A decade ago, we undertook to develop social media application(s) to help make engaging in political, social, and community issues easy and fun. We made some progress, but were unable to raise funds to bring the project to fruition. This website is a copy of the ~2% of the original Direct Change site accessible without logging-in. The app is no longer running, but instead of going completely out, we’re replacing it with this site dedicated to the goals of Direct Change. You can browse this site to learn more about the project. If you are interested furthering the goals of Direct Change, contact us and let us know how we can help.
History
During Obama’s first presidential election, it became clear to me that Social Media was going to have a big impact on politics.
Most of the action took place on Facebook and Twitter. People were trying to express themselves and organize using general-purpose social media tools. It was good start, but a few powerful voices were often able to drown-out the relatively silent majority.
There are so many important issues. And most are complex. Resolving complex issues requires the involvement of many people with different skill sets. Even getting the political will to attack an issue can be a monumental undertaking.
Our goal: Make it easy and fun for the otherwise silent majority take action to make positive change.
In a sense, Direct Change is a multiplayer game with several unofficial roles:
- Information gatherer: What’s really happening?
- Fact Checker: Do the details add-up?
- Problem Solver: What can people do to help?
- Influencer: Spread the word about issues, ideas, and actions.
There were some apps designed to engage people to act (e.g., causes), but they were bound to a structure where one or more admins would “own” a cause.
What We Accomplished:
- Designed and developed a functional prototype for a consumer application.
- Integrated the application with Facebook, Twitter, and a variety of API’s (data sources).
- Used the application to run a successful campaign supporting a passed ballot measure.
- Developed a prototype branded municipal portal version of the application to make it easier for verified residents to provide feedback to town / city / county officials.
- Developed a prototype of a branded Media Engagement Widget for publications to embed some contextual next steps / actions adjacent to the article.
Reasons We Should Have Gone Further:
- In the days since, more and more are acknowledging the power social media can play in impacting politics / civic engagement.
- Despite its polarizing effects, social media can also be used to find common interests between people who can still argue over some hot-button issues.
- Municipal feedback tends to also come from a vocal minority.
- Political discourse on social media today remains largely echo chambers dominated by a few loud voices, mostly resulting in little tangible action.
Reasons We Didn’t Go Further:
- Didn’t spend enough energy on raising capital.
- Pivoted perhaps too much, trying to find a quick path to validation ( consumer app -> municipal portal -> political action group campaign tool -> media engagement widget ). Didn’t give any sufficient time / effort to succeed.
- When starting Direct Change, the intent was always to be a neutral platform, “weaponizing” social media and selling to both sides. Aside from branding issues relating to selling to both sides, a good weapons dealer should let his conscience guide him. I’m not a good “arms dealer.”
What’s Next?
Want to further this project? We have lots more data, source code, analytics, product plans, and more. Contact Us.