DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
 

SOCIP: Tech-Powered Democracy
 

American politicians have always used whatever communications technologies they had access too. Manifestos were printed and distributed, railroad cars were stood upon, telegrams were sent, chats were held by firesides. The ability to quickly reach broad audiences has expanded with modern technology, but the direction of communication is still primarily a monologue rather than a dialog.

The primary tool for Centennialism is the creation of a new format for dialog:
a secure Social Citizenship Platform (SOCIP) accessible to the entire nation.

This platform will allow individual citizens to exist in two forms simultaneously; both as anonymous data points and as individual citizens within a digital public square.

Each form provides resources for two tools:

a broad-scale data pool used for research and development
a dialog between individual citizens and their representative government

This SOCIP is structured to promote:

citizen health and growth
active citizen engagement
representative action
leadership accountability
legislative transparency
streamlined, efficient government

By using this SOCIP, citizens will be:

  • rewarded for involvement

  • more invested in their personal well-being

  • more invested in the health of their communities

  • more connected to their leaders

Expanded (non-political) big data use of the SOCIP could include:

  • automated financial and investment advice

  • housing opportunities

  • monitoring multi-medication interactive effects

  • nutritional and diet options

  • successful marriage and relationship insight

  • worker safety trends

  • mental health information and strategies

  • shared interests and hobby community building

Big-data analysis, social media platforms, and e-commerce sites are already being used to accomplish pieces of these fields. Our society would benefit from a national, open-source collection of data available for interpretation by statisticians, researchers, journalists, civil engineers, etc. The list of benefits is encouraging, and would be ever-expanding with new human creativity.
For instance, real, quantifiable, -actually- helpful nutrition and diet information could be assembled from a massive influx of data on body types, blood types, exercise programs, nutritional intake, etc. Patterns of risks from prescription drug interactions could be found or predicted when studied across broad populations. Information on relationship success could help people find and keep good partners, and data on mental health could help provide better strategies and options for those who are struggling.

Machine learning and well-designed algorithms could be a way to cheaply provide useful services to the entire population. For example, a working-class family could plug their income, expenses, and goals (college education, college debt, new appliance) into a matrix that would guide their financial decisions and help them achieve their goals. This would allow those citizens with limited resources to effectively manage them using high-quality automated financial advice.

Civil engineers could track energy usage and capabilities of smart grid infrastructure or public transit.

SOCIP interface

An individual’s SOCIP user interface grants access to:

  • legislative auto-feed

  • citizen approval interface

  • leader information

  • personal information

  • community opportunities

It would be divided into two fields, Pro-Self and Pro-Social.