Inspired by the documentation of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, our strategy team curated a list of links that illustrate how governments, NGOs and ordinary people are using media – both new and old – to document current events and encourage political engagement. Our interest lies in creative uses of technology – whether it is web-based or not.

Real-Time Government: GovLive

GovLive does a great job at demonstrating the potential of real-time digital government. It aggregates Twitter streams from national as well as local government agencies. GovLive has a news stream dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. While the social media adoption of government agencies is still in its infancy, the site displays information in a simplified real-time way.

Mass Collaboration: CrisisCommons

CrisisCommons, an international disaster response network, shows how we might foster collaboration across government agencies, nonprofit organizations and citizens. From Twitter to email to iPhone apps, CrisisCommons uses a myriad of technology to share information, mobilize volunteers and track incidents and data. They are currently working on a mobile application for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that will allow people to report information related to this disaster.

Location-Based Government: Virtual USA

Virtual USA is a federal and state sponsored project whose purpose is to share geospatial data for emergency response crises like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The hope is to create a streamlined process for federal and state to communicate information across platforms and technologies. Similar to CrisisCommons, Virtual USA demonstrates how we may create stronger relationships between the various parties involved in emergency response. It also exhibits how the government may utilize Google Earth and other geotechnologies to create comprehensive maps from multiple sources.

Borderless Democracy: Give Your Vote

Give Your Vote, a campaign for global democracy, asked Brits to let citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Ghana—three countries particularly affected by UK policy—decide how they should cast their vote. Participants in these three countries texted their vote to a local number, with the results forwarded to UK citizens who voted on their behalf. Give Your Vote illustrates that innovative political action does not have to take place on the web, but also, can occur via text messaging and formats we may consider outdated.

What do you think are the most innovative uses of media in politics?