A
C
Communications and Society Program
Civic Engagement on the Move: How
mobile media can serve the public good
by J.D. Lasica, Rapporteur
Civic Engagement on the Move looks at how leading edge practitioners are using mobile media to engage citizens to solve problems, bridge differences and strengthen community. Mobile media technologies provide new tools for journalists, government and nonprofit agencies, civic organizers, elected officials, activists and ordinary citizens to inform, to reach out to others and to galvanize community action on a wide range of issues. Civic Engagement on the Move, written by J.D. Lasica, details the hallmarks of successful mobile campaigns around civic engagement and provides case studies of several successful and emerging initiatives, including those that came out of the recent Aspen Institute Roundtable on Mobile Media and Civic Engagement. Noted experts in the field add their insights on using mobile media, with a list of “Mobile Advocacy Dos and Don’ts” by Katrin Verclas of MobileActive and “A Mobile Media User’s Guide” by Jed Alpert, CEO of Mobile Commons.
To read the interactive version of the report, click on the table of contents below or Download Report in PDF.
Foreword, Jon Funabiki
Acknowledgements, Charles M. Firestone
Introduction
Setting the Table: Mobile Media and Community
Coming together for solidarity and affinity
Glimmers of What’s Ahead: Mobile Media in the Wild
Case Study: Computerized Neighborhood Environment Tracking (ComNETsm)
Political uses of mobile media
Mobile information services for the public good
Creative uses of mobile media
Informing the Mobile Generation
An explosive growth in community media
A note of caution in the rush to citizen media nirvana
Civic Engagement and the New Mobile Activism
Case Study: SexINFO: A Pilot SMS Mobile Project for Urban Youth
Elements of a successful mobile campaign
Barriers to the Mobile Civic Sphere
Barriers of price
Barriers of closed networks
Barriers of access
Strategies for Adapting Mobile to the Civic Sphere
Social-cultural forms of mobile media
Case Study: EdText
Journalism and mobile media
Case Study: The Twitter Posse
M-governance and civic engagement
Goals of m-governance
Horizons: Mobile Media and the Public Good
Notes
Appendix
Mobile Advocacy Do’s and Don’ts, Katrin Verclas
A Mobile Activism User’s Guide, Jed Alpert
Competitive Representation and M-Governance, Charles M. Firestone
Glossary of Terms
Roundtable Participants
About the Author
Previous Publications of Interest
About the Communications and Society Program
About the Center for Renaissance Journalism San Francisco State University