Since leaving the Sunlight Foundation, Clay seems (further) liberated to tell the world what he really thinks on his Info Vegan blog.
* Online Petitions are a Sham http://infovegan.com/2010/08/11/how-we-do-it-in-washington-dc * Don't Let the Municipal Crisis Go to Waste http://infovegan.com/2010/08/02/city-bankruptcy Here was MY reply to the second topic (introducing perhaps some familiar to you work to a new audience): When the UK inspiration for SeeClickFix, FixMyStreet was humming along, I poked their developers list and asked, "What about FixOurStreet - I'll bring the said, you get the oil, who will bring the shovel?" I confessed that may be more the American barn-raiser approach. However, I think the DIYCity - http://diycity.org - experience suggests that cyber-libertarian ideals don't inspire people to do more mundane things collectively. That said, some real local "ad-hocracy" is happening well blow the radar. While sites like VolunteerMatch.org can connect you to existing community groups addressing well defined social challenges or community needs in your community, what about emergent needs? What about new ideas or projects that build community or simply improve the quality of life in your neighborhood? With the "Locals Online" movement some 10+ million Americans have joined neighborhood e-mail lists and social networking groups. (Some analysis of the Neighbors Online report from PewInternet.org - http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/858 - shares more numbers.) My non-profit E-Democracy.org hosts some 30 of the estimated 30,000 online neighborhood forums/groups and what we've found is that the simple act of enabling neighbor to neighbor communication unleashes collaborative capacity. We've had beach/park clean-ups, community garden efforts, collective crime watch encouragement AND sometimes our local government officials provide information or answer questions, but ultimately the value we generate in on our shoulders. If an online space for your block or neighborhood was in place prior to the snowfall, you would have been able to use it when you needed it. If you want to tune into this work, here are a set of resources: 1. Local Online - An online community for "hosts" - http://e-democracy.org/locals 2. Using Technology to Build Community Slides and Webinar - Starts with community garden example: http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/845 3. What about inclusion? The biggest challenge is that all this volunteer-driven networking doesn't have resources for inclusive outreach. This can't just be a white home-owner driven thing. We have some Ford Foundation funded efforts learning as we are going: http://e-democracy.org/inclusion Also note: http://pages.e-democracy.org/Example_discussions 4. Can we connect people with their nearest neighbors online with models that don't require a leader to set up and host something first? We invite developers to help us crack that nut with our open source Neighborly exploration: http://neighbor.be 5. Finally, LocalLabs, a simple e-mail list/web group for geeks interested in exchanging tips is about to open with over 100 members: http://e-democracy.org/locallabs It complements the generalist CityCamp exchange: http://e-democracy.org/citycamp And the SunlightLabs group for federal transparency coders. Cheers, Steven Clift E-Democracy.org Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org Follow me - http://twitter.com/democracy New Tel: +1.612.234.7072 ----------------------------------------- Group home for Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire: http://groups.dowire.org/groups/newswire Replies go to members of Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire with all posts on this topic here: http://groups.dowire.org/r/topic/5wAOqKRsBgEF5EzIe5CKVz For digest version or to leave Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire, email [email protected] with "digest on" or "unsubscribe" in the *subject*. Newswire - Steven Clift's Democracies Online Newswire is hosted by Democracies Online - http://dowire.org.
