Public Square Atlanta is a community network dedicated to helping citizens join together and collaborate to make positive change in their communities. It’s the site I have focused on since joining Public Broadcasting Atlanta in April 2011.
In contrast to a message board or social network, Public Square’s focus is on action in pursuit of measurable goals such as stopping sex trafficking, getting a lactation room at the airport, and improving schools. The individual contributions have the power to aggregate community issues, provide shared resources & examples, and engage elected officials in new and unique ways.
To support the site and reach people where they are, I launched several peripheral streams, including a Facebook page, Twitter feed, Tumblr blog and YouTube channel. These showcase the efforts made by Public Square Atlanta members to achieve their goals. The site remains neutral, facilitating community advocacy rather than directly supporting the causes. Since a site redesign and relaunch in June, site traffic is up, with new registrants and groups forming regularly.
The site is also an experiment in online civic engagement. What makes people care enough about community issues to become involved with others in trying to address those issues? I look forward to finding out the answer.
I'm Jason, a real live digital