Editor’s note: This is being posted for Josh Wilson, who is one of our guest bloggers today.
The other major theme in panel #1 was the problematic access to, and
inconsistent quality and relevance of, information sources in the
community.
Muhammad Chaudhry noted the “Lack of quality content for local
information needs” as well as an opportunity for new “partnerships to
disseminate info at a local level”
He also identified emerging social media — Facebook et. al. — as a
vital means of that dissemination, and admitted that it was only
because of his younger colleagues at the Silicon Valley Education
Foundation that he knew about or was able to use such platforms in the
first place.
Thus we are reminded of the importance of those in established power
positions to pay attention to what’s happening on the ground —
particularly among youth, in this case.
It’s happening at your workplace among the junior staffers, in your
neighborhood playgrounds and romper rooms, in your schools. Kids are
using new media, and what they’re doing with it and learning from it is
instructive.
Gates & Gatekeepers
Judy Nadler of Santa Clara University reminded us of the importance
of having trained, humble and engaged reporters and editors in place
who understand civic issues, such as local government and bond
measures, and who can explain these issues to the community in a
meaningful way, rather than gloss over or dumb down their coverage.
But it’s about more than having better gatekeepers. There’s also a
gaping need for improved venues for civic gathering and dialogue.
Indeed, the question of such venues is the question of access, and
thus we return to the issue of fragmentation, which impedes dialogue
across communities.
Nadler called for “New ways to engage people. They don’t know what’s in their community.”
Chaudhry spoke about organizing people around interest areas, and
“pulling them in” to coordinated information sources related to those
interest — something Walesh affirmed in her description of information
hubs (such as the multi-city arts listing service Artsopolis.com) that
can draw likeminded people to a central online location.
But is this true commnity?
Hammer of PACT says one major hurdle is that “there are very few
informal associations between people,” and that “most people don’t know
their neighbors.”
In other words, there are three major progress points to consider when addressing information quality and access:
* Improved training and education services for the intermediaries who produce and present the information in question
* Establishing, improving and coordinating/connecting outlets that are
willing and able to publish and promote that information
* Creating new dialogue and social habits around that information, so
that people are not disparate consumers, but rather engaged
participants.
