Interaction and communication resources in collaborative e-democratic environments: The democratic citizenship community

Social networks change the way users relate on the Web. One type of social network is the virtual community, which has a social structure that connects citizens and the government. Integrating consultation and deliberative environments for popular participation in democratic issues and creating virtual communities to enhance member relationships makes it possible to model decision-making processes. This was behind the development, testing and analyzing of the Democratic Citizenship Community (DCC). The DCC has interaction and communication resources such as citizens’ profiles, debate, voting, an information library, a social space and users’ help. An experimental analysis generated discussion about and suggestions for improving the interaction and communication resources.