Interested Bystander = new Customer Segment

UGBA 39E Assignment: Blog Post Week 7

Are people really just not that interested? A study by Google’s Civic Innovation research group gives a more precise metric — 48.9% of American’s are ‘interested bystanders.’ Reading the key elements of what characterizes these people makes me believe that you can start calling them a customer segment. After reading this article the convention of ‘people just aren’t that interested in civic tech’ seemed less plausible. If you want to work in civic tech you have to believe that’s not entirely true, but this close to confirms it, telling us that we just haven’t found the right solution which combines beautiful design, easy-to-use UI/UX, and raw efficacy in translating your opinion to political change. This line in particular stood out:

“A better understanding of Interested Bystanders’ attitudes, behaviors, motivations for civic engagement can serve as a resource for anyone designing civic-related tools and interventions.”

This report definitely brought forth facts that would help civic tech innovators, beyond just giving them the hope which I described above. This ‘Key Element’ provides insight:

“Although Interested Bystanders say that power comes from having a voice, they are disinclined to share their own opinions. Additionally, many Interested Bystanders are uninterested in hearing the opinions of other people.”

There are two points of view when it comes to privacy and social media integration. The first begins at the point where voting is a social act, that one would like to ‘share,’ ‘post,’ and ‘comment.’ This is where Brigade starts. There’s another view though, that voting is a private act. That in the late ‘60s we lost the social, community, town hall aspect of politics in the face of extreme activism, and that we live in an era of conservatism. Many think we’ve turned around full swing — but I would point to this statement as evidence that we’re still at the turning point. It’s not quite the right time for a Facebook for politics, but I’d say we’re pretty close.