Updates

In pursuing our mission, I’ve come to realize that technology is NOT the hard part. It’s the legacy systems. Think about it – our federal government (all three branches) has almost 223 years of history – culture, rules, regulations – all put in place to solve some problem or other and most of them were put in place for a good reason.

Of course, this stuff is different. This stuff aims to ensure that government treats all citizens fairly and upholds the principles laid out in the Constitution. It’s meant to keep incumbents from gaining unfair advantage in elections by using citizen’s money for campaigning (franking rules in the House), and it establishes procedures to prevent tyranny of the majority (filibuster) and to provide a system through which the multitude of issues that government has to deal with can be channeled and made sense of. There’s a huge bureaucracy in place to handle the compilation and sorting of huge volumes of information and the distribution of huge sums of money, and there are redundant departments meant to keep tabs on each other to make sure that all parts of the government are doing what they’re supposed to do.

If that wasn’t enough, you have the surrounding communities – advocacy groups, lobbyists, corporations, state and local governments, other countries, and international organizations like the UN, World Bank, and IMF. They have all developed their own means of influencing the system based on what they have found that works through trial and error (and in some cases, with a lot of money to throw at the problem!).

Finally, there’s you. Quick quiz:

1. Do you actually think you stand a chance of having your voice heard in the mess that I’ve just described?
2. No? Who do you blame for that?

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as blaming our elected officials. The system that runs our country was started long before they were in office and it is the reason that we are the country we are today – both the good AND the bad.

If it’s any consolation, I have yet to meet anyone on the Hill that isn’t there to make things better.

There’s a lot of work to do and pointing fingers at one another isn’t going to make it go any faster. It’s time we started trying to understand the legitimate difficulties inherent in the system and finding ways to solve those using our combined strengths.

If you’re into this, you may want to check out the Open Model for Citizen Engagement at http://om4ce.org/.

Many of you may know that I’m putting on a workshop for developers of citizen engagement software that are focused on Congress. Here’s a little ideological background on why I’m doing that and what I expect to set in motion with it.

Today

The current system of communication platforms that connect citizens to their elected officials is a direct evolution from the system that was established in 1787 when the Constitution was signed. It’s based on person-to-person conversations and up until about 10 years ago, this was a perfectly acceptable paradigm to operate within.

Problems

However, messages are easier to send today. Email started the process, but mobile phones, Twitter, and Facebook are all equal culprits. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, more and more Americans have the ability to convert a thought into a message to their elected officials in about 10 seconds.

The current system of receiving messages in Congress has not failed to accept and properly distribute incoming messages for about 10 days now. By that, I mean that the Congressional email servers were overwhelmed and incapable of handling the incoming email during last week’s discussion leading up to the final vote on health care. Shocking, isn’t it?

Well, it’s only going to get worse. More and more citizens are getting broadband internet and smart phones. Unstemmed, the current deluge will appear as a trickle when compared to the flow of information that citizens will want to convey to their elected officials when another decade passes. (Now, I’ll acknowledge there are some underlying assumptions to this premise, including the desire of all those citizens to communicate but I’m happy to discuss those points in the comments if you’d like.)

What to do?

It seems to me that there is only one logical answer and that is to fundamentally change the paradigm in which the communication system operates. Person-to-person, one-on-one communication is not a reasonable expectation with today’s technology. Instead, we need to build technology to handle the problems that technology has created.

The Goal

Every citizen who wishes to engage in a meaningful discussion on any issue should be able to do so using the form and format that they wish to use.

A New Paradigm

Let’s call this led multi-directional communication.

Part the Uno. Ongoing, continuous discussions on every imaginable issue that anyone can engage in. These could be sources of new ideas, education on the issues, and debate. They could live on blogs, social network sites, and in mobile apps – many of the places that already exist.

Part the Dos. Technology to tie it all together. Maybe it’s not unlike what exists today to connect blogs for search and pingbacks. Perhaps it’s based on OpenID, Facebook Connect, or Twitter OAuth. Maybe there are multiples methods of connecting diverse sources of information. Nonetheless, it has to go farther than any of these examples. It has to collate the information and provide it in a meaningful format for representatives. This should include breaking it down by topic, perspective, and of course: constituency.

Part the Tres. Representatives engage in these same conversations: adding more information, sharing their perspectives, explaining the current political situation, and helping their constituents to understand the complexity of the process. Ideally, they can do this all from a single dashboard on their computers and cellphones.

Sound crazy? Maybe it is. I will not pretend that this is the answer but I do know that what we have today is not sustainable.

The Workshop

Basically, I’m saying that all the software that is being used today to connect citizens to representatives will be replaced in a number of years. I don’t know how long that time period is, but my goal is to hasten that process. This workshop is my first attempt to identify the players that will lead that change and empower them with everything they need to do it swiftly.

Only when a new paradigm has been developed, accepted, and implemented will every citizen have a voice in the decision making processes that shape the world they live in.

If you’re a developer and ready to lead, sign up here and let’s do this thing!

I just spent the better part of half an hour trying to find an official version of the Congressional Calendar – you know, when does the session start, when do they adjourn, when are recesses, etc. Every time I have to do this, I forget where it hides so this time I thought I’d blog about it and share what I’ve learned for your benefit and for mine (in the future).

It’s on the Majority Whip’s website. There are other versions on the Majority Leader’s website, the Minority Whip’s website, and I presume on the Minority Leader’s website, but they were all more difficult to read than this one (and this one’s a doozy).

So here’s something that will help it to make more sense: recesses are not called recesses. They are District Work Periods! Isn’t that great?!? District Work Periods are in red. The House convened on January 11 and hopes to adjourn on October 8th.

That’s right. We received a letter in a fat little envelope from the Internal Revenue Service last Friday saying:

“We are pleased to inform you that upon review of your application for tax exempt status we have determined that you are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code… “

I think the fun part of it is that while we ARE exempt under section 501(c)(3), our Public Charity Status is:

• 509(a)(1) & 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

That pretty much rocks, huh? As in:

“Are you a 501c3?”

“We are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, but we are actually a 509(a)(1) & 170(b)(1)(A)(vi).”

Do you think that’s said 170-B-1-A-V-I or 170-B-1-A-6? I don’t know, but I’m going to try to work it into conversation – we’ll see how that goes!

Here’s the actual letter if you want to read it and here’s a link to all of our legal documents with full details.

Now you know what that means! We can finally start a full-blown fund drive. They’ll be more about that in the next couple of days, but if you want to get a jump start on making us sustainable and donate today, please do.

Friends and Supporters,

As 2009 draws to a close, we consider our past accomplishments and prepare for new ones. As an organization, we are now in an exciting position where our opportunities exceed our capacity: that is to say that if we had more resources, we would be accomplishing more than we are.

If you haven’t yet donated to the Open Forum Foundation, please consider doing so. In addition, please consider sharing this message with everyone that you know (direct link). Together, we will create responsive government!

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We are a young nonprofit organization called the Open Forum Foundation. We believe that the future of government is in being responsive to the needs of its citizens and have already started to do something about it. We’re well-connected in Washington, DC; understand the internal workings of Congress; have several projects in operation (with a couple more in the wings); and have a solid vision for the future.

A Vision for the Future: Responsive Government

The quality of a government is determined by the quality of its citizens, and we are at a critical time in history for the development of government. Never before has it been possible for every citizen of a country to participate in the decision-making process, but new tools developed on the Internet are making that feasible.

This doesn’t mean the transition will be quick – or easy! Government is entrenched in centuries of internal culture, precedents, rules, and regulations. Some of these are very important; some of them need to go; but deciding which is which will be an effort that lasts for years and impacts the entire world.

Our mission is to ensure that the end result of this transition is responsive government. We do this through three main methods:

1. Education. We educate, inform, and connect the elected leaders, government staff, technology developers, and organizations that are on the forefront of this transition.
2. Technology. We promote the use and development of technologies that enable inclusive and meaningful political dialogue, while lowering the barriers to entry for both citizens and government representatives.
3. Research. We engage in research that illuminates the current state of affairs and proposes paths for a smooth transition.

Our Projects

This is not all that we’re working on, but it is what we’re currently most proud of.

GovLuv connects you instantly with your government representatives through the magical power of Twitter. It shows messages sent both to AND from your reps, filters them in a number of different ways, and enables you to join the conversation. Visit GovLuv.org to see for yourself.

CongressCamp began as a barcamp to discuss “transforming citizen engagement with Congress through social media and collaboration tools.” The event was a huge success, and the momentum is spawning more events and the development of educational resources. Visit CongressCamp.org for more information or to get involved.

Mapping Political Communication is a joint project with George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet to understand how political communication flows today. This knowledge will help us to understand how the transition is occurring and how best to support it. While still in an early phase, the results of this research will be made available for public use and scrutiny once they are presentable.

How to get involved

If you’re still reading, something must have piqued your interest. Don’t let that die:

• Share this message with others via email, Twitter, or Facebook.
• Contact Wayne to get involved.
• Browse the website to learn more.
• Donate.

We have committed our lives to this. If you believe in it also, share what you have to offer. Everyone on the planet stands to benefit.

Onwards and Upwards!