Embedding Action in Online News

The inspiration to take action around a political issue and voice an opinion often comes in response to reading a news article or blog post. Luke Fretwell of GovFresh interviews the founder of Raise Your Voice, a new civic startup that aims to facilitate dialogue between citizens and and their elected officials by optimizing that moment of motivation when readers are engaged with the news:

I conceived Raise Your Voice during the debates on health care reform. As an Emergency Physician, I grew increasingly frustrated watching the town hall meetings, well meaning attempts at open dialogue, were hijacked by special interests and degenerated into shouting matches. It became clear to me that there were too many layers – pundits, interest groups, and media, between people and their elected officials, so I designed Raise Your Voice to give the average citizen direct and easy access. I placed it in online news, because that’s where people are most inspired to act.

While aimed to connect users with state and national level representatives, municipal and regional organizations can support the use of this tool to promote increased political engagement overall in their communities. Raise Your Voice is currently used by publications in Boston, Des Moines, Cincinnati, and Concord, NH.
Read the rest of the interview on GovFresh.