Participation: possibility and execution

The BBC's Technology Correspondent* has a short column on the possible changes to government being brought on by increased connectivity.

As the internet revolution sweeps through our lives, upending the established order in business and society, one area has been left virtually untouched. For all the eagerness of politicians to prove that they're digitally aware, government has been little changed.

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Tom Steinberg - who has pioneered citizen engagement in the UK with sites like FixMyStreet and TheyWorkForYou - thinks there's still a long way to go but the best is yet to come:
"There are going to be old laws and old policies that get challenged and become irrelevant because of the internet - and so governments everywhere - or at least governments everywhere that there is the internet - are going to have to go through the next 20 years through a very rapid process of changing and reviewing laws and on a positive level introducing new policies, new good positive policies that can only exist because the internet makes the world a better place."

Interesting ideas, and a potential way to help tackle democratic deficit. One major concern: connectivity and the possibility of participation is one thing, actual participation another thing altogether. Better connected, motivated small groups are bound to speak louder, capture the attention of government, and be more effective at furthering their agendas. This is not necessarily a new thing (that's what interest groups do, day in day out), but it just adds to the discussion of whether or not government governs for everyone.

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*Rory Cellan-Jones, an experienced and well-connected fellow. Worth reading.