[liberationtech] Would you be willing to create an online townhall for your city? Bring Americans together local-up?

[Steven Clift]

OK, that was quite the night.

We talk about how social media has been used as a wedge in this
campaign to divide our country. Can we use it top-down nationally to
bring us together across those divides? I say no - the most partisan
will drive the 80% in the middle away and cause us to stick to our
filter bubbles.

All across this country via Facebook Groups, NextDoor, and other
platforms people are organically connecting with their nearest
neighbors to find lost pets, talk about crime, and swap free stuff.
And sometimes people have very dynamic discussions online about their
most local community with -gasp- people who live near them but hold
very different political views and are not their online "friends."

On social media, these local online groups breakthrough the filter
bubble and bridge political divides at the sub-partisan level where
the common interest trumps partisan politics.

The question is this - can we bump this up to the *city-wide* level
and create online civic spaces that connect people across differences?

Local democratically inspired spaces that are useful, agenda-setting,
open, inclusive around the nation? And do it via highly accessible and
popular Facebook Groups?

By inclusive, I mean in many ways ... including local conservatives,
immigrants, and more ... such that the space reflects the full
community and not just the most involved community folks.

The ten of thousands of neighborhood Facebook Groups start with a
spark, an "admin" who creates the group and spreads the word.

Now what about you and your city? Will you step forward for your city
to convene a Facebook Group for your community?

If yes, let me know: cl...@e-democracy.org

If there are at least ten of you, then we can launch a movement that
just might spread to hundreds, then thousands of cities.

Thanks,
Steven Clift

P.S. What I am essentially asking is if you want to help me convert
E-Democracy's twenty years of succesful but isolated experiences with
the online townhall - http://e-democracy.org/if - for the
Facebook-era. Our model ONLY works with a local person willing to
bring people together so collectively the community can not only raise
its voice, it creates the digital capacity to listen to and respect
each other. And not through hands-off "make it easy technology," but
hands on effective facilitation and passionate community outreach.

Steven Clift  -  Executive Director, E-Democracy.org
   cl...@e-democracy.org  -  +1 612 234 7072
   @democracy  -  http://linkedin.com/in/netclift
   http://1radionews.com - My radio app
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[liberationtech] Would you be willing to create an online townhall for your city? Bring Americans together local-up?

[Yosem Companys]

From: Steven Clift 

Hey everyone, I've had over a dozen awesome offers to volunteer in
local cities across the US from Jackson, Mississippi to Wichita,
Kansas to Bemidji, Minnesota to Queens, New York.

I am excited about the opportunity to help these volunteers and bring
in the support needed for us to take on even more cities.  Volunteer
now to lead your town: cl...@e-democracy.org  (put Facebook Group -
Your City in subject please.)

Here is my rough plan:

  1. Set up a form where people can volunteer for their city OR tell
us about an existing city-wide/county-wide Facebook Group where an
online civic public square(*) is already thriving.

  2. Connect all the volunteers and "coaches" from existing similar
Facebook Groups in a private peer-to-peer support Facebook Group

  3. Find volunteers who can help raise resources to support the
training and support for these volunteers for at least a year and
ideally fund inclusive outreach resources across many cities

  4. Draft up a research component with interested researchers so
lesson sharing can be a core outcome of this networked approach

Next week in DC, I've thrown together a gathering (see below) to
generate input, ideas, and passionate volunteers who can help. I'll be
honest and note that my ability focus on this popular idea will be
extremely limited if it does not catch the eye of possible funders or
donors. But for now I can volunteer an hour a day on number 1 and 2
until we get at least a few Facebook Groups established. Perhaps
you've been looking for a project where you can help and make a big
difference around the country. If yes, please volunteer to help
co-lead this or to offer a specific role your are good at!!!

* You'd be surprised what might already be out there for your
community *above* the neighborhood level in terms of civic online
groups. Start searching Facebook Groups
https://www.facebook.com/directory/groups/ for your local city/county
names and you'll find groups that aren't just online garage sale/
Check out places like Hunting Beach, CA -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HBcommunityforum/ or Brooklyn Park, MN
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BrooklynCenterFriends/ where
ironically they each have competing local -city-wide- forums with
thousands of members with different approaches. If you don't have a
Facebook Groups where "of course" the mayor and city council members
are members and mix it up from time to time with people in a
citizen-first community life forum, then you are a candidate for a new
Facebook Group. If people with local power only lurk in an existing
online space, then we might be able to work with the leaders of that
space to bring out that crucial participation element to increase the
community agenda-setting and dialogue in the group.

Thanks,
Steven Clift

Local-up? Digital Bridges for American Communities Brown Bag
https://www.facebook.com/events/1681899672124715/

Tuesday, December 6 at 12 PM - 2 PM EST
Lake Research Partners, 1101 17th St, NW Suite 301, Washington, DC

Details
Join us for a informal brown bag lunch discussion about online
opportunities to connect Americans local-up across partisan divides
one community at a time.

This discussion hosted by Steven Clift, a founder of E-Democracy.org
and their local online town hall model since 1994, will delve directly
into how Facebook Groups might be used to launch city-by-city online
public spaces for participation in local community and civic life.

After the dramatic election was over, a dozen volunteers from Jackson,
Mississippi and Witchita, Kansas to Bemidi, Minnesota and Queens, New
York City stepped forward to answer Steve's call to reconnect people
with digital civility across the partisan divide starting with their
own town. (While neighborhood-level group abound on Facebook,
city-wide spaces connecting people to public issues in local
government are quite rare.)

This embroynic effort has the opportunity to spread to cities across
the nation as we recruit more passionate digital convenors and work to
train, coach, and support them with peer to networking and possible
research with lessons sharing about what works. First up is support
the first batch of communities and then spread the idea.

This session will be a opportunity to bring your ideas, networks, and
resources to the table. If you believe that the solutions to America's
political divides start at home and won't be solved easily top-down,
this gathering is for you.

If you want to volunteer to start one for your city, email:
cl...@e-democracy.org - Put "City Facebook Group - Your City" in the
subject line. (Or if you already have something that fits the bill,
let us know as well so we can tap their lessons too.) FYI -
E-Democracy's model and lessons we will adapt to Facebook Groups:
http://e-democracy.org/if


Special thanks to Alan Rosenblatt, Board Member of E-Democracy for
securing our meeting local at Lake Research Partners.

Two other related gatherings convened by Steven Clift 

Re: [liberationtech] Would you be willing to create an online townhall for your city? Bring Americans together local-up?

[Stephen D. Williams]

Looks like an interesting project and approach.  In addition to this kind of 
thing, we need some ways to get people from very
different areas and walks of life to get to know each other and to learn from 
each other.  In a lot of cases, people just don't
understand each other or the complexity of their lives or decisions.  In other 
cases, people blame their problems and situation on
others, often waiting for someone to rescue them.  In a lot of groups and 
areas, people could learn to do valuable things, start
their own businesses, or otherwise band together to help each other and 
themselves.  Creativity, knowledge, management / coaching /
mentoring, and funding and investment could all come from areas and people that 
are better off on all of those.

I grew up in a tiny town in Ohio.  I'm certain that I could move to any of many 
small communities in the US and immediately start a
wide range of successful businesses employing a lot of people with a little 
investment.  I currently am trying to make a bigger
impact than that, but there are many people who could do that kind of thing.

When all of those factory workers were laid off over the years, instead of 
letting employment run out while they waited for a
similar job to magically appear, they should have been doing whatever it took 
to get their friends together to do some other work. 
I'm not aware that this happened significantly, and I'm not aware of any group 
that took serious steps to foster it.  Who is ranking
things we need more manufacturing for?  Who is ranking need vs. training 
investment and content needed to create new employment in
administrative, technical, and other areas?  Is there a blueprint for a call 
center or daycare or vocational college like training
that people could step into quickly?  Even if narrowly trained, allowing that 
cognitive and arbitive potential to languish is a
great waste.  And leads to political gaps.

sdw

On 11/9/16 9:22 AM, Steven Clift wrote:
>
> OK, that was quite the night.
>
> We talk about how social media has been used as a wedge in this
> campaign to divide our country. Can we use it top-down nationally to
> bring us together across those divides? I say no - the most partisan
> will drive the 80% in the middle away and cause us to stick to our
> filter bubbles.
>
> All across this country via Facebook Groups, NextDoor, and other
> platforms people are organically connecting with their nearest
> neighbors to find lost pets, talk about crime, and swap free stuff.
> And sometimes people have very dynamic discussions online about their
> most local community with -gasp- people who live near them but hold
> very different political views and are not their online "friends."
>
> On social media, these local online groups breakthrough the filter
> bubble and bridge political divides at the sub-partisan level where
> the common interest trumps partisan politics.
>
> The question is this - can we bump this up to the *city-wide* level
> and create online civic spaces that connect people across differences?
>
> Local democratically inspired spaces that are useful, agenda-setting,
> open, inclusive around the nation? And do it via highly accessible and
> popular Facebook Groups?
>
> By inclusive, I mean in many ways ... including local conservatives,
> immigrants, and more ... such that the space reflects the full
> community and not just the most involved community folks.
>
> The ten of thousands of neighborhood Facebook Groups start with a
> spark, an "admin" who creates the group and spreads the word.
>
> Now what about you and your city? Will you step forward for your city
> to convene a Facebook Group for your community?
>
> If yes, let me know: cl...@e-democracy.org 
>
> If there are at least ten of you, then we can launch a movement that
> just might spread to hundreds, then thousands of cities.
>
> Thanks,
> Steven Clift
>
> P.S. What I am essentially asking is if you want to help me convert
> E-Democracy's twenty years of succesful but isolated experiences with
> the online townhall - http://e-democracy.org/if - for the
> Facebook-era. Our model ONLY works with a local person willing to
> bring people together so collectively the community can not only raise
> its voice, it creates the digital capacity to listen to and respect
> each other. And not through hands-off "make it easy technology," but
> hands on effective facilitation and passionate community outreach.
>
> Steven Clift  -  Executive Director, E-Democracy.org
>cl...@e-democracy.org   -  +1 612 234 7072 
> 
>@democracy  -  http://linkedin.com/in/netclift 
> 
>http://1radionews.com - My radio app
>
>


-- 
Stephen D. Williams s...@lig.net stephendwilli...@gmail.com LinkedIn: 
http://sdw.st/in
V:650-450-UNIX (8649) V:866.SDW.UNIX V:703.371.9362 F:703.995.0407
AIM:sdw Skype:StephenDWilliams Yahoo:sdwlignet Resume: http://sdw.st/gres
Persona

Re: [liberationtech] Would you be willing to create an online townhall for your city? Bring Americans together local-up?

[Steven Clift]

Thanks Stephen.

Key to bringing together people online city-wide for a sustained
exchange on local civic issues is strong civility and inclusive
outreach.

This is far more about the freedom of assembly based on agreed rules
than an angry free for all.

So the challenge for those coming from a "liberation" tech frame, is
accepting that unless people control their urge to use name calling or
inflamed speech (politicians are crooks, X are thugs, all police are
racist, etc.) there will be no audience. Sticking to the issues and
accepting as a participant that the rules they agreed to as a
condition of participation apply to them and the group admin has the
full right to warn or suspend them is key.

Luckily, folks are free to do as the choose (or at least freer on
their personal profiles/Twitter accounts) so they have an outlet. 99%
of E-Democracy's participants get this. The other 1% either realize
they can't control their tone/style of posting and leave or frankly do
their best and give us hell from time to time. How you say it matters
more than what you say.

So if there are others here who want to create a powerful city-wide
online space that gives members of their community - from across the
political spectrum, from native born to immigrants - an opportunity to
listen to each other AND have an agenda-setting voice on matters
before their city council, AND you can stomach Facebook Groups (the
only viable way to reach a mass of people these days unless you have a
big outreach budget), let me know. We do have over 10 cities
interested. Why not more!

Thanks,
Steve
Steven Clift  -  Executive Director, E-Democracy.org
   cl...@e-democracy.org  -  +1 612 234 7072
   @democracy  -  http://linkedin.com/in/netclift
   http://1radionews.com - My radio app



On Wed, Nov 9, 2016 at 12:07 PM, Stephen D. Williams  wrote:
> Looks like an interesting project and approach.  In addition to this kind of
> thing, we need some ways to get people from very different areas and walks
> of life to get to know each other and to learn from each other.  In a lot of
> cases, people just don't understand each other or the complexity of their
> lives or decisions.  In other cases, people blame their problems and
> situation on others, often waiting for someone to rescue them.  In a lot of
> groups and areas, people could learn to do valuable things, start their own
> businesses, or otherwise band together to help each other and themselves.
> Creativity, knowledge, management / coaching / mentoring, and funding and
> investment could all come from areas and people that are better off on all
> of those.
>
> I grew up in a tiny town in Ohio.  I'm certain that I could move to any of
> many small communities in the US and immediately start a wide range of
> successful businesses employing a lot of people with a little investment.  I
> currently am trying to make a bigger impact than that, but there are many
> people who could do that kind of thing.
>
> When all of those factory workers were laid off over the years, instead of
> letting employment run out while they waited for a similar job to magically
> appear, they should have been doing whatever it took to get their friends
> together to do some other work.  I'm not aware that this happened
> significantly, and I'm not aware of any group that took serious steps to
> foster it.  Who is ranking things we need more manufacturing for?  Who is
> ranking need vs. training investment and content needed to create new
> employment in administrative, technical, and other areas?  Is there a
> blueprint for a call center or daycare or vocational college like training
> that people could step into quickly?  Even if narrowly trained, allowing
> that cognitive and arbitive potential to languish is a great waste.  And
> leads to political gaps.
>
> sdw
>
>
> On 11/9/16 9:22 AM, Steven Clift wrote:
>
>
> OK, that was quite the night.
>
> We talk about how social media has been used as a wedge in this
> campaign to divide our country. Can we use it top-down nationally to
> bring us together across those divides? I say no - the most partisan
> will drive the 80% in the middle away and cause us to stick to our
> filter bubbles.
>
> All across this country via Facebook Groups, NextDoor, and other
> platforms people are organically connecting with their nearest
> neighbors to find lost pets, talk about crime, and swap free stuff.
> And sometimes people have very dynamic discussions online about their
> most local community with -gasp- people who live near them but hold
> very different political views and are not their online "friends."
>
> On social media, these local online groups breakthrough the filter
> bubble and bridge political divides at the sub-partisan level where
> the common interest trumps partisan politics.
>
> The question is this - can we bump this up to the *city-wide* level
> and create online civic spaces that connect people across differences?
>
> Local democratically inspired spaces t

Re: [liberationtech] Would you be willing to create an online townhall for your city? Bring Americans together local-up?

[Steven Clift]

Hey everyone, I've had over a dozen awesome offers to volunteer in
local cities across the US from Jackson, Mississippi to Wichita,
Kansas to Bemidji, Minnesota to Queens, New York.

I am excited about the opportunity to help these volunteers and bring
in the support needed for us to take on even more cities.  Volunteer
now to lead your town: cl...@e-democracy.org  (put Facebook Group -
Your City in subject please.)

Here is my rough plan:

  1. Set up a form where people can volunteer for their city OR tell
us about an existing city-wide/county-wide Facebook Group where an
online civic public square(*) is already thriving.

  2. Connect all the volunteers and "coaches" from existing similar
Facebook Groups in a private peer-to-peer support Facebook Group

  3. Find volunteers who can help raise resources to support the
training and support for these volunteers for at least a year and
ideally fund inclusive outreach resources across many cities

  4. Draft up a research component with interested researchers so
lesson sharing can be a core outcome of this networked approach

Next week in DC, I've thrown together a gathering (see below) to
generate input, ideas, and passionate volunteers who can help. I'll be
honest and note that my ability focus on this popular idea will be
extremely limited if it does not catch the eye of possible funders or
donors. But for now I can volunteer an hour a day on number 1 and 2
until we get at least a few Facebook Groups established. Perhaps
you've been looking for a project where you can help and make a big
difference around the country. If yes, please volunteer to help
co-lead this or to offer a specific role your are good at!!!

* You'd be surprised what might already be out there for your
community *above* the neighborhood level in terms of civic online
groups. Start searching Facebook Groups
https://www.facebook.com/directory/groups/ for your local city/county
names and you'll find groups that aren't just online garage sale/
Check out places like Hunting Beach, CA -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HBcommunityforum/ or Brooklyn Park, MN
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BrooklynCenterFriends/ where
ironically they each have competing local -city-wide- forums with
thousands of members with different approaches. If you don't have a
Facebook Groups where "of course" the mayor and city council members
are members and mix it up from time to time with people in a
citizen-first community life forum, then you are a candidate for a new
Facebook Group. If people with local power only lurk in an existing
online space, then we might be able to work with the leaders of that
space to bring out that crucial participation element to increase the
community agenda-setting and dialogue in the group.

Thanks,
Steven Clift

Local-up? Digital Bridges for American Communities Brown Bag
https://www.facebook.com/events/1681899672124715/

Tuesday, December 6 at 12 PM - 2 PM EST
Lake Research Partners, 1101 17th St, NW Suite 301, Washington, DC

Details
Join us for a informal brown bag lunch discussion about online
opportunities to connect Americans local-up across partisan divides
one community at a time.

This discussion hosted by Steven Clift, a founder of E-Democracy.org
and their local online town hall model since 1994, will delve directly
into how Facebook Groups might be used to launch city-by-city online
public spaces for participation in local community and civic life.

After the dramatic election was over, a dozen volunteers from Jackson,
Mississippi and Witchita, Kansas to Bemidi, Minnesota and Queens, New
York City stepped forward to answer Steve's call to reconnect people
with digital civility across the partisan divide starting with their
own town. (While neighborhood-level group abound on Facebook,
city-wide spaces connecting people to public issues in local
government are quite rare.)

This embroynic effort has the opportunity to spread to cities across
the nation as we recruit more passionate digital convenors and work to
train, coach, and support them with peer to networking and possible
research with lessons sharing about what works. First up is support
the first batch of communities and then spread the idea.

This session will be a opportunity to bring your ideas, networks, and
resources to the table. If you believe that the solutions to America's
political divides start at home and won't be solved easily top-down,
this gathering is for you.

If you want to volunteer to start one for your city, email:
cl...@e-democracy.org - Put "City Facebook Group - Your City" in the
subject line. (Or if you already have something that fits the bill,
let us know as well so we can tap their lessons too.) FYI -
E-Democracy's model and lessons we will adapt to Facebook Groups:
http://e-democracy.org/if


Special thanks to Alan Rosenblatt, Board Member of E-Democracy for
securing our meeting local at Lake Research Partners.

Two other related gatherings convened by Steven Clift are happening on Dec 

Re: [liberationtech] Would you be willing to create an online townhall for your city? Bring Americans together local-up?

[Yosem Companys]

From: David Stiebel 

A close friend of mind is working on a relevant research project--
connecting people with diverse viewpoints to discuss the election in a
civilized, guided way

 https://talkabout.stanford.edu/election

On Dec 1, 2016 5:24 PM, "Steven Clift"  wrote:

> Hey everyone, I've had over a dozen awesome offers to volunteer in
> local cities across the US from Jackson, Mississippi to Wichita,
> Kansas to Bemidji, Minnesota to Queens, New York.
>
> I am excited about the opportunity to help these volunteers and bring
> in the support needed for us to take on even more cities.  Volunteer
> now to lead your town: cl...@e-democracy.org  (put Facebook Group -
> Your City in subject please.)
>
> Here is my rough plan:
>
>   1. Set up a form where people can volunteer for their city OR tell
> us about an existing city-wide/county-wide Facebook Group where an
> online civic public square(*) is already thriving.
>
>   2. Connect all the volunteers and "coaches" from existing similar
> Facebook Groups in a private peer-to-peer support Facebook Group
>
>   3. Find volunteers who can help raise resources to support the
> training and support for these volunteers for at least a year and
> ideally fund inclusive outreach resources across many cities
>
>   4. Draft up a research component with interested researchers so
> lesson sharing can be a core outcome of this networked approach
>
> Next week in DC, I've thrown together a gathering (see below) to
> generate input, ideas, and passionate volunteers who can help. I'll be
> honest and note that my ability focus on this popular idea will be
> extremely limited if it does not catch the eye of possible funders or
> donors. But for now I can volunteer an hour a day on number 1 and 2
> until we get at least a few Facebook Groups established. Perhaps
> you've been looking for a project where you can help and make a big
> difference around the country. If yes, please volunteer to help
> co-lead this or to offer a specific role your are good at!!!
>
> * You'd be surprised what might already be out there for your
> community *above* the neighborhood level in terms of civic online
> groups. Start searching Facebook Groups
> https://www.facebook.com/directory/groups/ for your local city/county
> names and you'll find groups that aren't just online garage sale/
> Check out places like Hunting Beach, CA -
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/HBcommunityforum/ or Brooklyn Park, MN
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/BrooklynCenterFriends/ where
> ironically they each have competing local -city-wide- forums with
> thousands of members with different approaches. If you don't have a
> Facebook Groups where "of course" the mayor and city council members
> are members and mix it up from time to time with people in a
> citizen-first community life forum, then you are a candidate for a new
> Facebook Group. If people with local power only lurk in an existing
> online space, then we might be able to work with the leaders of that
> space to bring out that crucial participation element to increase the
> community agenda-setting and dialogue in the group.
>
> Thanks,
> Steven Clift
>
> Local-up? Digital Bridges for American Communities Brown Bag
> https://www.facebook.com/events/1681899672124715/
>
> Tuesday, December 6 at 12 PM - 2 PM EST
> Lake Research Partners, 1101 17th St, NW Suite 301, Washington, DC
>
> Details
> Join us for a informal brown bag lunch discussion about online
> opportunities to connect Americans local-up across partisan divides
> one community at a time.
>
> This discussion hosted by Steven Clift, a founder of E-Democracy.org
> and their local online town hall model since 1994, will delve directly
> into how Facebook Groups might be used to launch city-by-city online
> public spaces for participation in local community and civic life.
>
> After the dramatic election was over, a dozen volunteers from Jackson,
> Mississippi and Witchita, Kansas to Bemidi, Minnesota and Queens, New
> York City stepped forward to answer Steve's call to reconnect people
> with digital civility across the partisan divide starting with their
> own town. (While neighborhood-level group abound on Facebook,
> city-wide spaces connecting people to public issues in local
> government are quite rare.)
>
> This embroynic effort has the opportunity to spread to cities across
> the nation as we recruit more passionate digital convenors and work to
> train, coach, and support them with peer to networking and possible
> research with lessons sharing about what works. First up is support
> the first batch of communities and then spread the idea.
>
> This session will be a opportunity to bring your ideas, networks, and
> resources to the table. If you believe that the solutions to America's
> political divides start at home and won't be solved easily top-down,
> this gathering is for you.
>
> If you want to volunteer to start one for your city, email:
> cl...@e-democracy.org - Put "City Facebook Gro