Re: BBC -Web 'fuelling crisis in politics'

Posted by Hugh McGuire on Nov 20, 2006; 7:48pm
URL: http://civicaccess.416.s1.nabble.com/BBC-Web-fuelling-crisis-in-politics-tp756p760.html

> But "we" also, I think share some of the blame here by not really
> developing effective models of how to usefully engage the online world
> in policy discussion/deliberation to some sort of effective outcome...
I think there are two separate things here: internet as a means of  
public discourse on policy; and as a means of civic-engagement/action.

The first one (probably) is just seen as a headache in politics, as  
important as it is; the second they probably can't even imagine.  
civic action (not debate, although that is important too) to me is  
the real possibility that sits in front of us, and what  
civicaccess.ca should be (i think) striving for. Getting the data we  
need to *do* things, and actually ding them. Because without doing  
constructive things with the data, we are just part of the swirling  
hot-air of internet debate and cranks who complain to politicians by  
sending them nasty emails (as i do, on occasion).

But what I would love to see, under the umbrella or blessing of  
civicaccess.ca, is actual projects (based on data wrestled from the  
government) whose utility is obvious to everybody. That's much harder  
to ignore than another group lobbying the government for one thing or  
another.

2 cents.