In recent weeks, you've probably heard <http://po.st/chronphilsocmedia> about Facebook's connection <http://po.st/zucksocmediademo> to an independent foundation funded <http://po.st/socdemknight> (multiple foundations <http://po.st/socdemhewlett>) effort to research the impact <http://po.st/socdemssrc> of social media on elections and democracy. That's great. There is even a related conference this week <http://po.st/socdemconference> with an amazing list of academic speakers. I am interested opening up digital channels of communication to help researchers hear from practitioners to help generate more actionable research related to social media and democracy. Whether you are a democracy/civic engagement practitioner, a political campaign operative, or an activist seeking to influence people or your government, what is happening *now* with social media and democracy that needs solid research? If you care about useful research, this group is for you. Perhaps you are within government having used social media to help win an election or you are in media looking for trends or digital options to boost journalism's role in the future of democracy, then this *off the record* group on social media and democracy research is for you too. (If you know practitioners active in the digital democracy/politics/media space who also care about the big picture as well as "winning" with the latest tactic or tool, please pass this invite along.) Researchers invited! This is about creating an effective digital feedback loop. I am interested in how researchers can more effectively engage and access digital practitioners across all the major sectors of democracy - government, media, campaigns and elections, advocacy and legislative bodies, and more. Since Facebook is the main target of a wave of research funding, let's build a digital bridge between research and practice that people actually use on that platform. So, if you do research in this space, please apply to join us. Once we reach 100 charter members, then we will switch to a member referral required to join process (which will be crucial to ensure participation versus free riding.) So, if you are interested in joining, you *must* answer the join request survey questions before your application will be approved: http://facebook.com/groups/socialmediademocracy Thanks, Steven Clift P.S. If you just prefer light reading and not participating actively, everyone is welcome to join my 7500+ member Civic Technology and Open Government Facebook Group. It is a very active group with daily posts: http://facebook.com/groups/opengovgroup Steven Clift - Executive Director, E-Democracy.org clift@e-democracy.org - +1 612 234 7072 http://twitter.com/democracy Join in: http://facebook.com/groups/opengovgroup Digital engagement for your org via E-Democracy: http://po.st/engageclift