Is anyone else overwhelmed with the plethora of online petitions? [View all]

[OneGrassRoot]

Last edited Mon Apr 29, 2013, 09:50 AM - Edit history (1)

EDIT TO ADD: I think most of us are disgusted by the number of political petitions we receive in the mail from progressive organizations, but I'm also speaking of petitions which target companies, not only politicians.

EDIT #2: It seems a lot of people have given up on petitions since these online petition platforms/groups are essentially selling our info when we sign.

Can you envision what the next generation of online petitioning might look like? I hate the idea of having free tools at our disposal yet not taking advantage of the ability to connect and raise our voices in unison in some way.




I happen to be one of those who has seen that petitions DO work, so I'm a fan of online activism in the form of petitions (as well as calling/writing Congress). It can be a gateway to much more direct and necessary activism. It's better than nothing, imho, so long as huge numbers can be gathered to support a petition.

I realize many here feel that's all a waste of time.

For those who don't feel it's a waste of time, do you agree with me that, given the many different petition sites available and being used now, it's like the petitions are being fragmented to the point of being less and less effective?

The idea is to gather as many names as possible to show support, but when those names are divided amongst about a dozen different petition sites, it loses it's impact, imho.

I keep trying to think of a way to deal with this and imagine the next level of online activism to raise our voices in unison.

Anyone else have any ideas or thoughts about this matter?

Regarding petitions, I've thought of essentially curating the top petition sites, searching for duplicate petitions, and posting them so people can choose the one they're most comfortable with, but show on one page the cumulative impact of the petitions about a given topic.

It's as though everything -- even really well-intentioned, necessary efforts like petitions and fundraisers -- is disappearing into the white noise.