North Attleborough Green Society

How the Internet Influences Politics

Introduction and Bulletin Boards

Author's Note
This article was originally published at www.accelepoint.com.

Sincerely,
Alan R. Cohen



Introduction

Lisa: "Why is there more money in the budget for new schools instead of using money for repairs, computers, and books?"


Bob: "New schools will provide the infrastructure we need for education in the 21st century."


Lisa: "But it is less expensive and more effective to repair the old buildings and use the remaining money for books, computers, and other materials."


Lisa is having a conversation with a candidate running for the office of mayor. She is conversing with the candidate online, in a chat room.


This scenario is possible today, and will be the norm soon. Politics is becoming a .com activity. Not only will we be able to talk with candidates online, but we will be able to discuss policy and vote online. The Internet is a natural fit for politics. The technology is here; it is just a matter of putting it to work.


Politics and the Internet will use bulletin boards, chat rooms, audio, video, and email.


Bulletin Boards
Subject: Flat Tax Proposal

From: Lisa

Bulletin: I believe that the flat tax rate is wrong. Taxes should be determined by a citizen's ability to pay. If you earn less, you pay less; if you earn more, you pay more.


Juan saw this bulletin and entered the following response.


Subject: [Re:] Flat Tax Proposal

From: Juan

Bulletin: A graduated income tax discriminates. A flat tax does not allow the rich to pay less. For example, 15% of $100,000 is more than 15% of $25,000. Why should the percentage rate be higher for those that earn more?


A few days later, Sarka is searching the bulletin board for information on taxes. She sees Lisa's original entry, Juan's response, and any other subsequent responses.


Bulletin boards provide static communication. You post and respond to bulletins. However, bulletins do not provide real-time communication.


Bulletins are an excellent format for discussing issues that don't require the immediacy of real conversation. They work well for issues that require thought before providing an immediate response.


Bulletins are useful for research and opinion gathering. They provide a historical and electronic trail; you see the original bulletin and all the responses in chronological order.


Bulletins are good for issues and policy that have a "long shelf life." Most bulletin notify you when a bulletin or a response to a bulletin is published. You can choose to not have responses sent by email and manually look for new responses.

Chat Rooms and Streaming Media (Audio and Video)

Chat Rooms

Lisa: "Why is there more money in the budget for new schools instead of using money for repairs, computers, and books?"


Bob: "New schools will provide the infrastructure we need for education in the 21st century."


Lisa: "But it is less expensive and more effective to repair the old buildings and use the remaining money for books, computers, and other materials."


Lisa and Bob are having a conversation in a chat room. They are conversing in real-time. Lisa types a statement and it appears on Bob's monitor. Bob enters a response that appears on Lisa's monitor. This format toggles back and forth until the conversation ends.


This conversation is not limited to Lisa and Bob. Anybody can enter the chat room and join the discussion. When Sarka joins in, the complete transcript appears on Sarka's monitor. Lisa's and Bob's name appears on her computer (under a section titled, for example, Conversation Participants. Sarka's name appears on Lisa's and Bob's monitor.


Sarka types a response. It appears on Lisa's and Bob's monitor. When they type their responses, it appears on Sarka's monitor.


Chat rooms are very beneficial to a candidate. The candidate can conduct an electronic town hall meeting, let potential voters interview him or her, or discuss a specific issue. It gives citizens the convenience to participate from the comfort of their home. It also lets somebody who is shy or afraid to speak in public the opportunity of participating. Certainly it is a boon to those that are bed-ridden or disabled.


Streaming Audio and Streaming Video

The senator in the state where Sarka lives is running for re-election. The local National Public Radio (NPR) station is interviewing the candidate. Sarka is busy at work, and unfortunately, doesn't have time to listen to the interview.


At the end of the day, Sarka browses to the station's Web page. She finds the link to the interview, clicks, and listens to the interview.


Streaming audio and streaming video allow any politician or candidate to place audio and video information on their web site. It can be an interview, information specific for the campaign staff, or highlights from the campaign trail.


Streaming media is a simple concept. Here's how it works:


Audio and video files are large. Before streaming media technology existed, a file needed to be downloaded (transferred from the web site to your computer) before you listened or watched it. A fifteen minute presentation could easily take more than an hour to download, not to mention the disk space it occupied when you saved the file.


Real media begins playing the file as it downloads. A short section downloads (a few seconds). This section is placed in a buffer and begins playing. As the section plays, another part of the file downloads and begins to play. This process continues until the media file ends.


This is analogous to assembling a group of 300 people on stage for introductions. Without streaming, you wait for the 300 people to assemble before each one introduces themselves.


With streaming, 3 people walk on stage. The first person introduces himself. As he walks off stage, another person walks on while the second person introduces herself. This process continues until all 300 people introduce themselves.

Email, Online Voting, and Final Thoughts

Email

Sarka is working at her computer. The "You Have Mail" message appears. She checks her mail and sees that she has 3 new messages from the campaign office.


The first message contains a Word document outlining the candidate's position on universal healthcare. The second message is an invitation to a "Meet the Candidate" night.


The third message is from the candidate's email list. This message asks for suggestions for improvements to the candidate's Web site.


An email list can be a candidate.'s or political party's best friend. An email list consists of many email addresses. The list has a name and address, for example, campaign_2000@emailList.com. Email addressed to this list is sent to all list members. When members respond, their response is sent to all list members.


Email and email lists are useful tools. The campaign uses this tool to communicate with individuals, groups, or everyone involved with the campaign. Email is fast and inexpensive.

Note: Never send unsolicited email. This is spamming. People hate it; it is the fastest way to lose votes.


Online Voting

Lisa logs on to www.chelsea2000.gov (Authors Note: Fake site, for illustration only). She enters her user name and password.


The ballot consists of 3 binding questions, the senatorial candidates, and some candidates for city office.


She looks out the bay window of her living room. Ten inches of snow and still snowing heavily. The weather reports are forecasting 18 to 24 inches.


Lisa casts her vote, clicks the Submit button, and logs off.


The online voting system recognizes Lisa as a registered voter. After she submits her vote, the system knows she voted, preventing her from voting multiple times.


Online voting is beginning to become a reality. The web site www.vote.com allows you to cast non-binding votes for current issues and events. You can vote on term limits, English as a second language, an Internet presidential primary, and so on. Your vote is emailed to the appropriate people, whether it is a senator, congressman, a governor, etc. This site serves as a way to express your opinion on a wide range of issues.


One Internet company is trying to make online elections a reality - www.election.com.



In Closing

Politics will be the next ".com." The Internet is the perfect medium to present and interact with information.


The Internet can also help achieve the goal of campaign finance reform. It is less expensive to publish and maintain a web presence than to create other media. Streaming audio and video is less expensive than radio and television plus it is available on the Web site for as long as the campaign decides.


The Internet is beneficial for politicians, political parties, policy and issues, and most important - you, the voter. This medium brings America closer to being a true participatory democracy.

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Related Links

Vote.com
Politics.com