_-- Public Policy Network - Posting to [log in to unmask] --_
Enclosed is an excellent newsletter for those interested in using the
Internet for political purposes. They do mention the Democracies Online
effort, which is an obvious sign of quality. :-)
Steven Clift
Democracies Online
http://www.e-democracy.org/do
.n e t p u l s e - the e-journal of politicking on the Internet
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Volume 1, Number 18
Sept. 3, 1997
A project of PoliticsOnline - Internet tools for politics
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We're hyperlinked: (http://www.politicsonline.com/news/)
(If you want a more visually appealing .netpulse, click on the hyperlink.
If your e-mail program doesn't support hyperlinks, open your browser and
visit our Web site.)
WHAT'S INSIDE:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
HOTQUOTES: Thoughts on mistrust, politicians and the Internet; and the
problems of direct democracy.
WHAT'S HOT: Net activism.
NEAT IDEA: Personalized pages.
COOL NUMBERS: Info on the numbers of PCs, domain names and outside
Internet access.
THE TOOLBOX: Tips on multifunction machines, information managers,
graphics, design, strategy and European phone books.
The World's Wide POLITICAL Web: News from Togo, the Falkland Islands,
Japan, Canada, China and Australia.
WEB SITES: Interesting sites that deal with Japanese politics, South
African politics, what it means to be American, headline news and a
California voter guide.
SOUNDOFF: Editor Andy Brack takes a look at online journalists and their
responsibilities.
.netpulse BRIEFS:
1. BASQUE IN THE SADDLE AGAIN - A controversial Basque site is back.
2. CASTING A NET FOR DEMOCRACY - In Minnesota, Steve Clift has some neat
notions of how to promote democracy.
3. ALT.POLITICS - Internet political activism among the gay and lesbian
community in California.
4. SPAMMED TO DEATH? -- A new site to help with Spam attacks.
5. ACTIVE IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH - Good activist sites from Canada.
6. MORE THAN A CYBERVOTER - News on the world's first Astrovoter.
7. THE MORE HELP, THE BETTER - Join PoliticsOnline as a contributing
editor, like Jon Knisley and Mike Wein have done.
HOTQUOTES:
^^^^^^^^^^
"The deeply rooted nature of national mistrust today has produced many
negative consequences for our political system?. It is time we focus on
mistrust before it undermines the very girders of democracy. In
particular, young people must be introduced to the political process, shown
how governments work and instructed where to get information about the
political world. The Internet could play a constructive role with young
people because of the wealth of policy information that is available."
--- Brown University political scientist Darrell M. West in Newsday,
8/29/97
"Sharon Pratt Kelly represents the worst kind of electronic citizen - a
sloppy thinking one?(Her) Spirit for a New America combines a grab bag of
cheap political cliches with a penchant for lazy overstatement and
fashionable Third Wavish extremism?. Just because the Net provides the
technological ability to institute Ross Perot's notion of an electronic
town hall doesn't mean that we should adopt such a system. Actual direct
democracy is a recipe for disaster - and that's NOT an overstatement."
--- David Shenk in Wired News, 8/12/97
WHAT'S HOT:
^^^^^^^^^^^
Net Activism. Just about every time we turn to a new Web site or download
what our robots are sending us, we're finding that more people are taking
advantage of the grassroots capabilities of the Internet. In this issue,
for example, you'll find info on activism in California and Canada. And as
an added perk, you can read about Democracies Online, an interesting new
proposal to unite netizens to push democracy on the Net.
NEAT IDEA:
^^^^^^^^^^
Personalized pages. In the past month, more and more sites have been
offering users with the ability to personalize news content. From MSNBC's
home page (http://www.msnbc.com) and Netscape's In-Box Direct
(http://www.netscape.com), there are a plethora of ways that users can
customize information that comes to them. Wise campaigns will take
advantage of this growing feature to provide tailor-made, personalized
updates for electronic citizens.
COOL NUMBERS:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hard to believe:
PC HEAVEN - Some 82 million personal computers will be hooked to the
Internet by the end of the year - up 71 percent from last year, according
to a study by Dataquest. By 2001, some 268 million PCs will be connected
to the net. More info: http://www.dataquest.com.
GROWING, GROWING, GONE - The fastest growing Internet domains this year are
in "out of the way" places where the Internet slowly is taking hold.
According to The Domain Survey, Papua New Guinea realized the largest
growth in number of domains in the last six months - from 1 in January to
79 in July (a 15,600 percent annualized increase). Other fast growers
included Tonga (7 to 417, up 13,800 percent), Cote d'Ivoire (22 to 248, up
6,100 percent for the year), Qatar (21 to 365, up 5983 percent annually)
and Burkina Faso (1 to 48, up 4700 percent). Slowest grower? New Zealand
- 77,886 domains to 155,678 domains in the last year - a 100 percent
increase.
SURF CITY - More people are accessing the Internet from outside their
homes, schools and offices, a new study by MCI shows. The percentage of
people who signed on to the Internet from libraries, churches, stores,
cafes, museums, hospitals, hotels, airports and community centers increased
from 7 percent in spring 1996 to 12 percent in spring 1997.
THE TOOLBOX:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ALL-IN-ONE - Hewlett-Packard recently introduced a $599 multifunction
OfficeJet device t hat can print, copy and scan in full color. It also is
a black-and-white plain-paper fax. Sounds like just the thing for a
campaign on a string. Info: http://www.hp.com
INTERNET FOR BEGINNERS - The Los Angeles Times offers an Internet Academy
to introduce people to the Internet. It's a great place for cybersavvy
political professionals to visit with non-cybersavvy politicians to show
them the ease of use and importance of the medium. Go to:
http://www.latimes.com.
PERSONAL INFO MANAGER - Now there's a place on the Web that will help busy
political professionals keep track of important names, addresses, phone
numbers and to-do lists. This free Personal Information Manager by
WebValue is accessible for anyone who can get to the Web. Info:
http://www.eorganizer.com.
GRAPHICS - The Ultimatorium describes itself as the "ultimate Web reference
resource" and includes lots of stuff on free graphics, animated GIF files,
Javascript, HTML and design tips. More:
http://www.pacificcoast.net/~mudhoney/psycho2.htm.
DESIGN - Techlinknet announces the launch of Techlinknet Web Developer, an
online Web page creator that anyone can use to create sites. It allows
people to create pages automatically online through an easy-to-follow,
six-step process. Best of all - there's no software to download. This
could offer a quick-and-easy way for campaigns to get online while they're
searching for professional solutions. Info: http://www.techlinknet.com.
DESIGN TIPS - The Australian Web Developers Directory offers interesting
advice on how to build Web sites. Users can learn helpful hints from
"guru" discussions on the business approach, creative approach and
technical approach in designing a site. Info:
http://www.web-developers.com/webdev/
STRATEGY - Reuters recently published its first-ever boardroom guide to
combating information overload through effective information management
strategy, Newsbytes reported. It's 50-page guide - "The Reuters Guide to
Good Information Strategy" - costs $10. Info: http://www.reuters.com.
PHONE BOOK - Live in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria or Italy need a
phone number? You're in luck thanks to the Telefon Server Web page's fully
searchable telephone number database. The search engine works in German,
Dutch, English and Italian. To try: http://www.d-info.de.
AND A PHONE - Schlumberger Electronic Transactions recently launched what
it claims is Europe's first Web payphone. It delivers powerful new
services. Info: http://www.slb.com/et.
THE WORLD'S WIDE POLITICAL WEB:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
TOGO - The African nation of Togo recently became the latest country to get
a full-time connection to the Internet, according to Newsbytes. A
satellite service connects the country to the Internet in the United
States. According to Wired News on Aug. 18, African nations are rapidly
hooking onto an Internet that is much different than when it started.
"What's happening in Africa is they are starting at the fourth or fifth
generation of information technology," said Larry Irving of the U.S.
Commerce Department.
FALKLAND ISLANDS - The Falkland Islands, known as The Malvinas by the
Argentine government, now has its own domain - ".fk" - thanks to U-Net, a
major Internet service provider in the United Kingdom. Soon to come are
sites for the island's tourist board and government. Political sites likely
are soon to follow.
JAPAN - Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications recently approved
a rule to allow operators to route international telephone calls across the
Internet.
CANADA - This isn't really political, but it was interesting: the Ontario
Provincial Police are adding personal computers to their crime-fighting
kit. Computers will augment traditional dust and tape used to collect
fingerprints. By using PCs, the police will be able to speed processing of
latent fingerprints recovered from crime scenes.
CHINA - Travelers to China will be able to access the Internet through the
same software and password they use at home, according to HomeGate. The
company, which bills itself as "the world's first truly universal roaming
Internet Service Provider," recently signed a partnership agreement with
China Online to provide Internet roaming in more than 30 Chinese cities.
The number is expected to triple by next year.
AUSTRALIA - Telstra, the Australian telecommunications giant, recently
announced plans to try a "virtual second line" that would allow subscribers
to make phone calls via their PC while they also were using the Internet.
WORLD - If you want to find out some basic political information on almost
any country, you can turn to this resource:
http://www.agora.stm.it/politic/.
WEB SITES:
^^^^^^^^^^
RISING SUN - John F. Neuffer, a senior research fellow with the Mitsui
Marine Research Institute in Japan, has an interesting Web site that anyone
with an interest in Japanese politics should check out. It's called Behind
the Screen: Roundup of Japanese Politics. The site features red-letter
dates in Japanese politics, links to parties, ministries, agencies and
other political sources, and a whole lot of information. To look:
http://www.bekkoame.or.jp/~jneuffer/
APART NO MORE - A fantastic Web site that specializes on news and politics
that's South African is SAPIE - the South Africa Political Information
Exchange. It's packed with constantly updated information (it even has a
Java news ticker), such as Headline news, party updates, book reviews,
analysis, history, links, biographies and research. To look:
http://www.sapolitics.co.za
TALKING FINGERS - The University of California at Berkeley will host a
series of four public service forums that essentially will focus on what it
means to be an American. While the forums are in-person events, each of
the "conversations" will be opened up to the world when a night's program
is posted the next day on GlobalCafe, an interactive Web site. The series
starts Wednesday, Sept. 3, with a program hosted by author Robert Bellah,
who will speak on "Globalization of the Good Society." To take part in the
ensuing discussion, go to: http"//www.globalcafe.com
MORE THAN FITS - NewsAhead is an online diary that lists upcoming news
stories and events that will make headlines. It's divided into the world's
major regions and may be quite useful. To look: http://www.newsahead.com
VOTER GUIDE - The California Voter Foundation recently debuted its guide to
the California Legislature, a multifaceted resource that provides rosters
and e-mails of elected members, tips on how to be an effective
citizen-lobbyist, a legislative calendar, links to dozens of news
organizations and links to state legislative Web sites across the US. To
visit, go to:
http://www.calvoter.org
SOUNDOFF:
^^^^^^^^^^
DRUDGING UP THE PRESENT
By Andy Brack
Editor
The world of online reporting has been under attack of late, with
gossip/news online reporter Matt Drudge and America Online making more news
than reporting it. Last week, Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal and his
wife filed a $30 million lawsuit against AOL (http://www.aol.com) and
Drudge (www.drudge.com) following a Drudge accusation of spousal abuse by
Blumenthal. While Drudge retracted the comments and AOL removed his report
from their site, it was too late.
The escapades of Drudge, a 28-year-old who bills himself as a "one-man
office - publisher, editor, reporter, and writer," highlight the problems
associated with the growing field of Internet reporting. Questions are
flying - are online journalists the same as other accredited journalists?
Should they be held to the same standards? Should they get the same
credentials?
These questions and others were part of an Aug. 29 special Freedom
Forum/Newseum program in Virginia named "Internet Journalism @ Critical
Mass." The program focused on challenges faced by journalists who put
their work online. Our friend Adam Clayton Powell III of the Freedom Forum
says that a panel of four online journalists considered questions of access
to newsmakers and to credentials. In general, they agreed access to
newsmakers is getting better, but getting access to credentials is still
tough.
Powell reports that Kathleen DeLaski, director of news programming at AOL,
said online journalists often face barriers erected by their colleagues in
older, more traditional media. Many of them often control credentialing of
major news events. She said she has been able to get credentials for AOL
by appealing directly the newsmakers themselves to overrule the print and
broadcast editors that have tried to exclude AOL.
As far as content from online sources, Powell says DeLaski took the
common-carrier approach - AOL just relays "what comes over the wire." In
other words, if it's The New York Times or Drudge, AOL provides the
information and subscribers decide what they like. They're providers, not
publishers, she says.
But Steve Geimann, president of the Society of Professional Journalists,
took a different tack. According to Powell, Geimann believes that
journalism is information that is subject to an editorial process of
standards and fact-checking. Drudge isn't, he said. But then again,
Drudge doesn't really claim to be.
In general, we side with Geimann. Down the road, online reporters will
receive the access and credentials just like print, radio and TV reporters.
It's just going to take some time for newsmakers to accept them as
legitimate. In general, the Drudges of the world make it more difficult.
But as online reporters build a record for credibility and breaking news
stories (as PoliticsNow did in its 1996 coverage of the Pressler-Johnson
Senate race in South Dakota, they'll find that newsmakers treat them as
professionals.
The bottom line: If online journalists want to be treated as professionals
by campaigns, politicians and other newsmakers, they have to be
professional. That means they must source their information and be held to
the same standards of responsibility and professionalism as traditional
journalists.
For more information on this timely subject - including discussions of
sports and online broadcasting - go to the Freedom Forum's transcript of
the discussion at http://www.freedomforum.org.
NEXT ISSUE - We'll take a look at the gubernatorial Web sites in New
Jersey.
.netpulse BRIEFS:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1. BASQUE IN THE SADDLE AGAIN.
A controversial Basque Web site, which was taken off its American host last
month, is back up again, Wired News reported August 28. Euskal Herria
Journal, which is edited in New York and supports the independence of the
Basque regions of northern Spain and southwestern France, publishes info
about a terrorist group called Fatherland and Liberty, also known as ETA.
Protesters say Euskal Herria promotes terrorism, but the journal claims
that it wants to publish information and build the bridges of understanding
of the conflict. Regardless, the Internet Freedom Campaign in England now
mirrors the journal. So far, the site hasn't been deluged with protesters.
But the it's only been back up for a week. To look, go to the controversy
page of the IFC: http://www.easynet.co.uk/cam/censorship/
2. CASTING A NET FOR DEMOCRACY.
Steve Clift of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has a dream that quickly is becoming
reality - to use the Internet as a place to bring people together to
promote democracy. For the last couple of years, he's been developing
Democracies Online, an international non-profit project to promote the
development and sustainability of online civic participation throughout the
world. In the next month, he expects to launch an electronic newsletter,
called "Democracy Notes," that will highlight trends, issues and efforts
related to the convergence of democracy and information networks. Down the
road, he plans a Democracies Online News Service with pertinent timely
announcements; a network of civic participation centers developed for small
geographic areas to allow people to interact; a worldwide summit to focus
on democracy and the Internet; and a Democracies Online Foundation.
Currently, Clift ([log in to unmask]) is seeking grants from
foundations to establish the project, which is expected to be run out of
the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of
Minnesota. To take a look at his proposal, go to:
http://www.e-democracy.org/do/ . If you want to comment on the proposal,
send Clift an e-mail. And if you want project updates or to network with
other online democracy builders, send a message to [log in to unmask] In
the body of the message write: subscribe edem-elect Your Name.
3. ALT.POLITICS.
Perchance if you want to discuss how the Internet can be used as a tool for
lesbian and gay political activism, there's a special town hall meeting
Sept. 9 at West Hollywood Park Auditorium. Topics to be discussed include
using the Internet as a tool for grassroots political activism, the
advantages of online communications in political action, the effectiveness
of e-mail campaigns, how participation can affect local, state and national
races, and how to make political activism quicker and more effective by
using the Internet. Said West Hollywood City Council member John Heilman,
"This town hall meeting is an excellent opportunity for lesbians and gays
to learn how they can use the Internet to bring about change in our
community. The Internet is the future of telecommunications. For the
community to be ignorant of this vital tool would be a detriment to us
all." You read it here first. More info: http://www.outbox.com/weholgac.
4. SPAMMED TO DEATH?
The Center for Democracy and Technology and the Voters Telecommunications
Watch recently launched a new Web site to help people legally fight
marketers who fill their e-mail boxes with spam, according to Cybertimes.
So far, the Junk Email Resource Page, a spin-off of the so-called "spam
summit" meetings ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to deal with spam
without regulatory intervention, has received hundreds of responses. If
you feel like you're getting spammed to death and want help, go to:
http://www.junkemail.org/
5. ACTIVE IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH.
Canadian Contributing Editor Michael McCafferty reports that a wide variety
of activist groups in Canada make effective use of the Internet to get out
their messages and recruit volunteers. He recommends four sites to
.netpulse readers:
Unity Link (http://home.istar.ca/~unitylnk/index_e.html), an award-winning
site that keeps Canadians interested in national unity and maintaining
Quebec as a part of the country. It is updated daily.
Council of Canadians (http://www.web.net/coc/) is an independent,
non-partisan citizens' public interest group that provides critical and
progressive voice on key national issues.
The Monarchist League of Canada (http://www.monarchist.ca/), a non-partisan
group of Canadians united in their conviction that the monarchy and Queen
Elizabeth (the Queen of Canada) is the main reason for Canada's freedom.
Friends of the CBC (http://friendscb.org) is a voluntary organization
supported by 42,000 households to defend and enhance the quality and
quality of Canadian television and radio broadcasting.
6. MORE THAN A CYBERVOTER - AN ASTROVOTER.
New contributing editor Jon Knisley send along this gem. Ever wonder who
the longest-distance voter was? In November, Astronaut David Wolf hopes to
set the record. Wolf, who will is scheduled to be aboard the Russian space
station Mir from late September until January, will be able to vote thanks
to a change in Texas election law and some new software, the Associated
Press recently reported. In November, Wolf will be able to use a laptop
computer to vote on Houston races, including mayor and city council, and a
number of referendums. According to the news service, "his ballot will be
e-mailed from the county clerk's office to Johnson Space Center, then to
Russia for uplink to the space station. After he has voted, the process
will be reversed. The Legislature changed its election law in May to allow
astronauts to cast absentee ballots from space."
7. THE MORE HELP, THE BETTER.
In this issue, we'd also like to recognize two new contributing editors -
and offer you the chance to join this elite group of cyber-infowarriors.
First, we welcome Jon Knisley, who used to run the Web site in the U.S. for
the Republican National Committee. Jon now works in Virginia for a digital
marketing firm. Second, Michael Wein, a 22-year-old government and
politics major at the University of Maryland, will periodically offer Web
insights that develop as he surfs for his studies. Currently, he's focused
on finishing his honors thesis on new media technologies and campaigning.
If you'd like to become a contributing editor, please contact:
[log in to unmask]
STAFF BOX
^^^^^^^^^^
c 1997, .netpulse, a project of PoliticsOnline - Internet tools for
politics.
Phone: (803) 853-8190
Fax: (803) 722-4283
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Publisher: Phil Noble - [log in to unmask]
Editor: Andy Brack - [log in to unmask]
Internet editor: Ric Castagna - [log in to unmask]
CyberIntern: Marty Edlund - [log in to unmask]
U.S. contributing editors:
Washington, DC: Dan Solomon - [log in to unmask]
Chris Casey - [log in to unmask]
Lynn Reed - [log in to unmask]
Indianapolis, IN: Thad Nation - [log in to unmask]
Gainesville, FL: Andrew Cohen - [log in to unmask]
Arlington, VA: Jon Knisley - [log in to unmask]
Lanham, MD: Michael Wein - [log in to unmask]
International contributing editors:
Amsterdam, Holland: Jacques Monasch - [log in to unmask]
Sydney, Australia: Bruce Hawker - [log in to unmask]
Stockholm, Sweden: Per Tenggren -
[log in to unmask]
Wellington, New Zealand: Peter Noble - [log in to unmask]
Regina, Saskatchewan: Michael McCafferty
- [log in to unmask]
Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Robinson Damasceno -
[log in to unmask]
EDITOR'S NOTE: We're always looking for contributing editors. If you find
anything about how the Internet is being used in politics, drop us a line
([log in to unmask]). You never know - you might get published.
PoliticsOnline - Internet tools for Politics - is a project of Phil Noble &
Associates, an international political consulting firm based in Charleston,
S.C., with office in Washington, D.C., and Stockholm, Sweden. For more
information, go to http://www.pnoble.com.
-------------------------------------------------------
Steven L. Clift, Director, Democracies Online
3454 Fremont Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408 USA
Tel: 612-824-3747 E: [log in to unmask]
http://www.e-democracy.org/do/ - Democracies Online
http://freenet.msp.mn.us/people/clift/ - Home Page
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