Contest to find better ways for citizens to interact with governments
Ideas for web activism sought out. Projects that harness the web to help improve communities are being sought by a net charity. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition] The linked announcement at the BBC includes:
The winning website should offer something very
different to traditional council or government websites according to Dr
Jo Twist, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy
Research (IPPR). "If I have an issue about the lack of recycling in my local community, I can feel more effective by taking direct action through a MySociety site," she says. "It would take too long to take the same action by going to my local council website. They are just not well designed and don't use web tools effectively." The collaborative aspects of many of the sites and the use of software such as wikis normally used on community websites increase the accessibility and appeal of the sites. "This is what politics and political engagement are about in a digital age," says Dr Twist. "Direct, collaborative action, and direct response." Emphasis above is mine. I think we would have the same contrast in the US between possible rapid direct actions and going through the official web channels. I plan to follow up on the innovative solutions that win this. Is there a similar competition in the United States? Are designers so concerned about the coolness of Ajax, Web 2.0 and the myriad of new web frameworks, that we're forgetting about good purposes for the sites?
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