Source: Axiomnews.ca

Websites help build civic engagement, says Stephen Long, president of an Ottawa-based web company called Leverus.

“Interactive web tools can engage visitors and get them involved” in an organization, company, or community, says Long.

He explains that from a practical point-of-view, the way a website is physically constructed can encourage activism. Websites are no longer static forms of communication. Through different links and opportunities to provide input and take action, viewers become involved on a more meaningful, intimate basis, he notes.

In turn, viewers will often take more of a hands-on role in “making things happen,” he adds.

For example, many not-for-profit organizations have a “volunteers” link for people interested in volunteering. Viewers click on the link and access a list of volunteer opportunities as well as a sign-up sheet that can be emailed directly to the organization.

“By having that kind of direct link, it makes it a whole lot easier for people to take action,” says Long.

On-line “donations” links do the same thing, while other links provide opportunities for viewers to participate in community events or take political action. Even news articles serve to encourage involvement, he says.

“Websites and web tools today provide very focused information to reach target audiences and keep them involved and interested,” says Long.

Long’s clients are mostly not-for-profit organizations that use the Internet to achieve a wide range of civic engagement-related goals, from encouraging volunteerism, to lobbying the government.

For example, one of his clients, the Canadian Historical Association, has a section on its website that discusses lobbying the government for access to census information. It also has a section that encourages viewers to join association groups such as the Canadian Committee on Women’s History.

No matter what their individual goals are, “they are all dedicated to social issues in one way or another, whether it is environmental issues or some kind of social policy,” he says.

Although he did not have exact figures available during the phone interview, he did say that his clients have seen “fairly dramatic improvements” in reaching their goals – thanks to a focused, interactive Internet presence.