The Internet is generally having a positive effect on the discourse between citizens and Congress, or at least that is what a large majority of congressional staff reporting from the U.S. believe:  “79% percent believe the Internet has made it easier for citizens to become involved in public policy; 55% believe it has increased public understanding of what goes on in Washington; and a plurality of 48% believe it has made members more responsive to their constituents,” according to the Congressional Management Foundation. But how do our legislator friends across the pond view the internet?

Our European colleagues took a close look at what Members of the European Parliament think about how the internet affects their legislative work. You can find the entire study here, and I have included a couple of the biggest headlines I see coming out of the study below.  

1. Search Engines: 93% use search engines daily to understand legislative issues.
2. Blogs: 32% of MEPs who blog believe blogs to be important or very important in informing their policy thinking, compared with 17% of MEPs who do not blog.
3. Online News: 74% visit online versions of traditional newspapers on a daily basis, while 38% visit online EU specialist media each day.
4. Wikipedia: 65% visit Wikipedia style tools at least several times each week to understand legislative issues, while 36% visit blogs in the same period.

 Let’s see how that compares to the U.S.:

1. Search Engines: It’s hard to find a number on how our legislators view search but if anyone has a number, please leave it in the comment thread.
2. Blogs: The U.S., I’m proud to say, seems a little bit more receptive to the blogospherse. In fact, 88% of congressional staff find blogs useful for anticipating emerging policy debates.(link)
3. Wikipeida: There’s not a lot of research here, but there is the much-reported story that found more than 1,000 Wikipedia edits traced back to congressional staffers after it was uncovered the staffers in Rep. Marty Meehan’s office had “heavily edited his Wikipedia bio.” (For more click here link)
4. Online News: Looks like a comparable find to a National Journal study titled Washington in the Information Age.

1. Â
   • At least 70% of congressional staffers visit online news sites multiple times per day.
   • The average Legislative Assistant is only 26 years-old and reads 65% of his/her news online.

May 19th, 2009 by Ben Clark | No Comments