Political Activism Tool

After the election, I wrote about how we need to be more knowledgeable and active in the political process. While it was written after the election, there was no doubt that this has become a bigger issue for a much longer period of time, particularly with the rise of social networks. Keeping up with what is occurring in the political realm can be a very strenuous task.

So a friend and I thought up the major features that we would like to see in a service that helps citizens keep up with those who represent them in the government.

There should be a tool where an average citizen can go see where their representatives stand on issues and what they are actually doing.

• One view for all their representatives

• Have overviews of recent news and methods of contact

• Have representatives responses to bills/issues/appointments

• Simplify entire bills into something most people can understand (including graphics)

• Show all non-related subtopics that are also included

• Show items applicable to them locally

• Put spending categories in perspective of previous years

• Display how representatives voted

• Details of what was voted on can be seen, summary, and the actual bill

• Details on where campaign money comes from

• Notifications for certain issues users care about

• Notifications for when an increased number of users are active on an issue

Ideally

• Have officials participate and respond to their votes/actions

• Authenticate citizens are part of their district/state

Making the government more transparent by helping people understand what it’s actually doing.

If anyone would like to or is pursuing such an idea, I would love to discuss this with you. You can contact me through email. I would love to hear people's thoughts as well.