1. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy Steven Clift http://www.publicus.net Copyright 2002

2. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy World’s first election-oriented web site in 1994 … so what?

3. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy 1994 – Election information, online candidate debates, political discussion

4. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy Election Over. People kept talking.

5. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy 1994-2002 … Hosting the “Online Commons”

6. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy Today Capitol Forum MN-Politics-Discuss – 400 Members MN-Politics-Announce – 500 Members MN-Politics-National – 100 Members 4 Topical Spaces E-Democracy Legislative Study Group Election Content Promotion, Online Candidate Debates Communities Forum Minneapolis – 700 Members St. Paul – 300 Members Winona – 250 Members Board role, governance Other external forums, great diffusion after 1997 …

7. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Online Civic Communication Model 1994-98 Commons Group communication remains highly private without commons Commons serves as public group communication organizer, multiplier, and amplifier; “leaks” into private communication vs.

8. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Commons One-way content, semi-public online advocacy without commons Diffusion of interaction, viable two-way options tied to online advocacy and one-way content Online Civic Communication Model 1998+ vs.

9. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy Lessons Eight years is a long time online.

10. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy Lessons 1. Declare victory. Set reasonable expectations. Building momentum is more important than immediate success. Answer why question every step of the way. Goal: To improve the outcome of the public policy process with effective and meaningful citizen participation. 2. Many-to-many discussions represent the unique strength of this new medium. One-way content is a carry over from old media and political communication. Geography matters. The more local, the more relevant to a broader cross-section of the population. 3. Facilitation is essential. Moderation is not. Focus conversations on issues to overcome personal and ideological conflict.

11. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy Lessons 4. Building civic space is a public good. Non-partisan, advocacy neutral online public spaces for information exchange will not exist without public interest efforts. 5. E-mail is king. Participants and readers are key to value. Value of e-mail and convenience is supreme, often underestimated. Web-only systems tend to work with larger audience sites, highly motivated users, or for special online events and consultations. 6. Sustainability. Promoting self-governance and volunteer spirit key to sustainability. 7. Scalability limited by current all-volunteer foundation. However, complete professionalization of facilitation would make expansion unaffordable while professional training and outreach required.

12. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Minnesota E-Democracy Lessons 8. Expansion requires resources for coordination, training, promotion, distributed management/facilitation and adjudication. 9. Technical barriers exist. Use of proprietary software tools and lack of access to technical expertise to adapt open source options limits our advancement as well as the long-term potential of our model to expand in a cost-effective way within and beyond Minnesota. 10. Conversation has value. Think agenda-setting among opinion leaders and media. Build respect among participants and foster public opinion formation. Worry about the direct influence on government decision-making process later.

13. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net If I had a million dollars, I’d be … … building a grid for community conversation, online consultation, and public interest communities of practice/implementation. An illustration from another presentation …

14. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net Citizens Commons Online Consultation Online Civic Events Housing Parks Recycling Graffiti Childcare Communities of Practice / Interest etc.

15. Steven Clift – www.publicus.net More? e-democracy.org publicus.net