The Long Tail of Democratic Participation

Can we increase the number of people able to participate in established democratic processes by making data open on the Web? Many people have a keen interest in particular political issues. Yet the amount of time required to track official public submission periods, and the context in which they occur, reduces the numbers that can participate.

Do social software techniques have a place in reducing the time barrier to democratic participation? For example, would you be more likely to make a submission on a Bill if the submission deadline was entered as an event on upcoming.org or in a Google calendar? Would you be more likely to read transcripts of Oral Questions to Ministers if they were bookmarked in del.icio.us?

The talk will focus on how architectural elements of the emerging web of data can be used to design and build services that facilitate participation in Parliamentary democracy. Specific discussion will focus on experiences learnt from developing TheyWorkForYou.co.nz, a volunteer-run site implemented in Ruby on Rails that attempts to make New Zealand’s Parliament more accessible.