 
Northfield Citizens Online
Method(s) Used
Name of person who posted the project:Kerry Ryan
Location of project:United States of America
Date when the project started:2003
Date when the project ended/project ongoing:
Background to project:Northfield Citizens Online (NCO) formed in 1993 out of a desire by a group of residents to use the Internet to strengthen connections between people in the community. In 1996, NCO incorporated as a non-profit organisation. Since the autumn of 2003, the group has directed its energy toward providing citizens with local news and editorial content, encouraging and supporting blogging by citizens and public officials, and organising discussion forums between officials and citizens regarding issues of mutual concern.Purpose of project:The target audience is anyone interested in local community issues.Through its website, Northfield.org., Northfield Citizens Online aims to achieve the following: Engage citizens in participatory democracy. Project activities:The website provides news content that includes meeting coverage, photos and updates about ongoing civic issues. Community groups can submit items for a syndicated calendar of events, which has links to supporting organisations.Northfield Citizens Online actively encourages civic leaders and citizens to create weblogs and provides them with support and education by A) assigning a volunteer coach to each new blogger; and B) offering community education classes on blogging. Northfield.org representatives occasionally moderate online exchanges in which civic leaders offer their expertise and opinions on particular issues. Citizens are invited to ask questions to further the discussion. Northfield.org connects its readers to a diverse array of local weblogs through its "civic blogosphere." Public officials with weblogs include a school board member, the police chief, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, a planning commission chairwoman and a county commissioner. Headlines from these and additional locally-focused weblogs from a handful of non-profit organizations and about nine citizens are also carried on the site. Project results:The organisation continues to evolve as a provider of community news and information. It fills needs that are not met by other media organisations and helps citizens gain access to local government.People who write community blogs and those who read them said they believe that the establishment of an �electronic commons� has resulted in a more productive exchange of ideas within the community. By providing a new and quick way to access government, citizens and officials are now connected more efficiently. Contact details:northfield.orgOnline Contact Form: http://northfield.org/contact-information  Email: contactus@northfield.org Post: Northfield Citizens Online PO Box 733, Northfield, MN 55057 |
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