Nick Clegg’s Crowdsourcing Initiative Your Freedom?

1/7/2010 | crowdsourcing | philipletts | 9 Comments

Nick CleggNick Clegg and David Cameron’s UK Tory-Lib Dem coalition today unveiled a major Crowdsourcing initiative called ‘Your Freedom’.

Nick Clegg announced on British TV and in the leading newspapers that this is the largest government Crowdsourcing programme to date. Really?

What it boils down to is simple. UK citizens can now go to a government Website called Your Freedom and log their perspectives and complaints on 3 areas of government:

1. Restoring civil libertiesi.e. which current laws would you like to remove or change because they restrict your civil liberties?

2. Repealing unnecessary lawsi.e. which offences do you think we should remove or change, and why?

3. Cutting business and 3rd sector regulationsi.e. which regulations do you think should be removed or changed to make running your business or organisation as simple as possible?

This is either a bold and democratic attempt to Crowdsource the people’s perspectives on change – with the best suggestions implemented by the coalition government as repealed or improved laws and better regulation – or its just one big PR stunt!

The fact that the YouTube video above (and at the top of the Your Freedom Website) has only been viewed 319 times as of the time this article was published does not bode too well.

Will public apathy stall this new angle on Web democracy and civil activism? Tell us what you think – we’ll gladly pass it on.

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2696 views, 3 so far today
Comments
  • http://twitter.com/Jim_Watford Jim

    It keeps breaking down under heavy use, maybe there is hope.

  • Me

    2,205 ideas, 7,419 comments and 18,000 votes in our first day shows the public is not apathetic

  • http://www.blurgroup.com/blog/crowdsourcing/uk-government-to-crowdsource-public-spending UK Government to Crowdsource Public Spending | blur Group

    [...] Challenge’ comes just a week after the launch of ‘Your Freedom’, the Crowdsourcing initative with the aim of determining what unnecessary laws the British [...]

  • http://www.blurgroup.com/blog/crowdsourcing/crowdsourcing-and-cloud-computing-drive-burst-community-and-burst-computing Crowdsourcing and Cloud Computing Drive Burst-Community and Burst-Computing | blur Group

    [...] US and UK governments are actively adopting Crowdsourcing to change the way in which citizens comment on and alter laws and regulation. Big brands use [...]

  • http://www.blurgroup.com/blog/crowdsourcing/how-else-can-nick-clegg-use-crowdsourcing-to-turbo-charge-your-freedom How Else Can Nick Clegg Use Crowdsourcing to Turbo Charge Your Freedom | blur Group

    [...] Nick Clegg and David Cameron’s Tory-Lib Dem coalition government today announced a major Crowdsourcing initiative called Your Freedom. [...]

  • http://www.blurgroup.com/blog/crowdsourcing/uk-government-crowdsourcing-gets-snagged-yes-minister UK Government Crowdsourcing Gets Snagged – Yes Minister! | blur Group

    [...] UK Coalitions first major Crowdsourcing initiative ‘Your Freedom’ seems to have hit a [...]

  • http://www.blurgroup.com/blog/crowdsourcing/the-21st-century-business-tool-crowdsourcing Welcome To The Participation Economy | blur Group

    [...] will change the way we are governed, the way we innovate, the way we market and the way we [...]

  • http://www.blurgroup.com/blog/crowdsourcing/a-crowdsourcing-rap A Crowdsourcing Rap | blur Group

    [...] Me big daddy you big Freedom, yo Clegg. Clegg, Cle-g-g-g-g. Politico Crowdie man. [...]

  • http://www.blurgroup.com/blog/crowdsourcing/crowdsourcing-past-present-and-future Crowdsourcing: Past, Present And Future | blur Group

    [...] Indeed, Crowdsourcing’s rise is starting to effect not only major business sectors but also government. Barack Obama used the power of the crowd to help him get elected and the UK’s coalition government has adopted Crowdsourcing to help them gather ideas from the electorate on how to adapt and improve laws under the ‘Your Freedom’ initiative. [...]