Blog| RSStocracy | About | Dissertation | Research & Writing | Teaching
 

I am a consultant, researcher and writer specializing in online dialogue and electronic democracy. I help governments, NGOs and businesses use the Internet to engage citizens, members and employees in discussion and decision-making. This includes helping organizations with blogging strategy: blogs are a great tool for tracking feedback and conversing with the public.

I had the chance to examine online engagement in-depth while completing my Ph.D. in Political Science at Harvard University. My dissertation examined the phenomenon of hacktivism, or politically motivated computer hacking.

My other research and writing has covered issues like online citizen engagement, online privacy and intellectual property issues. I write periodic stories on technology issues for the Toronto Star, and I have also written for publications including the Vancouver Sun and Business 2.0.

My current engagement work includes facilitating DO-Consult, an e-mail list for experts and practitioners in the field of online consultation. From 1998 to 2001 I was the Research Director for Governance in the Digital Economy, a project supported by more than twenty governments worldwide.

I live in Vancouver, Canada, where I have taught a course on the Internet and Politics at the University of British Columbia. My resources for teaching with technology feature an in-class exercise on technology and development.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about my services, research, writing or web site. You can contact me by phone at 604-726-5445 or by e-mail at alex[at]alexandrasamuel[dot]com.

For more information, download my bio or
résumé in Adobe PDF format.

You can find my public PGP key here.