E-mail is the clear choice for citizen communication in social and business life. To only provide a web form option is out-of-touch, unresponsive, and not befitting our democratic tradition. Period. With spam filtering technologies and auto-reply confirmation reply processes, if there is a will, there is a way for e-mail to work for all. Why do I feel this way? E-mail should not be the best tool for connected insiders and lobbyists to share information with Congressional staff in an ongoing way and remain worst tool for citizens to reach the office of their member of Congress. Citizen e-mail boxes are also the only "place" on the Internet that most citizens own. We have power over what we send, how we organize our messages, and to whom we reply. We get to keep a copies of what we send. Most web forms do not send you an e-mail copy of your submissions (and what the Member of Congress received). This is essential to empower the constituent should they not receive a reply or wish to pursue the matter further. It is time for Congress to build online democratic tools which help them accommodate the will of the people. Right now, through their web forms, they are building virtual Berlin walls. Instead of transferring advance online campaigning technology from efforts that seek to gain our votes and donations, once in power most are fundamentally cutting themselves off from the interactive reality of the information age. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do From: http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/4046042.html Congress faces a digital divide Andrew Pritchard Published August 17, 2003 Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In 1994, when the Washington Post reported the first e-mail addresses for members of Congress, the story paused to define "electronic mail." ... Less than a decade later, the Congress Online Project counts 610 congressional Web sites for members, committees and the leadership. But the project says Congress has its own increasing digital divide -- between members who have made their sites noticeably more useful for constituents and those who have not. ... Twin Cities-based electronic democracy expert Steven Clift, who also chairs Minnesota E-Democracy, agreed that Dayton and Gutknecht have two of the delegation's better sites. But the most advanced site, he said, belongs to Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy. "Congress is very inaccessible to most people, and he addresses people from that perspective," Clift said. Kennedy's new site was not considered in the Congress Online Project's most recent ranking because he did not unveil it until April 25. "There are many opportunities on the Web site for constituents to tell me how they feel," Kennedy said. "I want the communication to be two-way, not just one-way, as so many sites are today." ... But Kennedy principally stood out from the delegation because he offered constituents both a Web form and a regular e-mail address for contacting him, Clift said. Most of the members require that electronic comments come through a form accessible only on the site. Clift noted that although no members of the Minnesota delegation provide or link to online discussion forums, some take other steps to prompt constituents to action. ... The delegation's two worst sites, Clift said, belonged to Democratic Reps. James Oberstar and Martin Sabo. Their designs are "so 1998," he said, looking as though they had not been maintained. ... ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - M: +1.612.203.5181 Join my Democracies Online Newswire: http://e-democracy.org/do *** Past Messages, Discussion http://e-democracy.org/do *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To UNSUBSCRIBE instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***
