Oct 03 2008
You2Gov.com Offers Interaction, Information
Being politically aware and socially connected are two admirable goals. Who wants to be a hermit who doesn’t know what happened at the vice-presidential debate? Certainly no reader here. You2Gov.com combines the desire to interact and the want to know what’s happening. I asked some questions of Alan Silberberg, one of the people behind You2Gov.com.
In a way, he’s like Tom Anderson of MySpace. Once you register at MySpace, Tom automatically becomes your first friend. When you sign up at You2Gov, Mr. Silberberg joins your list. You’ll be able to reach a lot more people quickly through the site. My questions are in italic. Mr. Silberberg’s responses are in bold. I thank him for his time and assistance.
Would you tell me about You2Gov.com? What should I expect when I visit?
This is probably the first political social networking site with an emphasis on action tools utilizing the social framework to create informed citizens, armed with the knowledge and ability to have influence over their government. You should expect cutting edge news, videos, issue based forums and a hard hitting political blog, as well as the social environment familiar to MySpace and Facebook users, all wrapped into a uniquely powerful citizen advocacy and action tool set.
Why did you decide to create the site?
The Chairman of the company, Ralph J. Shapira was extremely concerned about the possibility of “Super Delegates” deciding the outcome of this election. So he became driven to ensure that never again would citizens not be able to directly influence elections and political figures.
How did PC Magazine name your site one of the best 20 political Web sites?
Our launch timing was excellent, and coincided with the late summer run up to the General Election coverage. Because of the significant amounts of money spent on this election, there is a lot of interest. We are the only social networking site dedicated to politics that has as it’s anchor the ability to act, as opposed to simply talking. So we really stand out.
Is the site updated regularly?
The site is update multiple times a day, both dynamically through api’s and widgets and manually, by filtering through dozens of news sources to find key stories.
How many visitors per month does You2Gov.com have?
In the little over two months since our launch, we have seen a daily and weekly increase in traffic since inception, our alexa numbers confirm this. We are very excited about the continued high interest and continued upward growth curve.
Which articles are the most popular?
Lately the information on the Wall Street Bailout has by far been consuming our reader’s attention. Additionally, just in the past few weeks we have seen hundreds of users taking advantage of our tools to contact Congressman and Senators. Our forum gets a lot of daily traffic, and the news and political videos get a lot of attention as well.
Are most of the site’s users Democrats or are they Republicans?
We think it is a good mix, though it is early to tell. All the tools, features and parts of the site are open to all, and we actively encourage all viewpoints. Additionally, we limit our news feeds to actual news sources, not campaign or political websites or newsfeeds.
How can people connect through the site?
Just like on MySpace, Facebook, linkedin and other major social sites. Users can connect with each other, form groups, invite users, and use the social context of the website to share, review and talk about current issues, news, etc. The site was built with the social engine at the base, with the data and action tools layered on top.
May people contact lawmakers through You2Gov.com?
Absolutely. Hundreds of people have done so already this election.
Is there a chance to debate political issues without a lot of flaming and name-calling?
In fact users will find one of the most civil discourses on politics around, with some thoughtful contributors and no name calling, flaming or “yelling”. It is the zen of online politics.
What else should I know about You2Gov.com?
We are about to unveil a custom database that will connect our users to all members of Congress, the Senate, all 50 state houses and Governors Mansions as well as the White House. This will become the centerpiece of You2Gov’s citizen advocacy and online democracy tools. We already have these tools in place, but we created a special user friendly database and letter writing function for our users. We will be making announcements about this shortly. You2Gov plans on being the primary political social networking website for the next election cycle, the mid terms of 2010. We will also be unveiling a Spanish language edition, as well as making major announcements about international collaborations.
