PeopleHavePower.com is an online community created for the discussion and debate of American politics.
Welcome to PeopleHavePower.com. Our goal is to represent the very best aspects of the social web by providing a safe, non-biased space for learning, discussing and debating the opinions and issues that shape our government. Community members have the opportunity to build political profiles and have a voice in the community through dynamic polls and discussions. PeopleHavePower is attempting to live up to its name by providing a destination for a new generation of informed voters to let their voices be heard.
The Problem (and the Solution)
It's a fact: There is a whole generation of young, politically engaged and socially motivated Americans who simply aren't being represented by traditional polling - the sort of polls you see cited on the evening news. The sort of polls that elected officials and conscientious policy makers keep a close eye on while doing the work of representing the people.
The reasons are simple. For example, consider that most polling is done by phone. Problem is, more and more people (especially young adults) rely solely on their mobile phones for their voice communication. It is illegal for phone pollsters to place unsolicited calls to people who will be charged for the call. This "coverage bias" has created a huge gap and created a situation where technological advances and subsequent adoption rates are skewing perception about the important issues of our day. The truth is this: no one method of opinion gathering can currently give an honest estimate of what the populace as a whole thinks about almost any given issue.
A large percentage of those under-represented young people and early-adopters are the same people who have embraced the internet as central part of their daily lives and an important channel to meet new people and gather news and information. PeopleHavePower aims to add one more voice to the discussion, a voice that hasn't been heard.
The Idea
PeopleHavePower has been built with a few important ideas. First among them, that the community should open to everyone, of any political leaning or acumen, and the site should be equally accommodating to all. Discussion and civil debate are the cornerstone of our system, not a tool to polarize the electorate. Disagreement and debate is embraced, but personal attacks are never tolerated. We strive to raise the level of discussion wherever we can. Furthermore, we know better than to let our own personal beliefs slant the content of this site. PeopleHavePower is not interested in shaping opinion - we are interested in providing a open voice for all sides of the political spectrum.
The Promise
We are fierce defenders of the personal information our members entrust to our care. The data we report from our polls and profiles is aggregate - it never includes personal information that could be used to single out any specific user. Anytime we ask to know anything from our community members, we make it very clear how that information will be used.
The Company
People Have Power is the child of Form Collective, Ltd. located in Rochester, NY. We're a (very) small team of designers, developers and community builders who work every day to build new and useful products for the web. We have no outside investors. We built this site because we wanted it to exist. For us. And for you.
The Future
We're just getting started. In the future we plan to release aggregate data gleaned from our polls and surveys concerning a wide variety of topics that shape the political landscapes of our elected and appointed representatives in government. We constantly add new features, and we've always got more in mind. Ultimately it's our goal to allow members of government to be directly involved in the conversation.
You can help. Sign up and become a member. The web is the most democratic medium we've ever know, and like every good democracy it gets stronger and stronger with the addition of every voice.
