Reimagining Online Deliberation: Why Open Source is Critical for Civic Infrastructure
338 | Fri 01 Aug 11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Presented by
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Samantha Shireman
https://frankly.org
Samantha Shireman develops technology that helps people break through the digital walls that divide them. Within Harvard’s Applied Social Media Lab, she serves as the product manager for Frankly (frankly.org), an open-source video platform that enables people to engage in deliberation, assemblies, and other forms of constructive discourse and problem-solving.
Previously, as Director of Product at AllSides.com, she helped build many products intended to help people understand diverse perspectives and enable healthy communication across ideological divides.
She earned her degree in cognitive science from UC Berkeley, where she spent a lot of time thinking about thinking. She first earned her tech chops in middle school when, out of necessity, she taught herself HTML and CSS to create web pages for her Neopets.
When not working to strengthen democracy, Samantha enjoys puzzles, good food, cocktails, and the occasional rabbit hole into psychology research. She and her spouse live in El Cerrito, CA in an apartment building they and a few friends purchased together to end-run SF bay area housing costs. They live with their cat GABA, appropriately named after a neurotransmitter.
Samantha Shireman
https://frankly.org
Abstract
What if the tools we use for civic engagement were as common as Google Docs, but built on open source principles? In today's polarized digital landscape, creating space for thoughtful, inclusive dialogue is more critical than ever.
Within Harvard's Berkman Klein Center, our Applied Social Media Lab is building Frankly, an open source video-based discourse platform that structures online face-to-face conversations for meaningful outcomes.
It combines intelligent group matching with embedded discussion prompts, enabling balanced groups to navigate complex topics without facilitators in order to make constructive discourse and collaborative decision-making accessible and scalable.
This session explores how we’re rethinking online discourse to better support civic engagement and social connection, and why democratic infrastructure must be built on open source principles. Open source enables adaptability to different contexts, ensures longevity beyond any single institution, and provides the scrutinizability necessary for legitimate public discourse.
By open-sourcing Frankly and collaborating with practitioners, we're developing civic technology that is transparent, adaptable, and grounded in dialogue expertise. As we increasingly make collective decisions in digital spaces, building deliberative infrastructure on open foundations isn't just technically superior—it's democratically essential.
What if the tools we use for civic engagement were as common as Google Docs, but built on open source principles? In today's polarized digital landscape, creating space for thoughtful, inclusive dialogue is more critical than ever. Within Harvard's Berkman Klein Center, our Applied Social Media Lab is building Frankly, an open source video-based discourse platform that structures online face-to-face conversations for meaningful outcomes. It combines intelligent group matching with embedded discussion prompts, enabling balanced groups to navigate complex topics without facilitators in order to make constructive discourse and collaborative decision-making accessible and scalable. This session explores how we’re rethinking online discourse to better support civic engagement and social connection, and why democratic infrastructure must be built on open source principles. Open source enables adaptability to different contexts, ensures longevity beyond any single institution, and provides the scrutinizability necessary for legitimate public discourse. By open-sourcing Frankly and collaborating with practitioners, we're developing civic technology that is transparent, adaptable, and grounded in dialogue expertise. As we increasingly make collective decisions in digital spaces, building deliberative infrastructure on open foundations isn't just technically superior—it's democratically essential.