Unconferenz 2012

Session 2A - 10:00am

Title: Internet Activism, Democracy and Lau

Notetaker: Joan Matsukawa

Civil Beat talked about checking sources and doing the back checks.

o Politicians are not use to having statements verified and fact checking.

Raising the level of discussion for information, especially in the 21st century.

People respond to random statements and go to extremes.

How could we use social media and technology to dramatically increase the general public

participating in voting?

o Civil beat: what could we do to engage people to vote?

Group association?

They are the content, but it goes beyond that creating a connection.

How do you attract the disengaged or the luke warm people.

o Internet voting

Neighborhood boards are using internet voting

The turnout was low.

Hawaii is one of the few states that have online voting or testing.

o Hawaii Policy Portal: goal is to turn it in to “inform action” (through the Island

Innovation App)

Creating a way to track policies and bills that go through legislation

• Video

• Letters

• Multiple forms of communication

Constituencies can leverage technology

• Record videos of various items and load it up or live stream

Working with partnerships or community groups to go viral and expand

Suggestion:

o One thing Civil Beat can do is do snip-it or videos that can just push toward them.

Going viral

The name “Hawaii Policy Portal”

o Association will only draw on a specific group or population

HOT TOPIC: how do we attract the

The 99.1% rule

o Only .9% will participate or be engaged in the social community

Has there ever been a poll or focus group to find out two questions:

o Why don’t you vote?

o What kind of issue would there need to be in order for them to vote?

What is it going to take to get people to vote?

o Based on responses from sociologist:

Been there, done that – nothing has changed. Why spend the time to do it?

Community-based Social Marketing:

o Need to search to find out more

A book called “the non-voter”

o Did a survey on why people don’t vote and created a profile.

There should be a bill “eliminate option C” when voting.

o None of the above

South Park episode:

o Pettie was trying to increase voter population.

o Thought: If people are not informed, we don’t want them voting.

Voting ultimately is about the issue.

People don’t feel they are in a responsible position to make a decision on the matter.

On a massive scale, people don’t really have any idea. There is way too much information, so

you really can’t no all.

This year we have spent so much time reacting too many of the bills.

o We are still free to self-govern, so why spend the time.

It would be cool if we gamafy and idolize the voting process.

o Why not have a shadow election that starts today. Today, these are the mayoral

canidates – vote – This is a straple.

o You can see it and you have the time to vote over a period of time.

When you think about the level of participation contributing to the discussion versus observing.

o People vote because they go to vote, now we are talking about vote to vote.

o The point: you go to the people, rather than the people go to vote.

Example: go the bank, grocery store and locate the polling places in locales

where people go to those places.

o Creating channels for the vote to go to them rather the people go to the vote.

This gives you CHANNEL to vote.

Hawaii’s voting is based on association rather than the information of content of quality of

information.

o Relationships trump the voting process

Topic/content versus relationship.

If there was something, like an incentive, to influence the conversation for people to participate

and vote.

If you widgetize it, can you expand and spread the word, then you Facebook this.

Suggestion: do the eHarmony for politics.