October 27, 2009
October 22, 2009
“ [Clay SHirky] “Every URL is a latent community. …This is a revolution; it can not be contained by the institutions. …People can now talk directly to each other without asking for permission. …We now have a medium in which we can have tiny global movements.
“ [Catalist microtargeting during ‘08 campaign] On the whole, progressives completed over 127 million contacts to more than 49 million unique individuals[1]. Of these, 28 million voted on Election Day, representing over 20% of all votes cast. Furthermore, and of greater significance, is that 82% of this work occurred in 16 swing states, accounting for 37%[2] of all votes cast in these states[3]. The results described in this report strongly indicate that progressive activities had positive effects, and in some places were essential to progressive victories.
“ [Data backed microtargeting] According to the analysis, those registered voters contacted by Catalist member groups turned out at a rate of 74.6%; the voters who weren’t turned out in proportions roughly equivalent to the national average — about 60.4%. In four states, the number of new votes cast by liberals exceeded Obama’s victory margin: in Ohio, Florida, Indiana in North Carolina. If you assume that only 60% of these voters chose Obama, the margin was still greater than Obama’s in North Carolina and Indiana, both essential to his victory. With the caveat that correlation does not equal causation, the report provides convincing, if not absolute, evidence that the progressive/Democratic data-mining and targeting operation measurably helped elect Barack Obama.
October 13, 2009
“ [Lessig against transparency] How could anyone be against transparency? Its virtues and its utilities seem so crushingly obvious. But I have increasingly come to worry that there is an error at the core of this unquestioned goodness. We are not thinking critically enough about where and when transparency works, and where and when it may lead to confusion, or to worse. And I fear that the inevitable success of this movement—if pursued alone, without any sensitivity to the full complexity of the idea of perfect openness—will inspire not reform, but disgust. The “naked transparency movement,” as I will call it here, is not going to inspire change. It will simply push any faith in our political system over the cliff.
October 11, 2009
“ [To spend less governments go digital] That a giant technology company underwrote the gathering suggests that there is money to be made in helping governments tackle thorny problems in traffic management, energy use, public health, education and social services — and that technology has an important role to play. Local governments, like many businesses, are struggling with a data glut. Agencies collect huge amounts of information about topics as diverse as building permits, potholes, Medicaid cases and foster-child placements. Technology, according to computer experts and government officials, can be a powerful tool to mine vast troves of government data for insights to streamline services and guide policy. “The mistake people make is to think that collecting the data is the endgame,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, the mayor of New York. The real payoff, he said, takes another step. “We actually use the data,” he noted.
October 7, 2009
“ Today we are rolling out FedThread, a new way of interacting with the Federal Register. It’s the latest civic technology project from our team at Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy. The Federal Register is “[t]he official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.” It’s published by the U.S. government, five days a week. The Federal Register tells citizens what their government is doing, in a lot more detail than the news media do. FedThread makes the Federal Register more open and accessible.
October 4, 2009
“ [from e-government to e-governance] Leading governments are moving beyond traditional e-government initiatives to strengthen their relationships with citizens by using new technologies and modifying conventional models of service delivery in innovative new ways, according to a new Accenture report. Entitled “From e-Government to e-Governance: Using new technologies to strengthen relationships with citizens,” the report explores the strategic intent driving many governments to leverage new technologies and identifies 10 e-governance strategies governments are adopting to strengthen the governance relationship.
