Online political organizing: lessons from the field

ABSTRACT

In this panel, a group of practitioners and researchers in the area of online political organizing will present their own research in this area and discuss the relevance of online political organizing to the current political scene - including the U.S. general presidential election, which has just been completed. Panelists come from across the political spectrum and also represent views of the political process in countries other than the United States. What are the tools used in online political organizing? What role do each of these new tools bring to the campaign/election process? How effective have they proven in this election cycle? What is their utility outside the scope of the presidential election cycle? Are they merely "teaser" tools to get people in the door or do they have the potential to facilitate lasting political change in all political arenas large and small? In addition, electronic voting is a current open research area. What do systems need to take into account to assure voters' confidence that their votes are being collected and tallied correctly and securely? What information needs to be presented to the voter at the time of polling to ensure the most effective voting systems available? What do we know at this point and where are the future research areas that need scrutiny? Each panelist will present their current research related to this area and comment on the ways in which their findings add to the current body of knowledge. Particular attention will be paid to articulating research streams that currently need to be addressed and positing methods to address these open research questions.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications
          Subjects: Information browsers

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications
          Subjects: Electronic mail
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Web-based interaction

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.4 COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY
      K.4.3 Organizational Impacts

General Terms:
Human Factors

Keywords:
CMC tools, U.S. Presidential campaigns, activity theory, blogs, community decision-support software, digital democracy, e-democracy, electronic voting, instant messaging, online community tools, online political organizing, political action, web-based activism