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Comparing Three Discussion Forums: Hateful, Chaotic and Just About Right |
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Written by John Della Volpe
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Tuesday, 02 June 2009 |
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Spending a few minutes tonight on Governor Patrick's Online Community Forum -- and then on the front page of Boston.com and President Obama's Open Government site -- I was struck by a tale of three very different kinds of "communities."
- In a word, the Boston.com community seemed shrill, hateful and not at all welcoming to anyone who considers themselves a grown-up, as evidenced by the comment from "Josh" regarding a local talk show host's characterization of Mexican immigrants as "criminaliens," "primitives," "leeches," and exporters of "women with mustaches and VD." Josh, commenter #1 on the Boston.com site, was quick to reply that "I don't want to listen to him if he has to apologize ... for telling the truth." Classy Josh.
- On the Obama Open Government site, the forum seems disorganized, chaotic and not serious. The number one idea of the community that has been created to "change the culture of government to embrace collaboration?" -- "End the imperial presidency ... and prosecute Bush, Cheney ..." Number two? You guessed it, "Legalize marijuana." What a disappointment.
- While the Patrick site (NB, that we helped conceive and engineer) is clearly not perfect, the results are startlingly different -- and better IMHO. No vitriol, no hatred -- mostly respect and after less than a week more than a hundred pretty good ideas. Some might be very good (read the regionalization section) as they evolve over time -- and unlike the special interest dominated forums I mentioned above, this one seems to be fairly representative of the Commonwealth. Our youngest member is 18, our oldest, 81.
The greatest difference between Governor Patrick's efforts and the other two is that the Governor takes his very seriously. He is personally engaging, reading and responding to comments when he has a few minutes. His staff is following up on requests and the citizen moderator is personally welcoming new members. Unlike Boston.com and the OpenGov -- the Governor's site is not only about technology. Technology for idea generation or most other things does not work unless there's a human element from the beginning -- moderating, optimizing and reacting all the way through. We think that the Governor's forum works because it's both high-tech and high-touch to borrow a phrase from another client. We have learned over the last two years that it's the combination of people and technology that generate the best ideas. It's a little more work, perhaps a few more dollars -- but in the end, I promise, it's worth it.
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I was pleasantly surprised when I first stumbled across the Governor's "Online Community Forum" last week. Of course, it looked very similar to GovLoop.com (for federal govt. subjects) because it was built on the Ning.com platform.
After signing in (I used my existing Ning account and password), I look around for a place to talk about improving "civic engagement" through use of the Internet. But, ironically, there was no place on the Online Forum to talk *about* the Online Forum. There were only four "silos" of topics, and none of them (Lobbying came the closest) was seemed right. There was not even a space for "Other Topics You Think Should Be Here".
So I left a message on the "wall" of the "Citizen Moderator" asking for guidance on where the "miscellaneous" area was. I knew that the site was only open for about a week, and seven days later, I still have not heard anything back. Not even a notice that I had been "friended" (turns out that I had).
Apparently, when the site was set up on Ning, it did not have the email-alert feature installed. All the other Ning communities to which I belong tell me when someone has "friended" me, written on my wall, etc. (GovLoop.com being one example.) Also, apparently, you forgot to tell your "Citizen Moderator" to check her very own profile page for comments (because she won't get an email-alert about it).
So, due to the lack of email-alerts, my first day on the forum ended up being, essentially, my last day.
Fifteen years ago, I was moderator of an email-listserv of over 1,000 subscribers on the Clinton-Gore effort to "reinvent government". So I *know* about online moderation. I don't like "bulletin-board-style" websites that expect me to "check back" to see if anything has changed (like I have nothing better to do). That's what email is for.
Please understand that there is nothing that I would like more than for the Governor and the President to get their respective government agencies to use the technology available (for many years now) to better engage the public. I don't know what the Governor's plans are for something that lasts more than a week, but I would like to help that happen in any way I can. I hope this is not just a flash-in-the-pan project so they can brag about it in a press-release.
My contact info is at the "About Me" link at http://www.UStransparency.com
vr, Stephen Buckley