What Would Google Do_ - Jeff Jarvis [117]
We also need to use these tools to turn the conversation about government to the positive and constructive. We spend too much time complaining about government and trying to catch the bastards red-handed. There are lots of red-handed bastards to catch. But some people in government do care and work hard. Until we expect the best of them, we will see only the worst. Let’s think like engineers and identify problems and work toward collaborative solutions. Pollyannaish? Yes, but if we never move past complaining we’ll never build anything new.
I’m not suggesting government should be crowdsourced. I don’t want rule by the mob, even the smart mob. The internet requires filters, moderators, fact-checkers, and skeptics. So will the conversation that powers the country. That is the definition of a republic: representatives as filters. Those in power can use the internet to become better informed about our needs and desires and we can use it to speak and to contribute. The internet can transform the gift economy into the gift society.
The internet—which is so often accused of creating echo chambers where we hear only like minds—enables us to organize in new ways, around issues and not just party banners. People of any party or state, red or blue, can gather around the environment, taxes, education, health care, or crime as issues they want to tackle. This requires a new personal political openness: We need to say where we stand to find others who stand there. I’d like to see citizens use the web as personal political pages (PPPs) in which each of us may, if we choose, reveal our positions, opinions, and allegiances: the Facebook of democracy. I’d use a PPP to post my personal political statement online. In my case, I am a centrist Democrat; I voted for Hillary Clinton; I want to actively support movements to protect the First Amendment against Federal Communications Commission censorship; I believe we must support an aggressive national broadband policy; and I support universal health insurance. On my page, I would explain and discuss issues, linking to blog posts I’ve written or to others who speak effectively for my views. I already do this on the disclosures page of my blog because I try to practice transparency; my readers have a right to know where I stand on issues I write about so they can judge what I say accordingly.
On my PPP I should also be able to manage my relationship with politicians—a variation on the theme of Doc Searls’ VRM or vendor relationship management. How about PRM: political relationship management? I want to say which candidates and organizations may approach me for my money or time. I’ll invite opponents to try to convince me to change my mind: Give me your best shot. If someone convinces me, I’ll change my public stance on the page. Personal political pages could become a standard for disclosure and could be used to reveal in clear language the stands—as well as the conflicts and biases—of politicians and journalists.
Let’s imagine millions of these pages that can be searched and analyzed to reveal a constant snapshot of the vox populi: Google as the polling place that never closes, except now we control the questions and our opinions, not pollsters. This new public square makes politics and public opinion a constant process instead of an annual or quadrennial event. It is a platform for organizing citizens.