Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Participatory Democracy

We have a 14 million dollar gigabit ethernet fiber network ready to use in new and creative ways.

How about allowing residents to log into City Council meetings in the form of a video conference, there to correct factual errors, comment, get more faces into the process. Everything could be shown on the regular television coverage.

Parents with kids at home, the handicapped, the elderly, students hitting the books...all could have access to the meetings without the outdated requirement that in order to speak, one has to be physically present and seated for hours.

What a concept! Using technology to improve democracy in a town that prides itself about an advance data network.

What do you think?

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