PeopleCount is not just an idea. It began as an investigation. Then it became a true problem solving exercise. It’s much, much more than an idea. And it deserves your support.
The Beginning
In the beginning, I had given up my resignation and was looking for how to be a responsible citizen. For two months I searched the internet for new ideas and was disappointed that I found so little. I looked at politician’s websites, and was disappointed. I sent my representative and senators emails and called their offices, and was disappointed with the responses. And then for 4 months I talked to many people about what a good political system would look like and whether we should try to build one. But it was all talk. I had a family and a day job.
But after talking with people about whether the system was worth fixing, I was curious about what was really wrong. Could it be fixed? Being a problem-solver, I did what I’m good at, beginning with understanding the system. And that’s how problem-solving exercises start. While it involves gathering facts and figures and reading other people’s perspectives, it’s much more.
Problem Solving
A problem solving effort has roughly 4 phases. It might loop back at times, as one hits dead-ends or as sub-problems are discovered. But in general, it has 4 phrases:
- Working to thoroughly understand the problem space.
- Aha! The breakthrough and re-understanding the problem in terms of it.
- Crafting a solution
- Ensuring the solution is viable
Understanding the Problem Space
This is rarely just sitting down for an hour to understand something. It usually requires both research and wrestling with the problem. This lasts as long as it takes to understand everything that’s important. Those last two words “that’s important” are as vital as they are subjective. One should not assume something’s not important if one doesn’t understand it.
I often alternate looking broadly and deeply. Every situation or system has multiple levels. Most levels need to be first understood broadly. This means finding its edges and even looking outside the borders to make sure no important things are there. Then the parts inside need to be understood. If they’re well-defined, working and tested, one still needs to understand possible hidden effects on other parts.
With something like politics, this is a huge endeavor. I did well in school and kept up with news so I had a decent understanding of history, government and politics. At times in my life I was very absorbed by politics. And just before PeopleCount, I spent 6 months researching how to be a responsible citizen. Luckily, this had given me a pretty good understanding of the system. I only spent another month in this phase.
Breakthrough- the Aha!
Then I had the breakthrough- seeing that real accountability to voters was missing. This is the first moment when it looks like this is the missing piece of the puzzle. But this is just the beginning of this phase.
With small problems, it’s often like a jigsaw puzzle and the final missing piece obviously completes it. With most problems, one must re-inspect every aspect of the problem in light of this missing piece to see how it effects everything and all of their relationships. I had to re-think my whole understanding of politics – the environment, the players, their relationships, and the problems – but this time with the perspective given by the breakthrough, that politicians were not really accountable to voters.
Crafting a Solution
A solution isn’t just “adding accountability.” First, this needs to be well defined. But then it needs to be defined functionally. This means, it needs to be defined in a way that translates into actions and results that can be seen and measured.
Then, I needed real ways to satisfy that functional definition. Above I said the definition “translates into actions.” I had to find real actions that delivered accountability.
And then I had to try out the solution out, if only in my reasoning. Just as in step 2 I had to re-think my whole understanding of the problem with the breakthrough in mind. This time I had to re-think the whole problem with the solution in mind, working through how it would effect everything.
Ensuring the Solution is Viable
The last part of a problem-solving exercise is ensuring the solution can be created. Of course, if this is unsuccessful, one has to loop back to the previous step and craft a new solution. Often, the “crafting” part includes tossing out possible solutions that seem difficult. If one does that, it’s very easy to make the mistake of thinking one is done after crafting a solution. This step needs to be done again, carefully. One needs to make sure both that the solution will work and that it can be built.
Viable after it’s established
With PeopleCount, I had to first create an imaginary future in which I imagined people were using it. Would it be a political system that will work? Would it be stable, resisting bad people and strange circumstances? Of course, this can’t be completely known, but yes. Certainly it’ll be much more stable than our current system, which has drifted into dysfunction.
For voters to keep using it, it had to feel rewarding to them. And it can’t be too time consuming. The rewards must outweigh the costs. I’ve made sure of this.
Plus it must be rewarding to politicians. Today, they’re free to be corrupt. While accepting bribes is against the law, they’re allowed to favor legislation that benefits industries and then retire from politics and take high-paying positions as a lobbyist or a board member. I ensured PeopleCount’s design will reward them for participating.
Viable before it’s established
And then I had to make sure that we could get to that future from here. We need a path to go from our dysfunctional world to that desired one. With a web application, I had to think through: Was it usable by everyone?
And it would need a way to grow. The worst way is with advertising- trying to convince voters to give something new a try. Luckily, I was able to find ways to get a million people to come soon after launch, and millions more after without any kind of advertising at all. And I found natural partners who will want to send more and more voters to the site.
Growth includes getting current politicians to join. While some will realize it’ll be rewarding, not all will. So I’ve designed in ways that voters will pressure politicians into participating.
These ways in which it will be viable emerge from the problem-solving process as well thought-out assertions. In the years since, I’ve found evidence for them by talking to people, including voters, non-voters, politicians and organizations. While they still need require formal proof, PeopleCount is much more than just an idea.
Creating a viable startup
The last part is the hardest. How do I convince people to join me in building it, or get funding to hire a team? I’ve worked as a software engineer and product developer, not an entrepreneur. I don’t have the authority in politics granted by a career as a leader, a PhD in political science, or even a law degree. And while I was a well-liked and valuable engineer, I didn’t develop close friendships with my colleagues. I don’t have friends who can help. And I’m not wealthy- I can’t fund this myself.
Plus, this idea is very new. While it’s not radical in its details, it is radical to say: We can fix our democracy. Who’s going to listen to a new idea? While it’s much more than an idea, if people reject the idea, they’re not going to listen long enough to discover it’s actually a solution.
So this is the part I’m working on. I’m connecting with people, blogging, and writing a book. Plus, I’m asking for your help. Please sign up on our mailing list using the link in the second line of this article. And please PeopleCount with your friends. And if you know wealthy people who want to see politics fixed, please ask them to follow us, too. Even better, ask them to make the time to learn about us, so they can become a sponsor.