ShiftSpace

New York, New York—February 2, 2009—Yeas and Nays is the latest functionality added to Shiftspace.org, an application which provides an “open source layer above any website.”  Yeas and Nays is a browser plug-in that transforms any webpage into a means for contacting Congressional representatives.

“It’s a unique function,” says creator Christian Croft “because it allows a normally passive reader to take immediate civic action on an issue they have learned about online.”

Yeas and Nays singles out a specific instance where the power of information can manifest into action: that fertile moment when citizens discover information online about issues that affect them.  At that fertile moment, Yeas and Nays interface provides a simple tool to initiate a phone call to a representative and a way to share a recording of that call with others. Our goal is getting citizens listening to other citizens expressing informed positions to their representatives.

Yeas and Nays’ public beta can now be installed at www.shiftspace.org/spaces/yeas-and-nays/.  We are eager to see how people will use this tool to engage with their representatives and look forward to gathering feedback about how it works as a mode of civic action. Yeas and Nays is the 1st place winner of the ShiftSpace Commission program, a 2007 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., (aka Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site. It was made possible with funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.