Kent Kaiser
Minnesota - USA
Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State

Biography:

Kent Kaiser is the communications and voter outreach director for the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. He has been part of the secretary of state team that over the past six years has delivered online to-the-precinct election night results, online candidate filings and weblinks to candidate websites, and online voter education materials. He has produced audio and video voter education devices aimed especially and young and new voters.

Kaiser holds a BA in economics from Carleton College, an MAT in history from Smith College, and an MLS degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He currently is working toward a PhD in mass communication at the University of Minnesota. His dissertation will examine the role of mass media messages and institutions in shaping and driving public policy issues. 

What's a recent movie you've seen and enjoyed and why?

"Finding Neverland" I think it was the best film of last year, and I liked the message about living life to the fullest because we're all being chased by the ticking crocodile (time will catch up with and kill all of us eventually). 

What is "community" and why is it important to you?

I think of it as my network of friends, and it's important to me for social reasons, mainly, but also for intellectual stimulation. As such, I don't think of community as existing in a fixed place or being a static set of people. Indeed, I think with technology the definition of community has become more fluid, and I think that's a good thing in the sense that we all can more easily choose to associate with communities that are to our liking, rather than with communities in which we happen physically to reside.

Pick a favorite technology and explain how it makes the world a better place?

I like email because it's so accessible and easy for people to use across the globe. I regularly keep in touch with friends in India, and besides phone, it's about the best personal way to stay in touch. A lot of other technologies make us more efficient at work, and a lot of other technologies allow personal interation, but again I think email is the simplest and most accessible.

2-3 questions or issues that you hope we'll address at the "Deepening Online Deliberation" meeting?

What are the expectations of government in delivering online services and information and for facilitating online deliberations?

What standards of etiquette are expected in online deliberations?

How do we draw in newcomers to online deliberations, and what are the turnoffs to newbies that prevent them from engaging in the first place or from sticking with online media?