Making ClimateSmart Web Site Smarter

[adam]

In a [URL="http://www.bouldercarbontax.org/2008/03/11/climatesmart-web-site-a-case-of-beauty-and-the-beast/"]post[/URL] on the Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker main site, we take the city to task for creating a [URL="http://www.beclimatesmart.com/"]ClimateSmart web site[/URL] that’s a thing of beauty to behold, but which appears only skin-deep when it comes to the kind of online citizen participation we think essential for community-driven initiatives to succeed.

So, what kinds of digital tools do you think the city should start using to help make its site more participatory? Online forums and comment areas seem a no-brainer. But, for instance, while they’ve got some [URL="http://www.beclimatesmart.com/whatAreYouDoing/"]video interviews[/URL] of community member – should they allow for real user-generated video content, showing, for instance, a local home audit or workplace energy efficiency program? Should they turn a Google [URL="http://www.beclimatesmart.com/pledgeNow/membersMap.php"]map[/URL] showing the locales of individuals pledged to the program into an updatable and open database? And what about user blogs or topical wikis?

Let us know what you think, and we’ll make an effort to share it with the city staff who have the means to improve the site – and with it the chances of success for the carbon tax program.