E-Democracy.Org is leading the online outreach for the Minnesota Minute effort of the Bell Museum.

As a complement to public service ads that will run on television, the Bell Museum invites you to submit your own Minnesota Minute (and become eligible for a prize). Visit http://minnesotaminute.org today.

If you find yourself standing out in nature or perhaps in your yard, why not do your own short video with your mobile phone or digital camera? If you have a Camcorder and know how to edit video, go on right ahead.

Here is my Minnesota Minute:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is a video from the Bell Museum with simple instructions on how to participate (the full guidelines are on their website):

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is some detailed announcement text:

** Announcing the My Minnesota Minute Video Contest! **

To celebrate Minnesota’s 150th Birthday the Bell Museum is sponsoring a video contest open to everyone.

Tell us how the natural world around you is changing. Share your ideas for protecting our environment and preserving our natural world. Or just tell us why a natural area means so much to you. Keep your Minnesota Minute video short (30 seconds is great, under 5 minutes required) and upload it to YouTube now. Tag it with “MyMinnesotaMinute”.

Beginning on Earth Day (April 22, 2008) weekly prizes will be awarded through the end of the Minnesota State Fair.

To see samples of other My Minnesota Minutes, visit:

http://www.minnesotaminute.org

The My Minnesota Minute Video Contest is open to anyone. For further guidelines visit the contest website:

http://bellmuseum.org/blog/?p=6

For questions e-mail:

This contest is part of a Web and TV event which celebrates Minnesotans who are working today to protect our natural world for tomorrow.

The project is hosted by the Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota. It is sponsored by Blandin Foundation with outreach support from E-Democracy.Org.

…

Please help spread the word.

Steven Clift
E-Democracy.Org

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[RIF] New Forum in Brooklyn Park

“Very similar issues in Brooklyn Park. Interesting http://www.brooklynparkcityhall.com“

I took a look at this site, it is interesting. I’d encourage other folks to take a look as well and think about the differences between online forums in other communities and the Roseville Issues Forum (RIF).

While, I wish the folks in Brooklyn Park the best in their efforts. I’d like to distinguish our own model for online issues forums with what they have started.

#1) RIF does not allow members to post anonymously. In the Brooklyn Park forum, all posts are anonymous. There is no way to tell who or how many people are involved in the discussion. There is no way to hold participants accountable for the information they post there or to follow up with folks privately.

When you attend a town hall meeting, you look around the room and can see who is there. If someone speaks up in opposition to an initiative, you can see who they are and base your response upon their credibility on the issue or their personal interests in the discussion.

In RIF, you can see who is subscribed to the forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/Roseville/groups/roseville-issues/members AND, you know who is responsible for each post. Each individual member builds or looses credibility based upon the quality of their posts. There is an incentive to post responsibly, although there is no guarantee that everyone will.

#2) The Roseville Issues Forum was launched with almost 100 local residents subscribed, along with the entire city council, school board, and other local committees (we have now reached 150 regular subscribers, not including those who read via the web but have not subscribed). E-Democracy.Org encourages communities to make sure that they have a critical mass BEFORE launching a forum. Organizers must do the hard work of getting out into the community and signing people up, so that the forum is successful from the start. It appears that the Brooklyn Park forum has launched with just two members http://www.brooklynparkcityhall.com/discussion/memberlist.php

While I wish them luck in attracting more members, its very difficult to build momentum on a discussion started with just two participants (but, it is possible).

#3) Email – The Roseville Issues Forum is set up to allow participation via email or thru a web based interface. This is not typical of most online community forums, where users are generally limited to one option or the other. While some folks INSIST upon participating via a web interface, such as the one in Brooklyn Park, many folks do not have the time nor the inclination to go back to the web site day after day, or week after week. The Email option allows us to deliver RIF directly into the email boxes of participants; including elected officials, community leaders, and other low tech citizens for whom web sites can be intimidating. Responding to a Roseville Issues Forum topic is as simple as pushing the “reply to all” button in your email browser.

#4) Civility – While it might not always feel that way, the Roseville Issues Forum is actively managed to keep things civil and respectful. Occasionally, things get a little crazy, but its the job of the Forum Manager to work with participants online and offline to ensure that folks are nice to each other. This includes elected officials.

The Brooklyn Park forum policy is as follows: “This is a self directed Public Web forum. Any mention of Non-Public Figures (NPF) is strictly prohibited. Mention of Non-Public Figures will be expunged from the forum.” In other words, its against the rules to “attack” other members of the forum by name, but it appears that public figures are “fair game.” We believe, that if we expect elected officials to engage with us in this forum, we need to treat them with the same respect we treat each other.

#5) Participation of elected officials – As I mentioned, Roseville Issues Forum launched with the support of the city council and city staff. Its read by folks in city hall, including many who do not post here. Keys to keeping elected officials and city staff involved are:
– easy access (email for some, web for others)
– keeping discussion focused on local issues
– keeping things civil, not allowing it to become a “rant” space
– good content (that is up to participants)

#6) The Roseville Issues Forum belongs to the community. While the city council supported its launch and E-Democracy.Org is providing technical and organizational support, this forum belongs to the community. In the future, this forum will be maintained and managed by a committee of local volunteers, its “Steering Committee.” We are also looking for a local Forum Manager to take over my job.

If you are willing to help us support and maintain this forum, please contact me at.

Tim Erickson
651-246-5045

Also, I’m contacting the organizers of the Brooklyn Park forum with an offer to open a dialogue on the effective use of online tools for citizen participation. It would be great if we are able to support and learn from each other.

Best wishes,

Tim Erickson
Temporary Forum Manager
Roseville Issues Forum

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I like it, because it has great potential as the E-Democracy.Org voice to the outside world AND because it provides a good space to link our various projects together, without asking participants to join ONE MORE online group (or listserve). This should become the place where our enthusiastic supporters and volunteers come to get NEWS from the world of E-Democracy.Org.

Since I’ve started to use this blog, its become how really apparent how much incredible news and what great stories are emerging from our network that ought to be shared. This feels like the right place to do it. While I know that a few folks out there are reading the blog or have stumbled across it (and I recognize that it will take time for others to take their first taste), I am curious about who we are reaching so far. If you have a minute, please send me a quick email with some comments or feedback on:

The fact that you are, or have at least once, checked our blog

What kind of information do you find most useful in the E-Democracy.Org project Blog?

Contact me at:

Tim Erickson
E-Democracy.Org

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The item before the Roseville City Council, has to do with a contract that they have negotiated with E-Democracy.Org to organize an E-Democracy.Org chapter in their community. In addition to hosting the forum, I’ve agreed to serve as the temporary forum manager for the first six months, to model how its done. It’s also our responsibility to identify and train a local Forum Manager and steering committee, that will take over management of the forum after six months. We’ll continue to provide hosting and technical support after that.

While, the person who raised the above question – posted his question in a very respectful and open manner. I have little doubt that he is, at the least, skeptical of this use of public funds.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is exactly what the Issues Forum is all about. Its about creating a space where citizens can raise these kinds of questions. Where they can offer their opinion on local projects and hopefully influence how local government distributes its resources. The forum is read by several city councilors and a number of city hall staffers and this gentlemans comments are sure to be noticed (potentially commented on at tonights city council meeting).

Clearly, the use of public funds to support this kind of online space for citizen participation is a very legitimate matter over which reasonable people can disagree. And even folks supportive of e-democracy efforts might disagree over how much can or should be spent on it.

Clearly, its the kind of topic that we like to encourage in our forums. Yet, were it not for the forum. I can’t help but wonder where this gentleman would have posted his query/comment in such a quick, easy, and public way?

Tim Erickson
E-Democracy.Org

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It will go live in the coming weeks as we tweak its settings and theme.

Each local Issues Forum team as well as leaders of various projects will have the opportunity to share details on their efforts via this multi-editor blog.

Welcome.

Steven Clift

Board Chair, E-Democracy.Org

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