The Internet and Poli/cal Par/cipa/on Civic Engagement on the Rise? Indicators of Poli/cal Par/cipa/on •  The percentage of adult Americans who had communicated with a U.S. senator or representa/ve in the last 5 years more than doubled: (18% in 2004) to (44% in 2008). •  More than 37 million people voted in the Democra/c primaries, approximately 5 million more than voted in BOTH party primaries in 2000. •  An es/mated 625,000 ci/zens gave money in the presiden/al campaign in 2000; 2‐3 million gave in 2004. As of Sept. 2008, 2.5 million had donated to the Obama campaign alone. •  The current cohort of new ci/zens is the largest in American history. Voter turnout among those ages 18‐29 rose from 9 percent in the 2000 primaries to 17 percent in 2008. This rise has been con/nuous for three elec/on cycles in a role. Influence of the Internet on these Trends •  Open architecture of the internet: more people have access to informa/on about public affairs in ways that make problems seem solvable. This personaliza/on of poli/cs s/mulates engagement and s/fles cynicism that is associated with mass media representa/ons of problems. •  Young people have embraced the internet as a tool for poli/cal ac/on and won praise from the poli/cal establishment in the process. •  Online civic ac/on can be accomplished in seconds: read, react, select, par/cipate. According to the Congressional Management Founda/on, in the last 5 years, 92% of those who contacted Congress had visited a Congressional website to gather informa/on. •  According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, by the end of the 2008 primaries, 35% of Americans had watched online videos related to the campaign. 29% had accessed unmediated informa/on, like a posi/on paper or speech. •  35% had received campaign related messages. •  Mossberger, Tolbert & McNeal (2008) found aeer controlling for media consump/on and other indicators of high civic consciousness, internet use independently added to poli/cal knowledge, the likelihood of discussing poli/cs, and interest in the news. It also increased the likelihood of vo/ng, at least in presiden/al elec/ons. •  Chat rooms contributed the most confirming a theory that influence grows through interpersonal rather than mass channels of communica/on. •  According to Pew, the propor/on of Americans who say they learned about the 2008 campaign from the Internet has more than doubled since 2000 – from 9% to 24%. •  42% of of voters age 18‐29 said they regularly learn campaign news from the internet, largest of any demographic group. The Dynamics of the Internet •  Interac/vity is key: it enhances small group dialogue and social movement coordina/on that is reciprocal in nature. •  Dialogues, archives, and databases can be stored, shared, and collabora/vely created. •  These characteris/cs provide a crucial dynamic for civic engagement. The YouTube Effect •  Democra/c debate staged by CNN and YouTube, July 2007 ‐ an empowered ci/zen asking a ques/on everyone wanted to ask by a young person in Provo Utah. •  Follow up video that ignited a na/onal debate on American foreign policy concerning the propriety of a president mee/ng without condi/ons the leaders of Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and N. Korea. The ques/oner joined the •  Debate aeer hearing Barack Obama’s response. •  Unique format was created – the ques/oner is a safe context to avoid pressure of public speaking. The responders cannot evade the ques/on, cas/gate the speaker, or try to develop an emo/onal bond common in Town Hall mee/ngs. The Small Donor •  MoveOn.org provided a means for small donors to have a large impact on campaign financing. •  Online dona/ons have now influenced both primary and general elec/ons because ci/zens have a chance to have an impact in states where they do not live. Obama and the Internet •  Several million people have connected to the Obama campaign through the Internet, especially social networking sites like YouTub, FaceBook and MySpace. •  His online opera/ons have become part of his brand and demonstrate that he is not your typical poli/cian. •  Obama has promised to use the internet to increase transparency in government Obama and Transparency •  More gov’t data online and in public formats. •  Live, archived and two‐way feeds of agency and department decision‐making. •  Pilot programs to involve the “exper/se of the American ci/zenry” in government decision‐
making. •  A five day period for public comment on any non‐emergency legisla/on coming before the signature of the president •  Expansion of broadband to isolated areas. •  A chief technology officer to assure implementa/on. Risks of Online Democracy •  Support network does not follow the leader in sufficient numbers to accomplish goals. •  Members of the network confront the leader. •  Members split from the leader and compete against him.