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Session 2: American Democracy

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Introduction/Admin
- overview Twitters and outsiders who have taken interest
- overview blogging
- overview of main questions of today's class:
  - Campaigns
    - In what ways was the Obama campaign's use of the Internet new?
    - To what extent was Obama's success due to the Internet?
    - Does the Internet have affordances for a free exchange of ideas or are you likely to only interact with people who share your opinions?
  - Governance
    - Is the Obama Administration taking the right approach in allowing citizens to participate in government?
    - what are other ways to allow citizens to participate?

Youth Map
- what is 'network analysis'?
  - from metaphor to analytic tool that studies ties between nodes, step beyond group and individual disconnect
- examples
  - online relationships:Presidential Election Watch [actual map ] and Iranian blogosphere
  - real world relationship: Boston's Chinatown
- introduce Youth Map:
  - projects from last semester
  - current needs of Tisch College of Citizenship
  - projects from last semester:
    - immigrants rights orgs
    - healthy foods options,
  - major suggestions
    - depth before breadth: get to know a few organizations well
    - partnerships are important: organizations you already know v. cold calling
    - facebook app in the future

Internet and Election Campaigns
- What did the Internet allow that would not have happened otherwise?
- The Tools [Mary Joyce has a great preso on this]:
  - Youtube viral video [earned vs. paid advertising]
  - fundraising: low cost of ask means more smaller donations
  - personal and group sites on MyBo/ Exley article showcases build real world volunteers [party coordinator/pizza coordinator] phone banking, volunteering, out of state
  - In the end its about getting to the polls
  - The new ethic: citizens seeing for themselves, more autonomy of how to participate and when

Or is this so new? [Marshall Ganz v. Benkler debate]
- grassroots media turned public pressure: Porkbusters' Secret Hold, Sunlight Foundation's Earmarkwatch.org, Daily Kos [many writers, w/ links to campaigns], MyDD Use it or Lose It unreleased research on disconnect b/w left and right on participatory democracy

Sunstein's the Daily We
- Zatso.net "you decide what's news"/look at my Reader
- can the insulated communities make it to the public sphere
- Does the Internet have affordances for a free exchange of ideas or are you likely to only interact with people who share your opinions?

Obama and the Problem of Participatory Government
- Can the Internet help mend the government/public divide in any meaningful way?
  - The democracy v. republicanism divide
  - from transparency -> open government, first Presidential Memorandum which says "Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government."
- Citizen's Briefing Book
  - advantages
    - advantages: low barrier to entry, allowed citizens to contribute to something that was put in front of the President
    - disadvantages:
      - technical: trolls, overlapping categories
      - social: special interest captured.
  - what is the best moving forward?
    - expert (Peer to Patent, wikis) to broad citizen access (differentiation from polling)

Readings
- Sunstein
  - Does the Internet have affordances for a free exchange of ideas or are you likely to only interact with people who share your opinions?
- Citizen Briefing Book
  - Is the Obama Administration taking the right approach in allowing citizens to participate in government?
  - what are other ways?
- Exley and Palfrey
  - In what ways was the Obama campaign's use of the Internet new?
  - To what extent was Obama's success due to the Internet?

Introduction/Admin