Social networking sites have grown more important in recent years as a venue for political involvement, learning, and debate. Overall, 39% of all American adults took part in some sort of political activity on a social networking site during the 2012 campaign. This means that more Americans are now politically active on social networking sites (SNS) than used them at all as recently as the 2008 election campaign. At that point, 26% of the population used a social networking site of any kind. (continue)

A rallying cry for revolutionizing democracy in the digital age, Citizenville reveals how ordinary Americans can reshape their government for the better. Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor of California, argues that today’s government is stuck in the last century while—in both the private sector and our personal lives—absolutely everything else has changed. The explosion of social media, the evolution of Internet commerce, the ubiquity of smart phones that can access all the world’s information; in the face of these extraordinary advances, our government appears increasingly irrelevant and ... (continue)

Australia-based Bang the Table, offers a 14-page guide on how Facebook can best be used as part of a community engagement strategy. With tips on common questions like “pages vs. groups” and “anonymity vs. transparency,” this is a great guide for those new to using social media for engagement. Check out the 11 tips on page 13 for tips like: Use appropriate language and tone. Remember Facebook is a social network and people go there to be social. Reflect this in the type of language you ... (continue)

This 10-page white paper by Della G. Rucker, AICP, CEcD and Patrick F. Whalen (version dated November 9, 2012) was developed to orient readers who are interested in local public participation to some of the existing online platforms and services available at this time, and create a base level of understanding with regard to each approach’s strengths and most appropriate applications. The following companies (and their current platforms) are described: Mindmixer Urban Interactive Studio Delib Crowdbrite Change By Us Ideascale PlaceSpeak Open Town Hall Citizen Participation Suite ... (continue)

The CivicCommons.com is a new way to bring communities together with conversation and emerging technology. We provide the place and tools for citizens to connect with and inform one another and to take action. It’s a bit like a virtual pub or coffee house, where citizens and officials can gather to talk about community issues, brainstorm solutions, coordinate plans –  and maybe even have fun and meet new people along the way. We take some of our inspiration from Clay Shirky’s book, Cognitive Surplus, which ... (continue)

This 2011 Kettering Foundation working paper by Laura W. Black focuses on the question: To what extent can digital media truly offer potential opportunities for deliberative decision making, particularly the practice of deliberation itself? To address this question, this working paper assesses features of online deliberation by reviewing online deliberative tools, examples of other potentially deliberative websites, and relevant academic research. (continue)

Front Porch Forum‘s mission is to help neighbors connect and build community. We do that by hosting regional networks of online neighborhood forums. Common sense and a growing body of research tell us that well-connected neighborhoods are friendlier places to live, with less crime, healthier residents, higher property values, and better service from local government and public utilities. (continue)

This June 2012 paper by Dr. Andy Williamson was published by Future Digital. The report, Evolving Digital Engagement: From Participation to Partnership,  reviews the background and context for digital engagement, with a focus on the shifting social and media landscape and the potential for more radical forms of policy development. (continue)

The MIT Center for Civic Media creates and deploys technical and social tools that fill the information needs of communities. We are inventors of new technologies that support and foster civic media and political action; we are a hub for the study of these technologies; and we coordinate community-based test beds both in the United States and internationally. Bridging two established programs at MIT—one known for inventing alternate technical futures, the other for identifying the cultural and social potential of media change—the Center for Civic ... (continue)

This 2012 guide from IBM Center for the Business of Government, on the benefits – and risks – of hosting a government Twitter feed, was written by Ines Mergel. Like many technological tools, Twitter does not come with an instruction manual. To help both government executives who must decide whether Twitter is a useful tool for their organizations and frontline managers who will create and administer the Twitter account, Ines Mergel has written this guide, detailing the benefits – and risks – of hosting a Twitter ... (continue)