CDU Opens virtual constituency to the Arger of the other parties and with amazing parallel politics community DOL2day
At CeBIT, the CDU chairman Angela Merkel was able to demonstrate something new from its own home: With the virtual constituency 300, the party wants internet users to inspire politics. But the other parties are not so excited about it. Whether it’s the users, it still has to turn out.
Cornelia Kraus is blonde, 31 years old, married, professional and has a 11 month old daughter. She is committed to Amnesty International and is convinced Christian Democrat. In addition, she runs in the fall of 2002 for the Bundestag.
To be too good to be true? Right. Mrs. Kraus is only a virtual candidate in a virtual constituency and the guards of the CDU. The other Bundestag parties also have their candidates in constituency 300. However, their Vita also comes from the fantasy of CDU employees. The FDP candidate is former burger master and operates a PC store, the green is teacher, for the PDS is a 28-year-old BWL student in the race and the SPD man is deserved Juso.
Virtual doll game
Who wants to pursue the election campaign of the candidates, must be on the page constituency300.Log in. The platform is still in the beta test. So there is no own election programs for the constituency, the adviser bodies of the candidates are not yet.
All this should take over the users. Who logs in, can join a party, participate in discussions, design election posters and keep talking. The party fans are only open to their own members. For the user activities there are virtual euros (VE), which can be exchanged in community credits (CC). Each high the approval for discussion contributions and talk, the more points there are. Who is at the top of the highscore, should co-determine the fate of his party – as a consultant of the candidate. These do not appear to be personal in motion but are based on the will of their party and the advisor committee – a virtual puppet game.
The concept is reminiscent of the policy community dol2day, which has been simulating politics on the internet since 1999. Between 7000 and 8000 active users housed DOL2DAY, Uber 20000 are logged in. Funf Aachen students started the project to win more people for politics. "Many of our users are politically active in reality", explains coefficient Oliver woodpecker. About the CDU side one had been amazed, she was pretty similar to Dol2day.
Amazing parallels
Again, there are virtual euros and community credits – just they share Dol-Points and Bimbes. Again, you win with the score political influence. Again, it can be discussed, initiate votes and joining parties. Significant difference: No real parties are represented here. And life in Dol2day continues after the election. Every four months a new chancellor is chosen. The constituency300, on the other hand, is closed after the planning of the CDU after the general election – at least the Christian Democrats then no longer want to act as operator.
Many DOL2day members romp on the CDU platform. Mostly you will see only a cheap copy in the constituency300, which exclaims the CDU for. The reproach Will not let initiator Stefan Scholz be considered: "We make the real election campaign." That it comes to overcutting with Dol2day, be self-relative because the community is a similar goal of pursuing. However, he is not quite unaffected: Scholz himself has been having an account at DOL2DAY for almost two years.
Stores or join?
At the moment you are currently running discussions under the first participants if you want to run the drain states, or the page should be left to the left. Nevertheless, they have already registered over 500 users – the CDU is by far the strongest party. However, it was allowed to teemen from submarines only. But the PDS is already the secondary party, and Bluewings from the PDS leads at the moment the ranking with the virtual euros – in front of Dadelas (CDU) and Sol1 (Bundnis90 / Grunen).
Only one email account is needed for a registration – and if you want to rise high, even more: "In terms of participation in the election campaign in constituency 300, the specification of a valid e-mail address is sufficient to which the login password is sent. Since the influence and design possibilities but with higher ranking levels continue to increase, the achievement of these stages is bound to the specification of further data (telephone number and address data)."
That virtual policy players are relatively easy to undermine, Dol2day has also had to learn as the right scene discovered the platform and the party Fun "Freedom – Individual – National" Basic (see neo-Nazis on the Internet and No Fun)
In this respect, the parties are concerned about what is going on under their names on the CDU side. The SPD threatened with legal steps, even the FDP and PDS do not want to be presented in this way. Grunen have not yet formed a wedding opinion.
Neutralized committed
The concerns can not understand Scholz. The constituency 300 is an open platform, which is, of course, the political competitors open. If necessary, one can refrain from the logos of the other parties, but would be lost the reality reference. The CDU behaves neutral in the moderator role. Also critical notes that were immediately lolled in the CDU forum are allowed on the new page.
The promised neutralitat must still prove the CDU. And she will have the opportunity, because the signs are on storm. That the CDU could lose the self-created constituency is the slightest problem. ()