[Winona Online Democracy] Steve S.,
I think you are doing a bit of generalizing of how WOD responded to your article. I just finished going through and reading all the posts related to it. My sense is that the "angry" comments were made primarily by one person (that included the "get a life" comment) and later on in the discussion he apologized to you for it. The rest of the dialogue, I thought, was fairly thoughtful -- perhaps a bit heated at times, but I don't think that is very unusual for the list -- and the discussion included people advocating on both sides of many of the issues presented. I don't think there was ever any attempt by W.O.D. to deny that it could be improved by more diverse participation. There were a few people that acknowledged this in their posts and I even posted a message detailing how we had previously recognized the value of making Winona Online Democracy more representative of the community and had tried (unsuccessfully) to secure funding to accomplish that. The discussion ended with a request by a list member that you provide a copy of your study in order that people could get the whole picture, rather than just the snapshot provided in the newspaper. You indicated that you were unable to provide it due to a possible publishing conflict. My reading of Jacobs' comments in the MPR story is that he was making general statements about online civic discussion groups. That is not to say that these comments may not apply to WOD, but I do not believe that Dr. Jacobs has done any analysis of WOD in order to draw hard conclusions or criticisms that apply directly to the list (nor do I think he was trying to imply that in his statements). -Steve Kranz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Schild Winona Online Democracy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 9:08 PM Subject: [Winona] WOD on MPR > [Winona Online Democracy] > > I wonder if Winona Online Democracy (WOD) members will be as angry at Larry Jacobs as they were at me a few months back. I wonder if they'll write the same kind of things about him as they wrote about me. I wonder if they'll urge him to "get a life." > > Jacobs is the University of Minnesota political scientist quoted in MPR's recent story about WOD. Here are some excerpts from statements Jacobs made in that story: > > --Jacobs says there was hope the Internet could help people reengage in the political process. But he says so far that hasn't happened. > > --"So what it looks like is the Internet is becoming another mechanism where we amplify the voice of one part of the electorate at the expense of another," says Jacobs. > > --Jacobs says research shows a correlation between education and Internet use. Just as education seems to increase a person's Internet use, it also increases the likelihood of a higher salary, an inclination to vote, and to contact elected officials. > > --Jacobs says instead of evening things out, the Internet has given a powerful segment of society one more tool for communication. > > --"The Internet has not proven itself to be this new populist vehicle for bringing in truckloads of alienated, disadvantaged, disenchanted voters who are outside the universe of our politics," he explains. "So these new forms of the Internet are great and they are bringing people out, but I'm afraid for the most part it appears to be the same crowd." > > All of those remarks sound familiar to me. Why? Because I said and wrote very similar things based on my analysis of the membership and content of WOD. In other words, the findings from my studies of WOD reflect what at least some other researchers have found. > > Is it a good thing that WOD has been featured in such a prominent news outlet? It's good for WOD, sure. But it would be a better thing if WOD would overcome its acknowledged failure to attract participation from a bigger, more diverse group, such as the "alienated, disadvantaged, disenchanted voters." And it would have been better communication if the WOD notice touting the MPR story had told readers that the story discusses WOD's shortcomings as well as its successes. > > _______________________________________________ > This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy > All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. > No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. > To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit > http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona > Any problems or suggestions can be directed to > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at > http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org > _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
