Thank you to everyone involved with the Langara Blog Contest! Unfortunately it hasn't caught on with Langara students. But the good news is that I've learned enough from the successes and failures of contests at Langara, UBC, SFU, city of Vancouver and elsewhere, that I'm planning a new web platform for future competitions.
So I'm putting the Langara Blog Contest on hold until sometime in 2009, when I plan to have a new system rolling out. Meanwhile you can still see the Vancouver (soon to be B.C.) contest at http://votermedia.org/van, and the UBC contest at http://votermedia.org/ubc. I'll keep the Langara blog links at http://votermedia.org/langara.
Showing posts with label Langara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Langara. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Should I publish voters’ names?
Should I publish on www.votermedia.org the names of people who vote in the UBC and Langara blog contests? (This wouldn’t apply to the Vancouver blog awards, where I don’t know the voters’ names.)
My goal is to increase voter turnout, which is terribly low so far. Would it work?
Voting is a community service. It benefits the democratic community of all students at UBC or Langara. The benefit of your vote to yourself is minuscule, perhaps not enough to make it worth spending the time. That’s why many people don’t bother voting.
But the benefit of your vote to the community is significant. Maybe letting everyone know who voted would enhance their reputations enough to motivate more people to vote. People may encourage their friends to vote.
The confidentiality of voting is an important democratic principle, but what needs to be confidential is which way you voted, not the fact that you voted. So I’m proposing to list who voted, not the voting decisions.
I wouldn’t start doing this without warning. I’d let everyone know about it and give them the option not to be listed. I’d show who registered to vote, then who voted each week, perhaps with cumulative statistics e.g. how many weeks they voted in so far.
What do you think of this idea?
My goal is to increase voter turnout, which is terribly low so far. Would it work?
Voting is a community service. It benefits the democratic community of all students at UBC or Langara. The benefit of your vote to yourself is minuscule, perhaps not enough to make it worth spending the time. That’s why many people don’t bother voting.
But the benefit of your vote to the community is significant. Maybe letting everyone know who voted would enhance their reputations enough to motivate more people to vote. People may encourage their friends to vote.
The confidentiality of voting is an important democratic principle, but what needs to be confidential is which way you voted, not the fact that you voted. So I’m proposing to list who voted, not the voting decisions.
I wouldn’t start doing this without warning. I’d let everyone know about it and give them the option not to be listed. I’d show who registered to vote, then who voted each week, perhaps with cumulative statistics e.g. how many weeks they voted in so far.
What do you think of this idea?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
UBC & Langara Blog Contests Launched
I’ve just launched blog contests at University of British Columbia and at Langara College in cooperation with their student unions. See info pages –
http://votermedia.org/ubc
http://votermedia.org/langara
Like the Vancouver Election Blog Contest, we will pay weekly cash prizes to the top-ranked contestants. There’s no entry fee, and anyone can enter a blog or other media. Our goals are to improve voter information and engagement in their democratic communities, but contestants and voters are free to emphasize whatever content they choose.
The contests differ on their voter registration method and ballot access:
- Vancouver ballot is an open web page with no registration required;
- UBC registration and ballot are on the university’s Vista Blackboard course management system;
- Langara students register to vote by emailing me their mylangara email address; then each week I email them a link to the ballot.
The ballot formats and vote tallying methods will be similar to what we’re using in the Vancouver contest.
We’re already open for blogger entries and voter registration. Voting will start soon.
Please spread the word!
http://votermedia.org/ubc
http://votermedia.org/langara
Like the Vancouver Election Blog Contest, we will pay weekly cash prizes to the top-ranked contestants. There’s no entry fee, and anyone can enter a blog or other media. Our goals are to improve voter information and engagement in their democratic communities, but contestants and voters are free to emphasize whatever content they choose.
The contests differ on their voter registration method and ballot access:
- Vancouver ballot is an open web page with no registration required;
- UBC registration and ballot are on the university’s Vista Blackboard course management system;
- Langara students register to vote by emailing me their mylangara email address; then each week I email them a link to the ballot.
The ballot formats and vote tallying methods will be similar to what we’re using in the Vancouver contest.
We’re already open for blogger entries and voter registration. Voting will start soon.
Please spread the word!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Langara College Voter-Funded Media Competition Launches May 12
The Langara Students’ Union and I are launching a VFM contest this Monday May 12. It will run until October, with media award voting on a paper ballot accompanying the October 2008 LSU election. So media are encouraged to cover two LSU elections (May & October) and issues important to Langara College students throughout the contest period.
Awards total $1500 -- 1st prize $500, 2nd $400, 3rd $300, 4th $200, 5th $100.
Entry form and more info at www.votermedia.org/langara.
Awards total $1500 -- 1st prize $500, 2nd $400, 3rd $300, 4th $200, 5th $100.
Entry form and more info at www.votermedia.org/langara.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
VFM Networking Party
I hosted a party March 16 for people interested in voter-funded media at UBC, SFU, BCIT, Langara College etc. We can learn from implementing VFM in different ways at different student unions. Media groups can build their brand reputations by linking across schools in various ways: publicizing and reviewing each other’s quality, guest posting, and eventually creating groups that serve multiple democratic communities. The next step for VFM may be municipal politics, which broader coalitions of students and graduates could tackle.
Meanwhile we can eat, drink, chat and relax! Thanks to SFU Instant Blog’s Patrick Lee for this video and review of the party...
… and to UBC Insiders’ Gerald Deo for these photos. Here’s a list of media folks who attended, with links to their blogs & photos:
| School/Org | Blog/Site | Name/PhotoLink | Notes |
| BCIT | BCIT PCMA | Joseph Landicho | In centre of photo |
| BCIT | BCIT PCMA | Kris De Luna | On left of photo |
| CBC | Diana Filer | TV & radio programming; now retired | |
| Langara | LSU | Arran Walshe | |
| Langara | LSU | Chris Vincent | |
| Langara | VG's LSU Blog | Vincent Gornall | |
| SFU | Instant Blog | Patrick Lee | In centre of photo |
| SFU | SFU Politics | Xenia Menzies | |
| SFU | SFU VFM | Brad Coleman | |
| UBC | AMS | Matthew Naylor | 2 years on VFM planning committee |
| UBC | AMS | Stephanie Ryan | 2 years on VFM planning committee |
| UBC | Devil's Advocate | Aaron Palm | |
| UBC | Devil's Advocate | Eoin O'Dwyer | "Eoin" pronounced like "Owen" |
| UBC | Devil's Advocate | Stephen McCarthy | |
| UBC | Election Erection | Kate Webb | Now a reporter at The Province |
| UBC | UBC Insiders | Gerald Deo | Took photos of this event |
| UBC | UBC Insiders | Maayan Kreitzman |
Let me know if you’d like to attend the next VFM event, whenever that may be…
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Suggestions for Media Contestants
Here are some ideas for voter-funded media contestants, especially during an election (like the one happening now at UBC):
1. Busy voters need summaries.
The depth & breadth of your content are great for building credibility among opinion leaders who take the time to read it and spread your reputation. But for those voters who are only willing to spend a few minutes, summaries can help them make intelligent choices. You could make a table of endorsements from your group, and perhaps from other groups too. Clear link(s) from the top of your website to summaries would give more voters the benefit of all your work and insights.
2. Review the media.
You are giving voters guidance to help them vote; they are voting on media as well as on electoral candidates. Remind them that their options are to vote for $0 (“no money”), $500, $1000, $1500 or $2000 for each contestant, with no restriction on their total of voted amounts. (Non-votes are counted as voting for $0.) How will you vote? You could endorse other media, and change this advice through time as more content appears.
3. Use both print and web.
Using more types of media will reach more voters. Even if you only print a 1-page flyer, it can show your endorsements, and reference your website for more depth.
These are my guesses as to what will work, but I’m not the contest judge – voters are. You media may know better than I how to help voters and win votes.
See also:
How VFM contestants can help voters and win votes
Multifactor analysis of UBC VFM votes
1. Busy voters need summaries.
The depth & breadth of your content are great for building credibility among opinion leaders who take the time to read it and spread your reputation. But for those voters who are only willing to spend a few minutes, summaries can help them make intelligent choices. You could make a table of endorsements from your group, and perhaps from other groups too. Clear link(s) from the top of your website to summaries would give more voters the benefit of all your work and insights.
2. Review the media.
You are giving voters guidance to help them vote; they are voting on media as well as on electoral candidates. Remind them that their options are to vote for $0 (“no money”), $500, $1000, $1500 or $2000 for each contestant, with no restriction on their total of voted amounts. (Non-votes are counted as voting for $0.) How will you vote? You could endorse other media, and change this advice through time as more content appears.
3. Use both print and web.
Using more types of media will reach more voters. Even if you only print a 1-page flyer, it can show your endorsements, and reference your website for more depth.
These are my guesses as to what will work, but I’m not the contest judge – voters are. You media may know better than I how to help voters and win votes.
See also:
How VFM contestants can help voters and win votes
Multifactor analysis of UBC VFM votes
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Will VFM Provide Consumer Info?
Will voter-funded media give their communities info on shopping as well as on voting?
To allow complete freedom of the press, VFM contests have so far imposed almost no requirements on media content, format or eligibility. Contest administration is basically an arm of the government, so if the media are to check and balance government power, administrators should have no subjective discretionary authority over contestants. Instead, it is the voters who must sort out the socially beneficial media and reward them. The idea is to empower voters, not to empower government-appointed administrators.
The media are free to try attracting voter support by any means they want, and voters are free to support contestants for whatever reasons they choose. As the SFU contest entry form states:
“We use the term "media" based on what we think contestants will do, but we do not actually require contestants to act like media. This contest is designed to benefit the voting community, and many types of benefit are possible. We think contestants will win high ratings by providing such benefits as websites giving insight on important SFU issues, especially issues to be decided by vote.”
The UBC media contestants in January 2008 will no doubt focus on the student union election that takes place at the end of January, as they did last year, for reasons outlined in this blog two days ago. But at SFU the annual election is not until March, and the media awards are spread throughout the year. What will the contestants offer voters?
Each voter can rate each contestant on a scale of 0 to 10. Awards are given out based on the median of each contestant’s votes: highest median gets first prize, etc. Nonvotes are counted as half a vote for a 0 rating – see rules. To win at this game, contestants must appeal to a wide range of voters.
There are several organizations already providing benefits to the SFU community, including the Simon Fraser Student Society, The Peak (newspaper), and the university itself. Their different mandates cover a wide range of possible benefits. They are well established, and command substantially more resources than the voter-funded media award pool. What could VFM contestants add to this scene? They must look for benefits that are not already being provided.
I designed VFM to encourage media to help voters choose better leaders and to monitor leaders once elected. Existing campus media already do this, but VFM should add a diversity of independent views, with a new competitive incentive linked directly to voters. Different incentives are likely to result in different behaviour, and thus may add some new perspectives on issues important to the SFU community. New media can at least play a gadfly role, critiquing and advising the government.
But contestants may think of other types of benefit that they could offer. For example, these might include information about campus food services or about courses of study. The article “Menu Minefield” (Globe & Mail 2007-11-07) is a good illustration. Media could gather and organize insight from students, in the style of Consumer Reports, Consumers’ Checkbook, epinions.com and yelp.com.
To allow complete freedom of the press, VFM contests have so far imposed almost no requirements on media content, format or eligibility. Contest administration is basically an arm of the government, so if the media are to check and balance government power, administrators should have no subjective discretionary authority over contestants. Instead, it is the voters who must sort out the socially beneficial media and reward them. The idea is to empower voters, not to empower government-appointed administrators.
The media are free to try attracting voter support by any means they want, and voters are free to support contestants for whatever reasons they choose. As the SFU contest entry form states:
“We use the term "media" based on what we think contestants will do, but we do not actually require contestants to act like media. This contest is designed to benefit the voting community, and many types of benefit are possible. We think contestants will win high ratings by providing such benefits as websites giving insight on important SFU issues, especially issues to be decided by vote.”
The UBC media contestants in January 2008 will no doubt focus on the student union election that takes place at the end of January, as they did last year, for reasons outlined in this blog two days ago. But at SFU the annual election is not until March, and the media awards are spread throughout the year. What will the contestants offer voters?
Each voter can rate each contestant on a scale of 0 to 10. Awards are given out based on the median of each contestant’s votes: highest median gets first prize, etc. Nonvotes are counted as half a vote for a 0 rating – see rules. To win at this game, contestants must appeal to a wide range of voters.
There are several organizations already providing benefits to the SFU community, including the Simon Fraser Student Society, The Peak (newspaper), and the university itself. Their different mandates cover a wide range of possible benefits. They are well established, and command substantially more resources than the voter-funded media award pool. What could VFM contestants add to this scene? They must look for benefits that are not already being provided.
I designed VFM to encourage media to help voters choose better leaders and to monitor leaders once elected. Existing campus media already do this, but VFM should add a diversity of independent views, with a new competitive incentive linked directly to voters. Different incentives are likely to result in different behaviour, and thus may add some new perspectives on issues important to the SFU community. New media can at least play a gadfly role, critiquing and advising the government.
But contestants may think of other types of benefit that they could offer. For example, these might include information about campus food services or about courses of study. The article “Menu Minefield” (Globe & Mail 2007-11-07) is a good illustration. Media could gather and organize insight from students, in the style of Consumer Reports, Consumers’ Checkbook, epinions.com and yelp.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
