User as Citizen 9 October 2006

Signing up for Meetings  Meet before Fall Break 30 minutes Both Team Members  Thursday this week to Wednesday next week Thursday 8:30-11, 2:30-5:30 Friday 2-5:30 Monday 11-11:30, 2-3, 4:30-7:30 Tuesday 12-1, 5-7:30 Wednesday 11-12, 5:30-7:30  Pick a time and sign up now

Tuesday Programs  Enabling Technology What is the fundamental question?  Not whether it helps people  Gattaca Interplay of technology and societal values

Rest of the semester  How technology impacts society Citizen Consumer of information Consumer of products Producer

e-Government  Key premise of democracy: informed electorate Free education for all Freedom of the press  Two factors More information Deliberative democracy  New England town meetings  Communication and discussion

Reaching out to Younger Voters  How important is this? Is it really different today?  Reaching them where they are Facebook  Small group discussion (handout)handout

How to Get the Conversation Going  Organizations and web sites Deliberative Democracy e.thePeople  What works? Messages and media Involvement and empowerment

The Issues  What would make you more involved? More government information? Contact with government officials?  Why don’t more people vote? Disenfranchised? Time? Disillusionment?

How is the Internet changing people’s information base?  How Americans Get in Touch w/Gov't (July 2003 Pew survey) How Americans Get in Touch w/Gov't  97 million adult Americans used e-gov in % of Internet users web sites or ing government officials  50% growth from 2002  Citizens still more likely contact government officials by telephone or in-person visits 54% of Americans contacted government 53% used traditional means

Is it increasing participation?  Effects of Net Use on Political Participation (2003 NSF report) Effects of Net Use on Political Participation  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) strategic plan (2010 safety strategy) web-based discussion in parallel to a traditional docket August 2000 – February 2001  100 contributors, 102 messages to docket.  516 messages to discussion board 116 contributors, 339 messages 177 messages contributed anonymously  130 additional individuals registered and monitored the discussion  6,750 visitors viewed and downloaded moth before comments due  Conclusion: Internet did expand the breadth of voices in the decision- making process

Do users seek both sides of the debate?  The Internet and Democratic Debate (October 2004 Pew Report) The Internet and Democratic Debate  Conclusion: Internet users are being exposed to both sides of the issue Also correlated with educational level, interest in the campaign and age  2004 presidential election Those with a preference for one candidate or the other were more likely to be aware of the different sides of the issue Of those with a preference  43% omnivores (know both)  29% selective reinforcers (know candidate they support)  21% tuned outs (know little)  8% contrarians (know candidate they oppose)

Did internet use make a difference in the 2004 presidential race?  Internet Impact on 2004 Election (March 2005 Pew report) Internet Impact on 2004 Election  The most successful campaigns relied on it to gain advantages over their competitors. Howard Dean  Broad Use 37% of adults and 61% of online Americans (75m) used the internet to get political  News consumers 18% -> 29%  Primary source 11% -> 18% Of Internet users  52% (63m) got news or information  39% (43m) discussed politics (though jokes were very high)  11% (13m) engaged directly  What will these numbers be in 2008?

And what about this year?  Seek news about midterm elections (September 2006 Pew report)Seek news about midterm elections  “On a typical day in August, 26 million Americans were using the internet for news or information about politics and the upcoming mid-term elections. That corresponds to 19% of adult internet users, or 13% of all Americans over the age of 18.”