+ Technology and Civic Engagement

“Why don’t we just vote through the ATM’s?”, my friend asked last week while listening to another depressing NPR story about our current state of civic disengagement and low voter turnout. To most of us that have come of age in the internet society this question seems legitimate. Why is it so hard to engage citizens in their government, when we have all of these powerful communication systems at our finger tips?

There are great examples of groups using this technology to engage citizens. In fact, politicians have become incredibly adept at using the internet to raise money and mobilize volunteers. However, it is a rarity to find an organization that attempts to engage citizens simply for the betterment of society in general. That is why the mission of AmericaSpeaks struck us so strongly.

AmericaSpeaks is Washington DC based organization that uses communication technologies to engage citizens in governmental policy making. The technology allows them to reach large numbers of citizens, then collect and disseminate their opinions in real time to lawmakers. This approach enabled them to engage 45,000 Americans in a discussion on Social Security. The discussion had the attention of several senators and had documented impact on the policy that our government created.

It is inspiring to see what the creative application of communication technology can do to engage citizens in communities, and the power of this technology to make our government more democratic. It would be interesting to explore other possibilities for wide spread citizen influence of government; even voting every time you withdrew money from an ATM.