Ramping up -- The National Conversation

I have a lot of respect for Phil. This might be interesting.

CHARLESTON, SC – CivisOnline, a new division of sector-leading Internet tools and strategies provider PoliticsOnline, today announced the beta launch of its latest web project, The National Conversation, www.NationalConversation.net), with a unique conversation on Sept 11: 4 Years Later and Hurricane Katrina.

“Think of it as a national water cooler,” says PoliticsOnline president Phil Noble, “a place where regular people can ‘share and compare’ their thoughts and feelings about the biggest stories of the day in any format they choose – in words, in pictures, on video, or simply by rating the comments and content they find on the site. Once they share their ideas and opinions, users can then compare their responses to others in real time by region of the country, age, or sex. This ‘share and compare’ is a powerful idea, and one that our media partners have been interested in pursuing with us for some time now.”

Any media company, blog, or other public affairs site can become a Partner in the National Conversation simply by cutting and pasting an icon and a few lines of code available at
www.NationalConversation.net at no cost or obligation. “The National Conversation is a unique new concept, and our free and open distribution and partner system is a part of this spirit of innovation and experimentation,” said Noble. “We’re anxious to see what happens.”

The National Conversation is built on the latest version of the same secure platform and unique technology that powered the United Nations’ first- ever Online Global Poll, the e-Vote of the European Union and numerous projects for the BBC. It has been used with over 50 different media partners in over 20 different languages.

Currently in beta release, The National Conversation will officially begin in mid-October with a planned focus on The New Iraqi Constitution – What Now?

“Imagine the possibilities,” Noble said. “Video from, say, an ordinary Iraqi citizen side-by-side with traditional reporting from our media partners, additional perspective from academics and experts and regular folks like you and me, and all of it linked to the larger discussion that’s always taking place in online communities and on the blogs. Before you know it, you’ve got a real conversation going, a National Conversation, you might even say. And that’s really something to talk about.”

For more information on The National Conversation, or to learn more about media partnership opportunities, contact by phone 1 (843) 853-8190 or

Phil Noble phil@PoliticsOnline.com -- Laura Hammond laura@PoliticsOnline.com