Our organization, the Freedom Project, recently closed our physical museum space and is now doing programming throughout the city of Chicago focusing on freedom and the First Amdendment.  Our goal is to help people understand the relevance of the First Amendment, and also to create a place for meaningful discussion where people feel safe and respected regardless of viewpoint.  In our public programs, we’re able to foster good discussion and debate around all different topics, and hear lots of voices and opinions.  In our social media, however, we’re having some trouble creating that same type of dialogue — or any type of dialogue, to be honest.  Web 2.0 has been touted as a way to engage new audiences and engage many voices in discussions, and we’d like to harness that power, but we’re not sure how.

While I obviously would not be able to necessarily lead a discussion on what to do to create and inspire meaningful discussions via social media, I would love to have a roundtable, perhaps in conjunction with Dan’s proposal, or just over drinks, frankly, where I can hear from some others about what you’ve tried, and what has worked.  We really want to be a place for open, safe discussion on contentious issues, and hope that social media can help us achieve that.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Can’t wait to meet you all!

Kel