Think Global, Act Local : Community Networking Websites

Through class discussions and both class groups' business case models, the topic of web-based community networking forums has emerged multiple times. In fact, my classmate Monica astutely pointed out in class today that both group presentations were in some way related to community-based forums, indicating many class members had similar ideas of the potential of eDemocracy applications at the local level. This is an exciting prospect for me since, as they say, the best participants in democracy 'think globally, but act locally.'

At the beginning of class, we learned about models in the Minnesota that are highlighted on E-Democracy.org, where neighborhoods maintain issue forums of local significance on topics such as recycling and waste management, road repair, local elections, historic preservation efforts, local digital divide issues, etc. There are many vendors that offer internet voting systems and/or on-line community networking systems. Some of these include:

http://www.safevote.com/
http://www.regenesys.co.uk/home/

E-Democracy.org has an interesting list of model community forum sites as well. As we breiefly discussed in class, these local on-line forums are, in a sense, at the forefront of eDemocracy. A great example of this is Hawaii's new http://www.hawaiiconcon.org/, a website designed for Hawaians to "learn, discuss, and decide" whether a 2008 Constitutional Convention should happen. In Hawaii, the state constitution can be amended by a vote of the legislature, or by means of a Constitutional Convention, where citizens radify amendments by a majority vote. This website educates citizens on the process and provides a forum for discussion, which especially useful considering the geography of the state.