Building the Commons A collection of slides from a seminar presentation By Steven Clift (Board Chair, E-Democracy, ).

Building the CommonsA collection of slides from a seminar presentation

By Steven Clift

http://www.publicus.net(Board Chair, E-Democracy, http://www.e-democracy.org)

Copyright 2003

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Building the Commons• Build the Citizen Commons Online

– Related terms: Agora, The Forum, Town Square, Town Hall Meeting, Public Sphere, Public Space

• Goals– Create an online center of real community life online where views

on local issues can be publicly exchanged. – Create the ability for new ideas and information to enrich local life

and decision-making. – Connect the Commons to online consultations, communities of

practice techniques, social software, etc…

• How?– Succeed with active citizens first. Open to all, but most citizens will

remain skeptical until results are demonstrated– Build on the two-way nature of the Internet– Convenience - use e-mail-based group “publishing” at its core

• Why?– Informs, educates, and activates– Expand diversity of dialogue, counter media fragmentation

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Building the Commons

• Where does the Commons exist today?– Neighborhoods everywhere, under the radar

• Adams-Morgan, Washington, DC• Cleveland Park, Washington, DC

– Cities, city-wide e-lists are very rare, very special• Minneapolis, St. Paul, Winona, Minnesota• Arlington, Massachusetts• Knoxville, Tennessee• Tripoli, Lebanon

– State, National, Global• Minnesota Politics Discuss• e-thepeople.org – News talk, events (web)• UK OpenDemocracy.Net – Articles and discussion (web)• Many regional media sites, but many have closed

– Hey! We need a global directory of _local_ forums

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Building the Commons• No, not like Hyde Park

– Not one to few

– The Commons seeks to connect many-to-many throughdialogue not ranting and flaming

– Other online places, such as newsgroups provide an online Hyde Park

– Even the pigeons look disengaged

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Building the Commons• Minnesota E-Democracy e-democracy.org

Since 1994, almost a decade of success!

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Building the Commons

• Online Civic Communication Model 1994-98

Commons

Group communicationremains highly private via e-mail without commons

Commons serves as public group communication organizer, multiplier, and amplifier; “leaks” back into private communication

vs.

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Building the Commons

• TheCommonsClose-up

Mayor’s Office

“SecondaryNetworks”

City Department

PersonalNetworks

Local Media

Political Activist

Reporte

rCiti

zen

#1

City Staff

Citizen #2

Candidate

Res

earc

her

Council Member

Neighborhood Leader

Student

List Manager

Citizen

#500

Craz

y Pe

rson

Citizens

Issues ForumE-mail group server sends posts direct to people and web archive

Send-Receive Public Sphere

You subscribe onceCommitment madeMay post via e-mail

Everyone is a citizen!

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Building the Commons• Online Civic Communication Model 1998+

Commons

One-way content, semi-public online advocacy without the commons

Commons diffusion, viable two-way options tied to online advocacy and one-way content

vs.

Citizen Commons Online

Online Consultation

Online Civic Events

Hou

sin

g

Park

s

Recy

clin

g

Gra

ffiti

Child

care

Communities of Practice for

Policy Implementation

Etc.

The big picture

someday? …

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Related Resources• E-Democracy Research Links

– http://www.e-democracy.org/researchIncludes great academic articles and more.

• Start an Online Commons (9 tips)– http://www.e-democracy.org/do/commons.html

• A Wired Agora (the Minneapolis story)– http://www.publicus.net/present/agora.html

• E-Democracy Thrives in Winona– http://onlinedemocracy.winona.org/startup.html

• StarTribune: Minneapolis e-mail forum has become a force in city politics– http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/773948.html

• E-Democracy Training– http://www.e-democracy.org/center/training.html

Building the CommonsCopyright 2003, Steven Clift, Publicus.Net

Further Information

• Democracies Online Newswirehttp://www.e-democracy.org/doOver 2500 people around the world exchanging announcements, news, and articles related to e-democracy, e-government, and e-politics.

• E-Democracy Resources Flyerhttp://publicus.net/articles/edemresources.htmlLinks to the top e-democracy starting points on a two page flyer available in HTML, Word, and PDF.

• Publicus.Net http://www.publicus.netMore articles and presentations by Steven Clift