Crowdsourcing: What Happens When We're All Experts?
What do recent crowdsourcing efforts by Change.org, Obama's Change.gov, and Open for Questions have in common? Each project made an effort to let the crowds select what national policies should be a priority for the Obama Administration. And on each project marijuana policy reform advocates were able to push their issue to the top. This panel isn't about evaluating what policies should or should not rise to the top of the national policy agenda, it's about looking at how we can improve national efforts to crowdsource government policy in a meaningful way that will be taken seriously by lawmakers. Join panelists Jim Gilliam, creator of Whitehouse2.org, Nationbuilder, and act.ly; Joshua Levy from Free Press; Gina Cooper, founder and past CEO of Netroots Nation; Sarah Granger from PublicEdge and WomenCount; and moderator Tracy Viselli from #p2 and Twitter Vote Report as we discuss what has and hasn't worked in crowdsourcing projects and investigate new ways of increasing civic engagement in policy formation that might improve crowdsourcing projects in the future.
Jim Gilliam is a geeky activist with big ideas. Shortly before the 2008 election, Jim started WhiteHouse2.org to imagine how the White House might work if it was run completely democratically by thousands of people over the internet. People from all over the world expressed interest in running a similar site, so he launched NationBuilder, a platform anyone can use to bring democracy to their government, business or non-profit in a fun new way. Previously, Jim worked with Robert Greenwald producing four documentaries and building Brave New Films into a progressive new media powerhouse with 1 million members.
Josh is a writer, editor and Web strategist whose work explores the intersections of technology, politics and activism. He's the online campaign manager for Free Press and was formerly the managing editor of Change.org, the social issue blogging network. He was a frequent commentator on the use of technology in the 2008 election as associate editor of techPresident and Personal Democracy Forum.
Gina Cooper is the founder and past CEO of Netroots Nation. Her approach to online politics, which relies on technology to bring together engaged Americans and political experts, has become a cornerstone of the progressive movement. Cooper continues to explore innovative ways in which the Internet can help ordinary people become invested in finding their own political solutions, nationally and internationally. Current start-ups include ProjectOnePage, Middlecoast, and Cooper Strategies. She blogs her personal thoughts as a citizen-turned-political-operative at ginacooper.com and regularly appears on cnn.com as a progressive spokesperson. She served on candidate Obama’s advisory committee for Technology, Media, and Telecommunications.
Tracy Viselli is a blogger, activist, and owner of Reno Fabulous Media, an interactive publishing and consulting firm. As a part of the TwitterVoteReport team and co-founder of the #p2 tag, Viselli has explored the possibilities for activism through social media and continues to work on various projects that incorporate social media, government transparency, and crowdsourcing. Viselli is the co-founder of Nevada Interactive Media and a member of Women In Politics & Technology, Women, Action & The Media, and Women Who Tech. She writes about politics and feminism at her own blog and Care2.com. Follow her on Twitter @MyrnaTheMinx
Sarah Granger directed Internet strategy and operations for Gary Hart's 2004 presidential exploratory organization including recruiting and training a volunteer team of 100 and launching the first blog by a politician. As founder of PublicEdge, she advises nonprofit and political organizations on new media and transparency. This year, she was given a new media award by the California Democratic Party and she is now the Director of New Media for WomenCount. She writes for The Huffington Post, techPresident, The Personal Democracy Forum, MOMocrats, BlogHer, The Political Voices of Women, The Politicus, and her own blog at sairy.com.
