A Social Citizens blog post by Kristin Ivie on the 2009 Civic Health Index
On April 21, 2011, Atlas Corps, Civic Enterprises, and NCoC hosted a panel discussion entitled “The Road to Democracy: My Reflections on the Egyptian Revolution.” Three Egyptian women shared their first-hand experience during the Revolution.
Here, Scott Beale, CEO of Atlas Corps, flips the coin to reflect on what American activists, nonprofit professionals, and social entrepreneurs can learn from the Egyptian Revolution.
Interesting infographic from Pew Research about the role of mobile devices and social media in news consumption.
Technology plays an increased role in the way citizens respond to community emergencies and, in some cases, fight back against crime.
With so many ways (and likely many more to come) to engage, it seems that both citizens and authorities are finding positive ways to work together. While our last discussion explored the role of “Citizen Superheroes” in fighting crime as costumed and cape crusaders, this week we’ll explore the technology weapons in their arsenal that allow even the most shy citizen to get involved.
Measures of political involvement are down. Social media usage is up. A lot of attention is being focused on the role of social networks in the 2012 election, but early data suggests it is not realizing its potential.
Is the relationship between politics and social media hyped, or mis-measured and mis-communicated?
An interesting new study from Edelman called the “Capital Staffers Index” explored the perceptions of senior legislative staff related to global public affairs and communications.
Among the Index findings was the role of social media in shaping policy and political influence. It found that “although traditional methods public affairs components are still valuable, social media channels have experienced a meteoric rise in their ability to shape and influence policy worldwide over the past year.”
This holiday season, we’re joining the Case Foundation in #GoodSpotting! Together, we’re catching people (or organizations) in the act of doing good.
There is no question that the rise of social media has impacted the way that American and global citizens interact with one another. The rapid transfer of ideas and perspectives across geographical boundaries encourages innovation and discussion in a way that the world has never seen before. The proliferation of new media is occurring so quickly that even those at the forefront struggle to keep up. But the major question still remains: In what ways can social media reinvigorate American democracy?
In Using Online Tools to Engage-and be Engaged- by The Public, author Matt Leighninger describes how a “public manager” can use specific technologies to harness the power of active citizenship to make informed decisions consistent with constituent values. The tools vary greatly, but each creates a virtual space for structured deliberation and expression, and promotes collaborative identification and resolution of an issue.
Most Members of Congress have thoroughly integrated social media into their communications operations, and are using new media tools to gauge public opinion, communicate with constituents, and reach new people, according to a survey of congressional staff.
A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project observed that Internet users, and particularly social networkers, are more likely to be involved in groups and volunteer. This is similar to some preliminary eCitizenship research done by NCoC as part of the Civic Health Index.
With this in mind, how should civic organizations prioritize their staff time – more or less on digital communications (especially social networks)? Or should nonprofits increase the total pool of potential supporters by narrowing the digital divide?
In a TEDxPotomac talk, Craig Newmark referenced the reformation of the church based on the work of Martin Luther and suggested this decentralization was occurring again, nearly 500 years later, based on the use of social media.
Through the use of social media today, is our political system seeing its own reformation? And can technology be credited with cultivating trust for government among Millennials?
Let us know what you think.