Some of the most ambitious Social Software projects are across the pond.  UpMyStreet Conversations which uses geocoded discussion boards to foster localized social capital. Another project, iCan, serves to enhance social capital by empowering people with social software to engage in civic activism. 

The design of iCan is underpinned by an ethnographic study of real-world grassroots campaigns.  Research on internet-friendly groups showed two main reasons for passivity:

• ‘I don’t know where to start.’
• ‘I can’t make a difference on my own.’

My notes from iCan's presentation at O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference are posted on the Etech Wiki.  Matt Jones described a process model for grassroots campaigns:

• Stage 1 - Discovering
• Stage 2 - Deciding
• Stage 3 - Planning
• Stage 4 - Acting
• Stage 5 - Retiring

A Wired News article on iCan by Leander Kahney gets at the potential controversy of politicized social software.

BBC viewers, Cronin added, are tired of watching an endless procession of politicians pontificating about the issues of the day, which he called "output," and instead want action, or "outcomes."

"We wanted to work out ways to help people find outcomes," he said. "People want to have more input in democracy than a single vote every four years for parties that are more or less the same."

The article goes on to quote me:

However, the project drew kudos from Ross Mayfield, CEO of Socialtext, one of the leading companies in the burgeoning social software movement, an umbrella term for a wide range of software for social interaction, from blogs to Wikis.

Mayfield applauded the idea of putting Internet-based activism tools in the hands of ordinary people.

"(The iCan project) is the best use of social software people are attempting right now," he said. "Anything that uses the Web to foster interaction with the government is what this kind of software is all about."

To clarify, what's its all about is building social capital, the root value proposition of social software.  Social capital underpins not only civic participation, but organizational strength within the private, public and non-profit sectors.

But leave it to a think tank to get it right in theory that ignores current practice:

Caleb Kleppner, a senior analyst with the Center for Voting and Democracy, a nonpartisan think tank based in Takoma Park, Maryland, welcomed the creation of iCan, but said it seems as though the system will address a symptom rather than the root causes of voter disenfranchisement. After all, in a representative democracy like the United Kingdom's, politicians are supposed to be in touch with, and act on, their constituents' concerns.

"It sounds promising," Kleppner said. "(But) we elect representatives to promote the interests of the people who vote for them. If there's a need for a system like this, it suggests that the whole system has broken down."

The root cause is politicians are only in touch with franchises of influence.  By addressing civic participation, building social capital and enabling constituents to present their constituencies to decision makers -- it helps politicians understand what they should represent.  Addressing the problem from the top-down would only provide greater insight into apathy.