Participate in E-government

I attempted to formulate an argument this week based on e-governance issues, however, I struggled.  I'm usually later in posting than my classmates and they made the same arguments I was thinking of discussing (in a much better way than I would have).  I wanted to explore how governments need to respect the freedom of its citizens before social media protests could be effective, but L. Khoury already made a thought-provoking post on that topic.  I also wanted to point out that the digital divide needed to be solved before e-governance could be effective, however, Laura Buell already brought that issue to light.  I encourage the reading of both my classmates' blogs.

Instead of drumming up an academic argument, I want to share the results of my personal reflection.  In my reflection I explored why I didn't participate in e-government more often.  From that thought, I set out to find out how I could participate, and now I want to share the resources I've found in my research.  So, I guess my argument is "You should take this opportunity to participate in your government by accessing these resources"

E-government Participation Resources:

Register to vote:  Register to exercise your basic civic duty. Hosted by U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Learn how to support federal candidates:  A guide to supporting Federal candidates.  Hosted by U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Become a poll worker:  Volunteer to help at the polls. Hosted by U.S. Election Assistance Commission\

Find your representative: Find and contact your representative.  From U.S. House of Representative's website

Find your senator:  Find and contact your congressperson.  From the U.S. Senate's website

Contact elected officials:  Find contact info for any elected official.  Hosted by USA.gov

"Like" the government:  USA.gov's Facebook page

Follow the government: USA.gov's Twitter account

Social network the government:  A wiki where you can discover the social media outlets of government agencies and officials

Petition: Create, discover, and sign petitions.  Hosted by the White House

Affect regulations:  Comment on proposed Federal regulations at Regulations.gov

Join data communities: Connect and network with research communities. Hosted by Data.gov

Solve challenges:  Propose ideas and solutions to Federal challenges.  Provided by U.S. General Services Administration

Request records:  Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act and its related website, you can request Federal agencies records

Access government from your phone:  List of government apps and mobile sites. Hosted by USA.gov