Liftoff - Issues Forums Builders Latest Posts 2008-06-12T08:48:40Z E-Democracy.Org Forums http://forums.e-democracy.org http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/liftoff/messages/posts.atom GroupServer http://forums.e-democracy.org/favicon.ico W3C eGovernment Activity http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/3MrDKtk2eeL853MIxnpjvs Dan Jellinek /p/danjellinek 2008-06-12T08:48:40Z
Hi,
I don;t know much more than this yet, but we had heard about it and are
planning to do an interview and write a story about it in our next
E-Government Bulletin email newsletter, due out friday 20 or monday 23 june.
cheers,
W3C eGovernment Activity http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/4YoyAIbWQ6GCxrfJXFy6fa MJ Ray /p/mjray 2008-06-12T02:38:38Z
I just saw this in the W3C newsletter - anyone know more or want to
comment on it, please?  -- Thanks, MJR

New eGovernment Activity to Help Improve Government through Better Use
of the Web

   W3C launches today a new forum for governments, citizens,
   researchers, and other stakeholders to investigate how best to use
   Web technology for good governance and citizen participation. "Open
   Standards, and in particular Semantic Web Standards, can help lower
   the cost of government, make it easier for independent agencies to
   work together, and increase flexibility in the face of change," said
   Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director. W3C invites participation in the new
   eGovernment Interest Group, which is open to the public. The group
   will identify best practices and guidelines in this area, document
   where current technology does not adequately address stakeholder
   needs, and suggest improvements via the standards process. Read the
   W3C eGovernment FAQ and press release, and learn more about the W3C
   eGovernment Activity.

   http://www.w3.org/2007/eGov/
   http://www.w3.org/2007/eGov/
   http://www.w3.org/2007/eGov/IG/
   http://www.w3.org/2007/eGov/IG/faq
   http://www.w3.org/2008/06/egov-pressrelease
   http://www.w3.org/2007/eGov/

Source: http://www.w3.org/News/Public/pnews-20080609
Seeking input on a cross-community forum idea http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/2BRtlpAv3pyaClgCzDhCWW Julie Olague /p/julieolague1 2008-05-27T21:50:10Z
Steven,

A couple thoughts:
 If I understand correctly, the current Forums would be doing some networking
and outreach work in nearby communities...sounds viable and worth pursuing...
I'd like to see as many Forums started as possible.

While keeping our Forum local and focused on our issues, we would be able
to connect and share with our sister Forums, when topics of mutual interest are
posted...Fabulous!

1. I would be interested in working on this project
2. With the leadership that we have already, I can foresee a strong membership.
3. The funding can be handled through grants or  a possible status change to
    501(c) non-profit as well as donations.

As for attracting new community leaders to begin Forums, again, I believe it's
all in the outreach and recruitment process just as we do locally, on a broader
scale.

Certainly worth looking into Steven,

Peace,

Julie Olague
Las Vegas, NM
<email obscured>
Seeking input on a cross-community forum idea http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/p5o0R4Irc6qh1KkwznNPu Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-05-27T20:31:48Z
This is a really rough idea ...

We've been interested in ways to connect people across our Issues Forum
communities. Our local networks are filled with active citizens working
to improve their local communities. While there are certainly
professionals on our forums who do "community development" or "planning"
or are a professional expert in something, these voices we hear most
tend to come from "just do it" kind of people.

How might we help people on our forums be more effective who don't have
access to professional support networks?

How might we connect "active citizens" from new communities such that
they would also be inspired to create local Issues Forums?

So my rough idea is to propose a simple
"<email obscured>" online group for local
exchange of citizen-based ideas, innovations, and practical experiences
on improving the quality of life in local places.

While professionals tend to sub-divide by practices, my preference is
for a silo breaking space that empowers local community builders with
ideas and suggestions from other people who like them who are making a
difference locally. So whether it is an exchange on traffic calming,
improving recycling, or the many many *similar* local issues that come
up independently on our various forums interested folks would have
access information on multiple topics.

What do folks think of this rough idea?

A few of the questions that I have are:

1. Is there an interested volunteer Forum Manager?
2. How many of our current 3,000+ members might join? 200 would be nice.
3. Is this a fundable idea? (Might demonstrating something help us seek
grants to expand participation and add cross-community knowledge
exchange features.)
4. Would this attract new participants not currently covered by an
Issues Forum an inspire them lead new forum start-ups (funded ones in
particular)? (One of our priorities is to spread awareness to more
places such that local community foundations, local governments, etc.
will fund assisted forum start-ups. Attracting the types of people who
would start local Issues Forums by providing a useful exchange now might
make this more likely.)

Again, I am looking for input on the idea to see if it is worth
proposing to our Board and others.

Cheers,
Steven Clift
Board Chair
FYI - Personal Democracy Forum Conference Discount http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/5DuHZpSCpLTyDzWR12NO5l Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-05-21T02:21:17Z
The folks at PDF wanted me to extend this discount to E-Democracy.Org
volunteers. If you plan or are interested in attending this important
conference in New York City, make sure you use the discount. The day after on
June 25 I am hoping to organize an E-Democracy specific input/outreach
gathering, so let me know if you will be around. - Steven Clift,
<email obscured>


From: Steven Clift <<email obscured>>
To: <email obscured>
Sent: 5/19/08, 4:20:42 PM
Subject: [DW] Conf - DoWire Discount for Personal Democracy Forum Early Birds -
23-24 June 2008 - New York City

If you are on the fence about attending the now two day Personal Democracy
Forum - http://www.personaldemocracy.com/conference - in New
York, perhaps the DoWire's member discount will entice you to join me at this
conference. See the full announcement below.

For those outside the U.S., this is one of the best e-democracy events worth
jumping over the pond. Their second day (where I will be speaking) includes a
major focus on governance and ties to my questions about "White House 2.0" and
local up democracy building online between elections. This is a huge shift in
U.S. interest in ways citizens can
engage each other and their governments online. We've been stuck on
e-campaigning for tool long.

In addition to the conference, I am planning a gathering either the evening of
June 24 or on June 25th. I'd like to update people on the work of
E-Democracy.Org, gather your input and have a mini-version of the dynamic
neighbors online discussion -
http://www.dowire.org/notes/?p=405 - I held in DC the other week. If you'd like
an invite, drop me a note: <email obscured>

Sincerely,
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org and DoWire.Org

Personal Democracy Forum 2008

*Agenda:*        To learn how technology is changing the world of
government, not-for-profits, and civic engagement.
* Date:*             June 23?24, 2008
*Place:*           Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln
Center (60th and Broadway, NYC).
*Admission:*   $595 for Early-Bird Special  (minus an additional $150
for DoWire members by May 31st only!)
*Website:*       http://www.personaldemocracy.com/conference
*

*Special Discount for DoWire.org Members!*

*Use discount code "*dowirepdf*" to receive $150 off the Early-Bird
special!*

Instructions

*1. Log onto http://regonline.com/pdf2008
2. Click "early bird registration"
3. In the field that appears and reads "Promotion," type in discount
code* *"*dowirepdf*"
4. Continue with registration


*
Technology and the Internet are changing politics and democracy.*
*
_Why Attend_*

* Hear from the nation's top opinion makers, thought leaders, political
practitioners, technologists, and journalists
* Network, exchange ideas, and explore how technology and the Internet
can help you and your organization succeed in the new networked world.
* Learn about new online tools and how to use them to raise money, build
support, and change the world
* Meet new customers, partners, collaborators, and innovators


*
_Who Should Attend_*

* Political professionals
* Non-profit executives and staff
* Communication
* Bloggers
* Social entrepreneurs
* Advocacy organizations
* Technology companies
* Anyone excited about the future of democracy and advocacy.


*
_Thought Leader Speakers This Year Include:_
*
*  Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post
*  Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia
*  Vint Cerf, Google
*  Larry Lessig, Stanford University
*  Craig Newmark, Craigslist.com
*  Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo
*  Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards '08
*  Michael Arrington, TechCrunch
*  Joe Trippi, John Edwards '08 & Dean '04
*  Ben Smith, Politico.com
*  Esther Dyson, EDventure.com
*  Scott Heiferman, Meetup.com
*  Robert Scoble, FastCompany.tv
*  Jason Calacanis, Mahalo
*  Chuck Defeo, Townhall.com
*  Robin Chase, Zipcar
*  Amy Holmes, CNN Political Analyst
*  Beth Noveck, New York Law School
*  Mike Turk, George Bush '04
*  Patrick Ruffini, Republican Web strategist
*  Douglas Rushkoff, Author
*  Sarah Stirland, Wired
*  Zephyr Teachout, Duke University
*  Matt Stoller, OpenLeft.com
*  Jose Antonio Vargas, Washington Post
*  Ethan Zuckerman, Berkman Center
*  Ellen Miller, Sunlight Foundation
*  Cyrus Krohn, e-Campaign Director, RNC
*  Mayhill Fowler, OffTheBus.net
*  Steve Grove, YouTube
*  Lee Brenner, MySpace.com
Plus many more!


*
See a YouTube highlight clip from Personal Democracy Forum 2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQSeJ0j1Bkw
*



*_
2008 Personal Democracy Forum Sponsored By:_*

* Mozilla Foundation
* AOL
* Microsoft
* echoditto
* Meetup
* RealClearPolitics

* MSHC Partners
* Ketchum
* BlogAds
* Mobile Commons
* ClickToBlue
* The NY Observer
* CQ Politics
* iContact
* Townhall.com
* justmeans
* eventful
* Care2
* Aristotle
* linkfluence
* thepoint
* National Journal
* freepress


Questions?
Email: <email obscured>
<mailto:<email obscured>>




Member profile for Steven Clift:
http://groups.dowire.org/contacts/stevenclift
Building Neighborhoods Online - Possible DC gathering May 7 http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/1qKfdRaMnVtIi6aDIzphIR Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-04-14T16:48:24Z
I am considering putting together a small session for ~15 to discuss ways to
strengthen neighborhoods using the Internet when I am in Washington DC on
Wednesday, May 7.

In addition to sharing the story about the exciting launch of the Neighborhood
Issues Forum where I live - http://e-democracy.org/se - I'd like to discuss
Vermont's Front Porch Forum, iNeighbors (academic project), the Facebook
Neighborhoods application, Outside.In and Topix's approach to zipcode based
forums, Everyblock.Com, and DC's exceptionally vibrant neighborhood e-mail list
network. I am also interested in  gathering ideas on block-level tools to
support more secure networking among neighbors and how to extend the summer
idea of National Night Out to a winter Local Night Online.

If you would like an invite - drop me a note:

   <email obscured>

Put "Neighborhoods Online Discussion" in the subject.

Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org

P.S. We have a small grant to establish two neighborhood forums in high
immigrant areas in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Work is getting underway. See:
http://e-democracy.org/nf
I am interested in learning about any other examples where such an effort has
attempted to build a geographically bounded space that is fully reflective an
actual and highly diverse local community (v. white middle class active
citizens who are the easiest to recruit).
Anyone here from these U.S. communities? http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/4b5tJK00kwhSza3iQsOqko Scott Aikens /p/scottaikens1 2008-04-04T13:34:24Z
I'm from Detroit!

  And, by the way, check out this recent feature in Crain's Business Detroit:

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/SUB/203236654

  Scott Aikens


Steven Clift <<email obscured>> wrote:

We are potentially preparing a grant request to the Knight Foundation that
would likely promise to help start X Issues Forums in so-called "Knight
Communities." Key to our model is leveraging local volunteer interest and to
not colonize from the outside. Therefore, if we know of people in our sphere
already based in these specific communities it bumps them up in terms of
potential outreach.

This is all very tentative, but it since this list is quite large you never
know where people are today.

Steve

Julie Olague wrote:
> Hi Steven,
>
> I'm from Long Beach, California! Just curious...why the interest in these
communities?
Anyone in NYC on Thursday? http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/7xfWkgcXV21IwQucHs00D5 Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-04-02T18:34:11Z
Tim Erickson is there as a parent helping with his son's class trip. If
you want to connect on Issues Forum over coffee, give him a ring on his
mobile:
612-246-5045.
State of the City - St. Paul 2 http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/55vSoyThO3boXEowg2bi3Y Tim Erickson /p/timerickson1 2008-03-28T15:06:34Z
Whoops - I forget the link:

   http://pages.e-democracy.org/SOC_2008

I'll post more details later, but would like to draw peoples attention
to a project that St. Paul E-Democracy has been working on with the
Mayor's office in St. Paul in conjunction with his State of the City
address.

This is the kind of community organizing that can take place around an
Issues Forum. This is the kind of thing that E-Democracy.Org is
promoting in the communities where we work.

Thanks,

Tim Erickson
State of the City - St. Paul http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/7g7eQZdeEIh4VUAoOdYjx8 Tim Erickson /p/timerickson1 2008-03-28T15:05:31Z
I'll post more details later, but would like to draw peoples attention
to a project that St. Paul E-Democracy has been working on with the
Mayor's office in St. Paul in conjunction with his State of the City
address.

This is the kind of community organizing that can take place around an
Issues Forum. This is the kind of thing that E-Democracy.Org is
promoting in the communities where we work.

Thanks,

Tim Erickson
Anyone here from these U.S. communities? http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/72hvzjX65zhpbxlSNKsFhz Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-03-27T20:12:02Z
We are potentially preparing a grant request to the Knight Foundation that
would likely promise to help start X Issues Forums in so-called "Knight
Communities."  Key to our model is leveraging local volunteer interest and to
not colonize from the outside. Therefore, if we know of people in our sphere
already based in these specific communities it bumps them up in terms of
potential outreach.

This is all very tentative, but it since this list is quite large you never
know where people are today.

Steve

Julie Olague wrote:
> Hi Steven,
>
> I'm from Long Beach, California!  Just curious...why the interest in these
communities?
Anyone here from these U.S. communities? http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/7gkpCpWQGrYGq420gKERNd Julie Olague /p/julieolague1 2008-03-27T19:18:31Z
Hi Steven,

I'm from Long Beach, California!  Just curious...why the interest in these
communities?

Thanks,
Julie

Steven Clift <<email obscured>> wrote:
See map:
http://www.knightfoundation.org/programs/communities/

Aberdeen
Akron
Biloxi
Boulder
Bradenton
Charlotte
Columbia
Columbus
Detroit
Duluth
Fort Wayne
Gary
Grand Forks
Lexington
Long Beach
Macon  Bibb County, Ga.
Miami  Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida
Milledgeville  Baldwin County, Ga.
Myrtle Beach  Horry County, S.C.
Palm Beach  Palm Beach County, Fla.
Philadelphia  Philadelphia, Pa. and Camden, N.J.
San Jose  Santa Clara, southern Alameda and southern San Mateo counties in
California
St. Paul  Ramsey County, Minn.
State College  Centre County, Pa.
Tallahassee  Leon County, Fla.
Wichita  Sedgwick County, Kansas


E-Democracy.Org is preparing an approach to the Knight Foundation.

Steven Clift


Steven Clift
Ericsson, Hennepin
Info about Steven Clift: http://forums.e-democracy.org/contacts/stevenclift

This topic's messages may be viewed at:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/78ZZ8TPhpv7TU9Cyoq1V0T
Anyone here from these U.S. communities? http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/78ZZ8TPhpv7TU9Cyoq1V0T Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-03-26T20:56:39Z
See map:
http://www.knightfoundation.org/programs/communities/

Aberdeen
Akron
Biloxi
Boulder
Bradenton
Charlotte
Columbia
Columbus
Detroit
Duluth
Fort Wayne
Gary
Grand Forks
Lexington
Long Beach
Macon 	Bibb County, Ga.
Miami 	Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida
Milledgeville 	Baldwin County, Ga.
Myrtle Beach 	Horry County, S.C.
Palm Beach 	Palm Beach County, Fla.
Philadelphia 	Philadelphia, Pa. and Camden, N.J.
San Jose 	Santa Clara, southern Alameda and southern San Mateo counties in
California
St. Paul 	Ramsey County, Minn.
State College 	Centre County, Pa.
Tallahassee 	Leon County, Fla.
Wichita 	Sedgwick County, Kansas


E-Democracy.Org is preparing an approach to the Knight Foundation.

Steven Clift
Webcast: Online Consultation and Public Policy Making http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/48wvYUakkIM5bHNKtRppBl Tim Erickson /p/timerickson1 2008-03-13T22:02:00Z
Hello friends:

Just wanted to pass along the word that there will be a live webcast of the
entire "Online Consultation and Public Policy Making: Democracy, Identity, and
New Media" symposia taking place tomorrow at the Moritz College of Law,
Columbus, Ohio.

My interest in this webcast, is that I'm on the agenda as the lunch time
speaker, which may also mean that my presentation will be webcast as well (as
if I needed the extra pressure of millions of online viewers tuning in to the
symposia).

 :-)

For more info about the symposia and how to join the webcast:

 http://www.is-journal.org/symposia.php

I'll be talking about "Building Democracy Through Local Issues Forums."

 - - - - - - - - - - -

Online Consultation and Public Policy Making: Democracy, Identity, and New
Media
March 14, 2008 | 8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Barrister's Club| Moritz College of
Law

E-Goverance: The Internet now offers the world an unprecedented capacity to
foster the sharing of information and to facilitate sustained, many-to-many
communication.  The networking of citizens with their governments, with each
other, and with the organs of civil society has created unprecedented
opportunities for popular engagement in the public sphere. To attend any part
of this conference, please reserve your seat by contacting Adrienne Montalvo,
Executive Editor, at <email obscured> by March 12, 2008. Please indicate whether you
would like to reserve a lunch.

The Symposim will feature researchers from Australia, England, France, Israel,
Italy, Korea and Slovenia, as well as the United States, addressing a variety
of e-democracy issues from a diverse interdisciplinary background and both
theoretical and applied research.

This is an active workshop for members of the International Working Group on
Online Consultation and Public Policy Making, some presenting and others
discussing the principal papers. Audience members, including students, are
welcome to attend, but reservations must be made in advance.

Principal presenters include:

  * Steven J. Balla, Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Policy
and Public Administration, Elliott School of International Affairs, George
Washington University
  * Patrizia Bertini, Independent Practitioner and Researcher, European
Internet Accessibility Observatory
  * Andrew Chadwick, Head, Department of Politics and International Relations,
and Founding Director, New Political Communication Unit, University of London
  * Sungsoo Hwang, Ph.D. candidate in Public Affairs, Graduate School of Public
and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh
  * Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Associate Professor of Communication Sciences,
University of Technology at Compiègne, France
  * Kerrie Oakes, Ph.D. candidate in Public Administration, Griffi th
University, and former Policy Offi cer, Queensland eDemocracy Policy Team in
Australia
  * Oren Perez, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University,
Ramat Gan, Israel
  * Alicia Schatteman, Ph.D. candidate, School of Public Affairs and
Administration, Rutgers University.

Best wishes,

Tim Erickson
E-Democracy.Org
SV: Some example start-up posts http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/5xcpyEeQ5n5z7A9Xu3Prsq lars heyerdahl /p/larsheyerdahl 2008-03-04T18:14:46Z
Hi Steven,

Is this something i may, can, should or ougt to join here from Norway?
Sounds very much like a very local, your own, neighborhood thing.

Went to http://e-democracy.org/se - and still - expecting a Swedish site,
got no wiser.

Pls advice.
Thnks.
Some example start-up posts http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/o4Am0wrtzAcX3uMfONPuQ Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-03-03T20:17:02Z
I wanted to share an update on the launch of the new forum for my neighborhood
in Minneapolis.

I've added the 125 paper sign-up based members.  We are now at 150 members and
I'd like get the forum to 200 registered participants before officially opening
to post.

Steps completed:

1. Bcc: opt-out from paper sign-up - I caught at least 20 e-mail addresses that
were mistyped or hard to read before uploading to the server.

2. Upload paper sign-ups.


3. Sent Welcome how to change password post:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/4NXlQibCkGg0xEg7kN1IWQ

4. Sent "invite your neighbors" post for forwarding:

Something amazing is happening. Over 150 neighbors across the Standish
and Ericsson neighborhoods are coming together online to build a
stronger community in the "real world".

Join me on the forum as it opens in the coming days. Once there are 200
of us, we will average one household per block. At 400, we will have 10
percent of the households in regular contact.

This online forum encourages e-mail or web-based (your choice) sharing
of announcements and discussion of specifically local topics. From
schools and parks to crime and local environment, we can now communicate
across our neighborhoods in minutes.

Unlike most online forms, the host E-Democracy.Org requires civility and
the use of real names. Participation is worth your time, on your own
time. Because we live near one another, conversations will flow back and
forth, offline and back online. Each of us is a connecting point to
dozens of people on our block, on a walk, or at the park.

Where do I join?  Visit:

    http://e-democracy.org/se

Select "register and join" to sign-up. As a default, all members receive
individual posts by e-mail and may publish text, photos, etc. by simply
posting to "<email obscured>". A daily digest
version simply listing topics with links read posts via website is
available as well.

Two important rules keep message volume reasonable - no one may post
more than twice in 24 hours and announcements must be either about
events within the geographic boundaries of the neighborhoods or be made
by direct participants in area community activities (e.g. an invitation
to a Hiawatha Lions pancake breakfast hosted in East Nokomis can only be
made by a Lions member who lives or works in Standish or Ericsson for
example). The forum has two volunteer co-hosts, Victoria Ford (Standish)
and Steven Clift (Ericsson) and they can privately answer any questions
you might have - <email obscured>

Please spread the word by passing this message on your to neighbors.

P.S. Additional background on neighborhood forums across the Twin Cities
is available - http://e-democracy.org/nf -. Also, while this forum is
not officially sponsored by the Standish Ericsson Neighborhood
Association, they are participating in its promotion. E-Democracy.Org,
is experienced in supporting volunteers who host similar dynamic forums
in over ten communities across three countries.

5. Challenged participants to recruit local "who's who" ... we need to open a
forum with those in the halls of power/with access to community resources to
ensure that the forum is heard:

Subject: Who should we invite to join us? Who can help us solve problems, move
resources?

Please forward the invitation I just sent to others you know who live or
work in the neighborhood. Dig out your neighbors e-mail addresses,
perhaps invite them over for coffee as well as to join you on the forum.
:-)  My goal is to have 200 registered members by the time (voluntary)
introductions conclude.

More specifically, who do you personally know who should join us on this
forum?

We want people on the forum who can help us interface with the numerous
public institutions that serve us. Not only can they help share
announcements, they can also help answer questions. Better yet, if we
get this on our loop, they can listen and learn from our discussions be
they about development proposals, crime incidents, etc.

It is best that someone on the forum with a personal connection
volunteer to invite others.

Please volunteer to invite a specific person(s) -
staneric-fm@e-democracyorg - in this role:

1. City council member(s) and aides
2. Police officers who often serve our neighborhood
3. Community policing, National Night Out contacts
3. Principals and interested teachers at the schools where many of our
children attend, school board members
4. Park facility staff and board members in general area
5. County and state legislature elected officials
6. Local librarians
7. Light rail/transit staff knowledgeable about our area
8. Someone from the local fire station
9. Local clergy/places of worship (announcements about special public
events such as visiting choirs, etc. are welcome)
10. Local service club representatives (YMCA, Lions, etc.)
11. Locally owned businesses
12. People highly active in our neighborhood association, NRP staff,
other city/county staff who serve/live in our neighborhood
13. Who are we missing on our map of "public life" in our neighborhood?

Again, please volunteer privately - staneric-fm@e-democracyorg - to take
five minutes and invite someone you know filling any of these roles.
You can just e-mail them right now and cc: <email obscured>
so we know who has been invited. If they say yes, we can just add them
manually to make it easy.

Assuming they say yes, you can also ask them to forward the public
invitation via their own locally relevant e-mail lists to join.

Your Neighbor,
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org

6. Next up will be a follow-up note asking people to be sure to help us invite
others.

7. Moderated Introductions week ... starting later this week ... I hope to get
at least 1/3 of members to say hello as I cruise through sections of the
neighborhood (I think) rotating north and south.
In-Person Recruitment - Forms you can use http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/2rcxB7h01P342hRKBVeEeP Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-02-06T16:17:32Z
Last night was a thrill in Minnesota. It was caucus night as part of the "Super
Tuesday" in our presidential selection process.

Like many of you, I am about to volunteer to host a local forum - in this case
E-Democracy's second neighborhood forum in Minneapolis (in the area where I
live - http://e-democracy.org/se ). Walking the talk.

While I've recruited a bit online and last weekend the neighborhood association
included a plug in their print newsletter sent to the few thousand households
in the neighborhood, registrations sat at 25 people. Last night I signed up 116
more members so we can now open to posting.

Last year, the Canterbury, New Zealand launch reminded us of the importance of
promoting paper sign-ups at the right public events to recruit people. What
might you do in your community to bring in new members?

Here are updated sign-up forms/templates you can all use in your in-person
recruitment efforts:

  * US PDF: http://e-democracy.org/if/issuesforumsignupform.pdf

  * US Word: http://e-democracy.org/if/issuesforumsignupform.doc  (if you want
to change text)

  * UK/NZ A4 Word: http://e-democracy.org/if/issuesforumsignupformuknz.doc
(you can adapt text)

More details: http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/138

The upload process is pretty easy - all you need to do is type up the results
in a spreadsheet with columns for "first name," "last name," and "e-mail" and
send them to us: <email obscured>

I'll report back on how the Standish Ericcson Neighbors Forum opening goes. One
caution is that in-person recruitment may be too effective and bring in people
who don't want a lot of e-mail or are not quite sure what they signed up to
receive.

My plan:

1. Type the results into a spreadsheet to prepare for uploading to GroupServer.

2. Send a Bcc: e-mail to everyone confirming that they are about to be added to
the online group. Letting them know that they can easily change their settings
to digest or unsubscribe and add a few lines to get them excited about what is
next.

3. Add the new e-mail addresses while the group is still closed to public
posting.

4. Send a "Want only one e-mail a day? Digest option" note. Setting digest is
super easy via e-mail.

5. Send a "How to change your password to something you'll remember" post

6. Send a "We about to open, but first let's each invite someone on our block
to join"

7. Ask keepers of area e-mail announcement lists (police departments community
policing list, neighborhood association, local city council member) to pass on
the invite and provide announcements to the forum when appropriate. I think it
is easier to get e-officials on a forum before you launch.

8. Send a reminder about digest mode with a sample digest and introduce the
web-based no e-mail option as an alternative (I want to keep as many people on
digest as possible). By keeping the group on moderation initially you can stop
the lemming effect of one person saying (if often not so nice a way) take me
off this darn thing leading to a series of me-too replies. It may only be five
to ten people, but wayward unsubscribe efforts sent to group by mistake creates
a false impression of a negative movement.

9. Keep group on temporary moderation for the "Introductions" phase to manage
_voluntary_ introductions over a week or two. I strongly recommend a series of
introductions both when opening forums and re-introductions every year or so.
This humanizes the forum and builds trust and accountability to real, known
people. You'll find roughly twice the number of people are willing to say hello
than post their opinions on a regular basis. People who post introductions have
now broken the ice and are more likely to post again. The first call will
generate 10-15 or so introductions, but don't stop there - thank those how
found it easy to say hello and you'll prompt another 10 or more people to say
hello.

10. Make the "Introductions" topic "Sticky" via the web so it is listed a top
the web view to help new and prospective members get a sense of who's who.

11. Open to the forum to a fully unmoderated mode for general discussion and
exchange of announcements.

12. Tune in particularly closely to early rule violations - off topic posts,
uncivil behavior, etc. - and act decisively early to put the whole group on
notice that the forum charter and rules will be enforced. This will actually
improve self-policing and reduce the management required over the long-term.

13. Keep the setting, "moderate new members" in place to avoid fly by night
posters, but actively set them to unmoderate with their first legitimate post.

14. Down the road, introduce the opportunity for participants to upload a photo
to there member profile page which will stick their picture next to there posts
on the web view.

Cheers,
Steven Clift
Chair, E-Democracy.Org
Bill Coleman Introduction http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/6r4ukdRrPTW3IJ7jfCNBwC Bill Coleman /p/bccoleman 2008-02-01T18:49:44Z
Hello,

I am excited to be part of a team here in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, USA that
will be working to build a Community Issues Forum.  We have named our forum
- Wildwood Exchange.  Wildwood is a well-recognized name in our area of the
Twin Cities Metro Area based on the name of a long-gone amusement park.  You
can learn more about Mahtomedi at www.ci.mahtomedi.mn.us. Our targeted
geographic area is our school district that includes all or parts of seven
small communities.

As for me, I have my own consulting firm working with communities on
economic development and telecommunications/technology.  You can learn more
about me and my work at www.communitytechnologyadvisors.com.

Any advice is appreciated!
Delays in forum postings http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/3oaLg0zDHQSkrMIooy2Q7W Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-01-14T18:52:31Z
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:18:59 +1300
From: Richard Waid <<email obscured>>

On Sun, 2008-01-13 at 21:20 -0600, Steven Clift wrote:
> As I understand there is a first time e-mail to post delay of 30
>  minutes as part of an anti-spam "grey list" feature.
>
> I am not exactly sure why it is 30 minutes.  It may be that with the
>  recent upgrade the greylisting to "white list" feature was reset.
>  Once an e-mail address successfully posts, the delay should be
>  removed.

Hi all:

It isn't actually 30 minutes -- it's actually more like 5 minutes,
*HOWEVER* some email servers may backoff to 30 minutes when they receive
the initial refusal.

Unfortunately, like many email providers we have to deal with torrents
of spam, and grey-listing is the most effective measure that we have. I
can try experimenting with the threshold again, but it's a difficult to
get right for everyone, while still effectively rejecting spam.

Best regards,
Delays in forum postings http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/1n0noW7P1JByBBwmAKFjsU Steven Clift /p/stevenclift1 2008-01-14T03:20:25Z
As I understand there is a first time e-mail to post delay of 30 minutes as
part of an anti-spam "grey list" feature.

I am not exactly sure why it is 30 minutes.  It may be that with the recent
upgrade the greylisting to "white list" feature was reset.  Once an e-mail
address successfully posts, the delay should be removed.

Let us know if your continued e-mail to group posts are delayed in a similar
fashion:

   <email obscured>

Cheers,
Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org


David Braund wrote:
> Thanks for this, David, but I've never had a problem e-mailing posts before.
Also I notice that the contents of my re-posting are mostly missing where they
appear on the website. Maybe liftoff have something to say about that...