article: evolution of online campaigning

MASS COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY
VOL 9; NUMBER 1; 2006

Evolution of Online Campaigning: Increasing Interactivity in Candidate Web Sites and Blogs Through Text and Technical Features
Trammell, K. D.; Williams, A. P.; Postelnicu, M.; Landreville, K. D.
pp. 21-44

Political candidates have responded to the public's desire to use the Internet as an interactive information source by creating their own online presence. This study is a content analysis of the Web sites and blogs of the 10 Americans vying to be the Democratic candidate for the 2004 presidential election. Focusing on interactivity, data indicated front pages hyperlink to participation areas such as Donation or Volunteer sections and rarely linked to external content. Blogs used hyperlinks at a rate less than Web sites. Interactivity was encouraged through text, as 83.7% of Web sites asked voters to become more involved. Blog posts discussed issues and attacked the opponents, including President Bush. For the most part, blog posts were personal in nature and used direct address. The tactical use of advanced Web site features showed a technological progression of political campaigning and an overall increase in interactivity through technology and text.

news: margot wallstrom's blog

Came across this: the blog of Margot Wallström, the vice-president of the EC ! It has been running for a year. Need to pick up my jaw.

Surprise surprise the VP is Swedish. Not to her detriment though. What to say: well done.

article: the creation of the e-union

Again digging in my bookmarks, I found this paper from Roger Darlington, on the import of the Internet for the labour movement and for trade unions. We used it in our paper on British TUs and the Internet, some time ago now. Re-reading it, it remains highly topical. Enjoy.

Roger Darlington
THE CREATION OF THE E-UNION: THE USE OF ICT BY BRITISH UNIONS
Text of a presentation made to an Internet Economy Conference at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics on 7 November 2000.

article: the internet and political participation

This is directly related to my research interests. The paper distinguishes between the Internet for 'information' 'communication', and as a 'public sphere' in relation to citizen participation.

Reminds me of three main approaches to e-democracy: teledemocracy, virtual communitarianism and online deliberation. These were noted, over time, by Barber, Hagen, Dahlberg and, ehr, yours truly. Of course, different citizen roles are implied in these models. The article looks in detail at these roles.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
VOL 20; NUMB 4; 2005

The Internet and Political Participation: Exploring the Explanatory Links
Polat, Rabia Karakaya
pp. 435-459

news: EU says citizens must come first in next wave of eGovernment services

When I read these glowing reports I generally reach for the salt. I recently renewed my driving licence in Italy. Mind you, in one of the most efficient regions. Four months? About it. Online? Forget it. Ah, but perhaps citizen-first online only applies to public services that were not outsourced...

Worth a read anyway.

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EU says citizens must come first in next wave of eGovernment services
IDABC eGovernment News – 19 December 2005

Commissioner Viviane Reding, the European Commission's commissioner on the Information Society gave a speech “Citizens first - the next wave of government services on-line” at the Forum Europeen de l’Administration Electronique in Paris on 15 December 2005.

Ms Reding stressed how much she welcomes the Ministerial Declaration as a landmark reference for the eGovernment Action Plan that she will propose in Spring 2006.

[read full text]

articles: journal of communication

Two articles from the Journal of Communication. Not directly related to politics, but touching upon the resources required to participate online, personal and social.

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
VOL 55; NUMBER 4; 2005

pp. 721-736
A Social Skill Account of Problematic Internet Use
Caplan, S. E.

pp. 828-846
The Rules of Virtual Groups: Trust, Liking, and Performance in Computer-Mediated Communication
Walther, J. B.; Bunz, U.

news: presidents online

Note that I did not say breaking news...
Was he the first webcasting President? I know fora fact that Queen Elisabeth II was the frist Head of state to send an email though.

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November 9, 1999

Clinton Takes Questions in a Digital Fireside Chat
By MARC LACEY

WASHINGTON -- Already the master of the rope line and televised town meeting, President Clinton took a technological leap into the computer age Monday night by becoming the first president to participate in a live Internet chat.

Read more

report: citizens, computers and connectivity

Trawling therough my bookmakrs I found this, from RAND, an oldie but a goodie.

Citizens, Computers, and Connectivity: A Review of Trends
RAND: 1999

By: Tora K. Bikson, Constantijn (Stan) Panis

As computer and Internet use have grown dramatically, access gaps have widened rather than narrowed in the United States. This report uses Current Population Survey data from 1997 to update trends in computers and connectivity since an earlier 1995 study. It finds that there is a continuing “digital divide” between those who do and do not have access to computers and communication technologies. The division is significantly predicted by income, education, race/ethnicity, and — to a lesser extent — age, location, and possibly gender. The disparities have persisted over a period in which the technologies of interest have decreased dramatically in price (relative to what they can do) and increased markedly in user friendliness. Sizable demographic subgroups that remain on the wrong side of the digital divide may be deprived of the benefits associated with citizenship in an information society.

book: the new campaign finance sourcebook

This has been in my bookmarks for a while now. It has one chapter and one appendix on the implications of the Internet for campaign finance laws, and viceversa. In the US.

The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook

Anthony Corrado, Thomas E. Mann, Daniel R. Ortiz and Trevor Potter
Brookings Institution Press 2005

See specifically:

Chapter Nine:
Election Law and the Internet (PDF)
by Trevor Potter and Kirk L. Jowers

Appendix:
Cases Concerning the Internet (PDF)
by Trevor Potter and Kirk L. Jowers
Updated January 2005

If you have more time to devote to online elections, also consult the useful companion website.

time it is to re-start the reslog

New season, same aims. To provide a repository and source of Internet and politics links, thoughts and resources. Posibly linked to my own resarh activity. Or not.

Oh, and a happy new year to you all.

report: youth online in the us

Report from the Center for Social Media, School of Communication at the American University.

Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation
By Kathryn Montgomery, Ph.D., Barbara
Gottlieb-Robles and
Gary Larson, Ph.D.

Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation provides a groundbreaking overview of Web-based efforts to increase youth civic engagement. Beginning with a close-up examination of website content, the report also examines the organizations and institutions creating that content, and the larger environment in which civic sites function. The full report offers:

--Case studies of high-profile sites' strategies for launch, visibility and funding; the online response to 9/11; and online youth activism.
--Discussion of the potential that websites offer to build lasting habits of civic involvement.
--Current developments in technology, regulation and law that raise urgent questions about the viability of the civic Web.

In addition, the project has created an online showcase of top youth civic websites. To see how they use the Internet to facilitate civic involvement and learning, take the Online Tour!