Blogging for Social Capital

Elizabeth Albrycht’s latest article at Blogging Planet, Collaboration Requires Contribution, provides a nice exploration of how blogging might enhance social capital. Her article includes a number of specific pieces of advice for how companies can use blogs to build community, and draws the connection between active participation in online content creation, and the development of […]

Digital era records management

I recently heard from Sarah Demb, a fellow Canadian now working with the International Records Management Trust in London. The IRMT fills an interesting niche in the governance world:

The Trust was set up in 1989 to help develop new strategies for managing public sector records. Records are so fundamental to democracy that governments and international […]

Pew Internet & American Life Project

Michael Cornfield of the Pew Internet & American Life Project notes an important newconsultation on Internet campaigning:
The Federal Election Commission opens public comment for sixty days on Monday, April 4 regarding its plan to renovate the online space for national politics.

The FEC’s proposals include provisions addressing online advertising and blogging, both major forces in the […]

Italy gets 57 new e-democracy projects

Information Policy reports that the Italian government is boosting its support for e-democracy:

The government will contribute a total of EUR 9.5 million to selected e-democracy initiatives at regional and local levels.

A quick view of e-consultation

I just came across a very succinct take on the advantages of online consultation. It’s from a 2003 paper Beyond Civil Society: Public Engagement Alternatives for Canadian Trade Policy (PDF) by Josh Lerner. Here’s how he summarizes the case for...

Yak shaving etymology

I’ve finally done something to earn true geek credentials. No, not writing my own applescript (not that hard, actually). Not installing and terminating my own in-wall ethernet network (with brilliant foresight, just 6 months before wireless went consumer-grade)....

Conference on Online Deliberation: Stanford, May 2005

The 2nd Conference on Online Deliberation: Design, Research, and Practice will be held May 20-2005 at Stanford University. (Full disclosure: I’m on the organizing committee). The call for proposals asks for abstracts by March 15. A peek at some of the details:...

The technologies of citizenship

I had lunch today with Sanjay Khanna, a fellow Vancouverite who shares my interest in the social and political impact of information technology. We had a mind-blowing conversation that stimulated a whole bunch of new ideas about the relationship between technology and...

Impasse as opportunity: upcoming Vancouver workshop

The Wosk Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver is hosting a February workshop on “Impasse as Opportunity”. The workshop addresses: Why are some conflicts seemingly impervious to resolution? When conflicts get stuck in repeating, negative patterns, what can be...

Discount dialogue

It’s amazing what you can get online these days. Look what popped up when I googled “dialogue”: I always heard talk is cheap.