Direct democracy

[Michael Allan]

> I am out of the loop and need to bootstrap myself. I trolled in here
> from the TorCampers.
> 
> Is this the same s/w that was dev'ed during the last startup camp ?
 
Hi /pd,

You're thinking of Brill Pappin's (et al.) LobbyThem?

  http://startupweekend.com/eight-startups-created-a-recap/

LobbyThem has some similarity to Votorola, but is more specialized.
LobbyThem is a petition system.  It enables communities to initiate
and advance petitions to the government.  Wheras Votorola is a
general-purpose electoral system.  It enables communities to initiate
and advance ballot nominations, petitions, policy positions, and
legislative bills -- among other things.

It's these other things that prompted my post to TorCamp.  I recently
realized that consensus could form on cultural objects in general, not
just on political ones.  So culture (objects of art, science,
engineering, religion, you name it) could form one-half of the overall
architecture, joined by the keystone of community consensus to the
political half.  This is significant, because cultural artifacts can
capture people's imaginations and express their long-term goals; goals
that politics can then attain.

   -------------------------------
  |              |                |
  |              |                |
  |   Economy    |     Polity     |
  |              |                |
  |              |                |
  |              |                |
  |-------------------------------|
  |              |                |
  |              |                |
  |   Culture    |    Societal    |
  |              |    Community   |
  |              |                |
  |              |                |
   -------------------------------

But I've also realized, recently, that people don't understand the
social implications of *broad consensus*, not even in the political
sphere.  And that's the conceptual key.  Do you remember, /pd, when
you posted this link to TorCamp, as the "best online book promo"?

  http://managinghumans.com/

It made me realize that storytelling is a good way to explain new
concepts.  So I began to use stories in my own posts to technical
forums, and it worked!  People immediately understood me.  Then, when
I went back to technical or theoretical terms, I immediately lost
them. :(

In the next couple of days, I'll try the same trick on Votorola's home
page.  I'll try to engage the casual reader in a story, the story of
how consensus changes things.  (Then I'll post it to writer's forums,
and beg them to help me improve it! :)

-- 
Michael Allan

http://zelea.com/