Saturday, November 12, 2011

We are in the age of participation

The observation comes from Secretary of State Clintion.  She continued the idea with ". . . and the challenge is to figure out how to be responsive, to help catalyze, unleash, channel the kind of participatory eagerness that is there."

Dilbert's Scott Adams seems up to the task (The Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2011 - What If Government Were More Like an iPod?).  Adams is thinking in terms of a fourth branch of government - - The Interface Branch.  The branch would have the mission of building and maintaining a friendly user interface for citizens to management their government.

Adams wants one website to go to and see the best arguments for and against every issue with links to support or refute every factual claim.  Arguments would be graded for context, accuracy, and logic (Adams thinks this is important because we are not good at sorting arguments - - we have trouble knowing the difference between science and magic.).

Adams wants online surveys - - with the caveat that you must pass an online intelligence test before voting.  Participation starts with smart people who have done their homework.  Adams is sure Thomas Jefferson would love this Internet based government.  Adams had the following comment:

"Imagine showing Jefferson the Internet.  I think he'd immediately launch a start-up, design three apps and purpose a new form of government that leverages social networks, all before lunch."

What about the citizens who don't have access to the Internet?  Adams would change the Constitution to make Internet access a basic right.

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