The answer to that question has a little something to do with what you may commonly run into when you exit the store on occasion after doing a little shopping (Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, grocery store, et al). No, I'm not talking about Girl Scout cookie sales. It's when you're asked to sign a petition.
Here in California, just like many other states, propositions or "measures" can make it onto the statewide ballot with enough signatures on a petition. Some choose to launch petitions online, with hopes of enabling some significant change on a local, state or even national level. However, they often fall flat. Why? Because significant change rarely happens by making passive activism efforts, without having to pound the pavement or round up some cash.
However, the Obama Administration seems to think that online petitions may be a good way to connect with a Democratic base that its become disconnected with in many ways. The basis of this idea is affirmed by the President himself:
"When I ran for this office, I pledged to make government more open and accountable to its citizens. That’s what the new We the People feature on WhiteHouse.gov is all about – giving Americans a direct line to the White House on the issues and concerns that matter most to them.”
– President Barack Obama
Yes, the White House has launched a site (soon to be live) where online petitions can be generated for review by administration officials. The pledge is that if a petition generates enough attention, it will be reviewed by White House staff and an official response will be given. The most intriguing question of course is, which staff members will be doing the petition review? According to the speaker on the video above, Digital Strategy Director Macon Phillips, a "group of White House policy officials" are the reviewers in question.
The actual three-step process, as outlined by the site, is this:
1. Create or Sign a Petition
2. Build Support and Gather Signatures
3. The White House Reviews and Responds*
*The initial threshold to get a response from the Administration is 5,000 signatures.
Personally, I still feel that e-petitions and the like are no substitute for solid, old-fashioned activism. There's a real big difference between forwarding someone's chain e-mail about, say, the Keystone XL Pipeline and showing up with signs at the White House gate to voice your objection. And this particular idea may be just window dressing or some clever marketing ploy that will just instill false hope for some. But given that we've become accustomed to re-posting others' Facebook statuses and re-Tweeting as a means of making voices heard, what's to be lost by participating in this endeavor?
Heck, at this point, I'm game.