Naming an Emerging Movement

by John Geraci

There's a movement going on around the world.

We don't have a name for it, though.

Gov2.0, e-gov, e-democracy, open gov--these are all names that get applied to what is happening. And they are great for describing a certain aspect of this movement, the aspect that actually deals with government.

What's really going on right now is much bigger than that. Open gov is a big part of the story, but not the whole story. On top of Open Gov, there are organizations like The Open Planning Project (TOPP), or Front Seat, or my own DIYcity, working alongside these open gov groups, trying to make the whole civic system work better. Or there is Robin Chase, CEO of GoLoco and founder of ZipCar, singlehandedly trying to reinvent the way transportation works in cities. Or there is the subway alert I just got in my inbox, courtesy of New York City's MTA, notifying me that the F train has delays due to mechanical problems. All of these entities--TOPP, Front Seat et al, plus the open gov groups--are interrelated, and together create a new, emerging ecosystem of information, user activity, and possibility. But that ecosystem doesn't fit neatly under the hood of "Gov 2.0" or any of the other "gov" labels.

Recalling my post last week about the four pillars of an open civic system, these "gov" names--e-gov, gov2.0, open gov--focus on the G2C aspect of what is going on, to the exclusion of the other aspects of this open civic system that is emerging.

And this new civic system should have a name, because it is a real ecosystem. It is also a movement, with more and more people focusing on it around the world every day. It is also increasingly becoming an industry.

So what do we call this new thing?

What do we say when we want to say to someone, "All of the stuff that is emerging right now in the civic space that helps communities operate better, both with and without direct or indirect involvement on the part of the government?"

I was talking with Micah Sifry, co-host of this week's Personal Democracy Forum, a while back, and he suggested the name "civic software" for the apps that come out of this space. Riffing off that, I have been talking about the "open civic system." Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, who recently posted on this movement, thinks that name is too long, but also thinks "civic software" doesn't quite do it justice.

So I thought I would open up a thread here on Radar for a discussion:

What should this new space be called?

Let me know what you think. All ideas are welcome...

Role of Social Media in Obama's Election : CHANGE HAS COME

"...If there's anybody out there who still questions ... the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer" : for sure, with this so exciting 2008 presidential campaign, Social Media have proved to be so powerful and I think, will shape the future of major campaigns forever.

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Myspace, YouTube, community blogs, Flickr, FriendFeed, etc. have been largely used in this 2008 election especially by Obama's team who hired the co-founder of Facebook.

I was so impressed when I discovered the voteforchange site : videos, widgets, events, planning, merchandising products, fundraising tools, volunteering,...It was an "OBAMA EVERYWHERE" social media campaign.

Good strategy if we see the record number of voters especially within young and first time voters- 2.2 million more young people voted on Tuesday than did in 2004, accounting for 18 percent of the electorate according to the Huffington Post-, who are big users of web 2.0 technology and social media. So the issue is: Did these voters been more involved in this election because of social media and the candidates use of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube?

Well, the rally seem to have reached almost every corner of the world if we see the Obamania and surge of hysteria sweeping the 2008 presidential nomination.

How about the Numbers? The social media stats speak by themselves:

YouTube registered 19,369,254 viewers for the OBAMA's official site; 13,076,047 viewers for the Yes we Can music video by Will I Am.

In the YouChoose channel of You Tube reserved for presidential campaigning launched a while ago, Obama largely outpaced the other channels with 106,451,689 views on the Obama channel compared to 25,470,489 for John McCain.

On Facebook, Obama has 2,864,921 supporters not including all the specific groups like NY for Obama or Wall Street for Obama groups and all the other independent contents. About 5 million Facebook users have voted. Five days before the election all people who added the Donate their status to remind everyone to vote application, where asked to invite their network of friends; and a voters countdown was added to their profile to keep them updated. It was the largest online rally ever : In just under 5 days, 1,745,754 people sent out 4,919,071 status messages. the Vote for Barack Obama rally registered 1,190,903 participants and 70% of total users, John McCain rallied 370,802 participants with 21% of users.

On Twitter: Obama has 127,370 following and 123,439 followers, McCain only 4,956.

These numbers are simply staggering. So, Social medias and the web 2.0 are also the big winners of this campaign and even the other media like CNN with the iReport, a user-generated site; the Huffington Post, or BBC World News followed the trend using all kind of social media tools to connect voters and rally them to vote.

2.0 WORDS were also invented for this occasion like PEWS -for Post Election withdrawal Syndrom-; PEST -for Post Election Selection Trauma; Election Erection; or the Barack Obama urban dictionary definition as a "rising star" or "a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy fused into a single body"; etc.

You can also watch the Reuters Video : Social Media's big win on Reuters on the subject.

Flickr Election Night 11-04-08.

Tuesday's Second Biggest Winner: Democracy : Over 133 million people turned out to vote on Tuesday -- 11 million more than voted in 2004 - producing the highest turnout rate in 44 years with 62.5 percent.

Excellent post from the Harvard Business Review excellent post : Barack Obama's Edge-Based Organization posted by John Sviokla on November 11, 2008.

Under Obama, Web Would Be the Way, Washington Post

The White House Goes Web, IT World

OBAMA's "YES WE CAN" by WILL I AM (BLACK EYED PEAS)

CONGRATULATIONS Mister PRESIDENT!!!

Lyrics: Yes We can

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --

Yes. We. Can.