| EFFECTIVE CYBER ADVOCACY
The Internet holds great promise for enhancing citizen
involvement in the political process. This is because it the Internet
gives provides interested people the ability to learn about issues, form
an opinion, communicate with other like-minded individuals to strengthen
the message, and, ultimately communicate with elected officials – either
individually, or as part of a coordinated effort. However, as with all
methods of communication and information gathering, there is a right way
and a wrong way to use the Internet in efforts to influence policy. The
rules for effective communication still apply – content still matters,
messages must still be timely and relevant to the elected official, and
knowing what you are talking about is still crucial.
And Remember the most important rule of all in cyber-advocacy:
include Include your snail mail address on every e-mail. It’s the only
way your representative will know that you live in his or her district!
Check out the following resources to learn both about
Congress, as well as the impact of the Internet on policy-making. Then,
use that information to communicate effectively with members of Congress
and their staff. Pretty soon, you’ll be a truly effective Cyber-Lobbyist.
Learn About Congress
Check out these online courses and tutorials about
legislative process, web activism, and effective advocacy techniques!
Web Activism (http://www.netaction.org/training).
This short course on web activism outlines a few good tips and techniques
for researching your issues on the Internet as well as using web-based
technologies to identify and motivate your network. This site also provides
good information on mailing lists and e-mail based advocacy.
Government: How
a Bill Becomes a Law from Learn.com (). An outstanding course that
quickly explains the legislative process and offers "self-tests"
at various steps along the way. If you want to understand how bills wend
their way through the legislative process, this is the place to go.
Advocacy Tutorial at AdVanced Consulting (www.advocacyguru.com/demo_page.htm).
Use this page websource to walk through the steps of effective advocacy,
including the top ten steps for ensuring a well-developed, well-delivered
message.
Learn About How the Internet is Changing Democracy
A number of important books offer insights into how
the Internet is changing democracy.
Steven Clift, a well-known name in the "e-democracy"
world, recently released a new online book, "E-Democracy E-Book: Democracy
is Online 2.0". Check it out at http://www.publicus.net/ebook/
"The Net Effect" by Pam Fielding and Daniel
Bennett. This book outlines the impact of the Internet on Congress and
provides a simple framework for understanding how to use the Internet
for activism. Authors Daniel Bennett and Pam Fielding weave together stories
from across the Internet and the political spectrum, showcasing some of
the top strategies being used today to deliver results online.
"Electronic Democracy : Using the Internet
to Influence American Politics"
by Graeme Browning and, Daniel J. Weitzner. This book teaches
explains how to use the Internet to: organize e-mail campaigns within
congressional districts; access a wealth of information that will impact
politicians at the local, state and federal levels; monitor law-makers'
voting records; and track campaign financing and contributions.
"Cyber-Citizen", by Christopher Kush. This
latest entrant to the cyber-advocacy game offers users readers an extensive
range of resources, as well as tips and techniques on how to apply those
resources effectively.
Use the Web to Communicate with Elected Officials
Finally, uUse the web to identify and communicate
with elected officials. Some of the most effective sites include:
Politics Online (www.politicsonline.com).
Includes up-to-date information and news on use of the Internet in politics,
from online contribution totals to the latest in online voting. Offers
Ttwo free e-newsletters for those interested in keeping informed. Also
has a helpful "toolbox" of free and not-so-free tools for managing
Internet campaigns. Although these tools are more oriented toward candidate
campaigns, they can be easily adapted to use for issue campaigns as well.
Congress.Org
(www.congress.org). Like many sites,
Congress.org allows you to identify your representatives, send them an
e-mail, and learn more about their positions on the issues. What sets
Congress.org apart is the in-depth information on Congressional staff,
who are the people who REALLY get things done on the hill. Once you've
looked up your Representative, you are linked to an information sheet
with biographical information, addresses, and the names and responsibilities
of the Congressional staff. Best of all, this information is updated monthly!
In addition, there are helpful tips for writing, e-mailing, and calling
your representatives. This is a very useful site for anyone seeking to
be a truly effective advocate.
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