Library: How-To Tips: Using the Internet: Online basics
Websites, email, and other online tools are now being used much more often, and much more effectively, in democratic governance projects. The Internet allows you to reach large numbers of people cheaply and instantaneously. As local officials and public employees gain experience with these tools, they begin to use the more interactive functions rather than using them to simply broadcast information.
Rochester's NeighborLink Network
The outcomes of the Neighbors Building Neighborhoods project in Rochester [link here] ranged from high-profile policy decisions to tiny volunteer projects. Tracking them all was an enormous task in itself. In order to help citizens quantify their progress, the city used federal funds to create the NeighborLink Network, an information management system that shows, by percentage of goals achieved, how well each neighborhood has been doing on the implementation of its most recent plan. At every public library in Rochester, residents can use Global Information System (GIS) mapping technology, access web-sites for each NBN sector, find grant sources and available volunteers, and direct questions to the city's Neighborhood Empowerment Teams.
Online basics
There are multiple ways to use the Internet. Email, which is more widely used than the web, can communicate a private message to one individual, or an electronic newsletter or action alert to many people. A listserv is a set of people who email each other about a particular topic; each message goes to the entire group. Email is effective for outreach because even though there is no certainty that the recipient will read it or act on it, you can be relatively sure that it is received by the people you choose.
Websites are more passive modes of interaction in contrast to an email. But more and more people are expecting to check websites at any time of day for information When well maintained, web-sites can give people the information they want and entice them to get more involved. They can display eye-catching graphics, and give the user access to documents, programs, databases, electronic bulletin boards, online forms, and video and audio clips.
Some web-sites are interactive because they contain bulletin boards or group "blogs" (short for weblogs) that encourage dialogue and information exchange. Bulletin boards allow anyone to "post" a comment on a particular topic; other people may then post their own comments. In group blogs, subjects of all messages (or "postings") appear on a web-site, in the order they were submitted; this allows participants to scan submissions more quickly to determine what they want to read. Both of these technologies can be facilitated by an online moderator who asks questions, proposes topics, organizes the information, and decides whether postings can appear
Finally, there are also technologies for simultaneous online dialogue. These programs attempt to reproduce a face-to-face discussion: participants in different locations are assigned to a particular group, and their posted comments appear on the screen. The facilitator acts in much the same way as a facilitator in a face-to-face discussion: remaining impartial, helping the group set and enforce ground rules, observing the time constraints, and helping the group use the discussion materials. (See "Choosing the right formats") [put in link here]
What the Internet can do
| Goal | Online Tool | Type of Communication |
|---|---|---|
| Provide information to people who are already looking for it | Website | One-way, passive |
| Provide information to people who may or may not be looking for it | Broadcast emails | One-way, proactive |
| Recruiting people to attend public meetings or take part in democratic governance efforts | Broadcast emails | One-way, proactive |
| Connect citizens with the appropriate city department or office | Website with a directory of email addresses for city departments and staff | Two-way, between individuals |
| Generate discussion and gather input from the people most affected by a particular issue or decision | Bulletin boards and blogs | Two-way, among small groups of people |
| Actively support face-to-face democratic governance efforts | Website that provides background information, provides updates on action efforts; listservs, bulletin boards, and blogs to supplement face-to-face dialogue; websites for neighborhood councils; database that helps citizens track goals and action ideas (see box on Rochester). | Two-way, among larger numbers of people |
Equity and the Internet
Using the Internet as an outreach tool and to notify people about meetings raises issues about equity and inclusiveness. Some people lack either the skills or the wherewithal to access web sites or receive email. Communities will have to address this "digital divide" as they improve their websites and other e-democracy tools. In addition, it may be a mistake to abandon "old-fashioned" techniques like mass mailings, hand-delivered flyers and bulletin boards.
Other equity concerns are somewhat easier to address. Accommodating citizens with disabilities is primarily a matter of website design. Nonprofit organizations can help cities assess how well their sites measure up to accessibility standards like the ones published by the World Wide Web Consortium (for one example of an assessment tool, see http://www.cast.org/bobby).
Websites also need translation features for residents who do not speak English. Many sites have flag links on the bottom of their homepages that automatically translate text (via an external translation site) into a number of languages, including French, Spanish, German, Japanese and Korean.