Andrew MacDonald

23rd Aug 2011

Internet campaigns websites have seen more publicity this year than ever before, with their numbers seemingly increasing as fast as their column inches.  This month saw the government re-launch their official ePetitions website, now incorporated into DirectGov, which seeks to tempt users with the chance of prompting debate in the House of Commons.

So in such a crowded marketplace, what do websites unaffiliated with government do to stand out?  Social startup Digital Democracy has an idea; or rather, it has three.  Digital Democracy’s strategy, evolved since it’s pilot phase launched 6 months ago, is to be open, non-confrontational and local.

The site’s emphasis on ‘openness’ sets it apart from other online campaigns organisations – all campaigns are user submitted, and there is no vetting of campaigns.  Instead of choosing a campaign to champion in the media, Digital Democracy lets its users (anyone in the country) decide what the most important campaigns are.  In this way the site could draw comparison to ePetitions systems like the government’s, were it not for a small but crucial difference.

This difference is seen in Digital Democracy’s desire to produce a non-confrontational dialogue on issues –users can either support or oppose any campaign posted on the site.  This produces what Digital Democracy’s creators claim is more useful than an ePetition – a conversation about the solution.  It also tackles the problem quite obviously facing the new government site – petitions immediately mirrored by counter-petitions by people opposed to the original petition.  The goal of establishing a conversation with MPs and with government from the outset helps to foster communication and cooperation, rather than aggression or faceless signature collection.

Finally, Digital Democracy stands out from the crowd by doing something which many believe represents the future of the internet – localising.  Although the site caters for large national campaigns like many of its rivals, its real power lies in local campaigns.  When a user enters their postcode they’re show the boundaries of their constituency on a google map, along with all the campaigns going on in their area.  Users’ local MPs are regularly notified of all the campaigns his or her constituents have supported (or opposed) and given the opportunity to respond to them all on the site.

This informal online engagement between (and amongst) local people and their MPs allows people to be drawn in who might be too busy to go to community meetings or not inclined to be in touch with their MP directly.  This large and growing demographic is often caricatured as selfish and apathetic; so disengaged from their community that they barely know their neighbours.

In reality most people have strong opinions about their community, as well as ideas on how to improve it.  However, our political system still fails to take advantage of the technologies we all use every day to engage with people about the decisions affecting their lives.  Digital Democracy shows that there is no technical reason for this backwardness – its system lets you openly and collectively engage with your neighbours, community leaders and MP online, about whatever issue you want.

Digital Democracy has the potential to become much more than a method of airing your grievances or collecting support for a campaign – valuable though those functions are.  With the right support it could point the way toward how we bring community politics kicking and screaming into the 21^st century.

To see what Digital Democracy can do, go to www.digitaldemocracy.org.uk – the site is free and open for anyone to join.