E-Participation and Online Identity Management

Extending the Sitemap protocol can facilitate new conveniences and features for e-participation venues.

Presently, in the Sitemap protocol, scalar priorities between 0.0 and 1.0 can be indicated for pages or URL’s. Ideas for extending the protocol include scalars per page or URL per sets or sequences of keywords. Specific scenarios include the names of participants.

Discussions or activities that participants indicate, for example with like buttons or other user interface elements, could then be prioritized for search retrieval utilizing Sitemap XML files generated by e-participation software.

Such technology can provide individuals with opportunities to be proactive with regard to their online identities, utilizing user interface elements at e-participation venues for online identity management, empowering individuals to participate more freely. Lawyers, for example, might advise others, their neighbors, in unfolding group dialogues, regardless of or orthogonally to their individual political opinions per issue or topic.

All experts, in their expert roles, tend to contribute on topics proximate to those of their careers or fields, thus utilizing terminology or keywords proximate to their careers or fields. By providing each participant, in particular each expert, with user interface elements to optionally prioritize the organic, emergent, interactions and group discussions that they participate in at city-scale e-participation venues, to proact in terms of online identity management, every participant, every expert, is more empowered to contribute and to provide service to others.