Friday, January 07, 2011

Things They Should Invent: all public meetings must be justified or obsoleted

I received an email inviting me to a community meeting regarding a political issue I'm interested in. Unfortunately, it didn't say anything about why there was a community meeting. Is there new information that they can't post on the internet for some reason? Are they trying to physically carry out a specific action? They didn't say. They got my email (and, I assume, everyone else's that they copied on this) in the first place through a piece of slacktivism, so why would they think I'd put on make-up and pants and go somewhere at a set time without some hint of why this needs to be in person?

I also saw a tweet recently by someone who was attending a public meeting, and said that they wished more people could be there so they could find out all this information. But why should you have to be there to find out the information? Why can't they just post it on the internet?

It isn't always necessary for people to be in a specific place at a specific time for consultation or information dissemination or activism to happen. Often an email or a website will do the job. Instead of constantly holding public meetings, they should think critically about how much of this can be achieved online. And, conversely, if they do in fact need people to be present in person, they need to specify why.

8 comments:

Lorraine said...

A meeting is that which seconds minutes and wastes hours.

laura k said...

Of course I don't know what the story was with the meeting in question, but many times a face-to-face meeting is the best and most efficient way to get something done. If a group knows each other really well, a conference call can substitute, but online interaction can't take the place of public meetings for many things.

But you're right, the topics and agenda should be articulated up front.

impudent strumpet said...

The problem with the email invitation is that it isn't an existing group, not even a facebook group. They got email addresses of people who have engaged in slacktivism in support of of a particular issue, and invited everyone to a meeting. Because...I don't know. There isn't the slightest hint of what they're trying to do.

But I've also seen a lot of people talking about public meetings as though they're the be-all and end-all of public consultation. Not in terms of actually getting things done, but in terms of "Everyone gets a turn to stand up and tell everyone else what they think!" And these pro-meeting people seem to think that this is way better than online. Why would they want to hear people ramble and stammer when reading is faster and writing is more organized?

Lorraine said...

Sounds like they are trying to RECROOT u. Beware.

Online interaction is much better than meatspace for getting a word in edgewise if you are not the naturally ASSertive type.

impudent strumpet said...

I may well be willing to be recruited, if only I knew in advance for what.

Lorraine said...

Of course. One thing to watch out for at meetings is if all the refreshments are high-sugar empty calorie things like fruit punch or cookies, or pop (some call it soda). It might not hurt to smuggle in a protein bar or a baggie of edamame. Especially if you don't know in advance what's on the agenda.

impudent strumpet said...

So it turns out one of the things I was invited to was a rally. Which I didn't know, because the email described it as "a public gathering" and the facebook link in the email was dead. And of course now the rally is publicly being dissed for low attendance. Which takes me to my next blog post...

laura k said...

"But I've also seen a lot of people talking about public meetings as though they're the be-all and end-all of public consultation. Not in terms of actually getting things done, but in terms of "Everyone gets a turn to stand up and tell everyone else what they think!" "

That's just the physical version of the comments section on online news stories. Garbage in, garbage out.