10 questions: Think the YouTube debate structure, but maybe better.

You post a video question that you want the presidential candidates to answer. The community votes on the top 10. The candidates post their replies. Afterwards the community rates whether the candidates actually answered the questions posed and gives other meaningful feedback.

Old-fashioned televised debates have their value, but TV has several inherent limits. Only a few people get to ask questions. The candidates have very little time to answer, forcing them to speak in canned sound-bites. And the audience has no way of providing meaningful feedback. If the candidate doesn’t answer the question, we have no way of pushing them to do so.

That’s why we’ve created 10Questions.com. This is an experiment in people-powered online democracy.

Unlike television debates, the 10Questions Presidential Forum makes full use of the web’s potential to expand participation in politics. Everyone has an opportunity to ask a question, and to rally support for their question being in the top ten. The candidates have plenty of time to formulate their answers, and can post in-depth replies. Finally, the community will be able to grade the candidates’ answers. With large numbers of people participating, the candidates will have an incentive to pay attention. Who knows, maybe we’ll even change the course of the election!

You might be interested in examples of such participatory democracy in other countries:

Any Questions [from Wikipedia]:

Any Questions? is a topical debate radio programme in the United Kingdom. … It typically features a panel with four members drawn from politicians from the three major UK political parties and other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience, who are drawn from the locality being visited. … The panel members are not notified of the questions before the programme [emphasis added], although questions usually cover topical political questions. It inspired the television version, Question Time, chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby’s older brother, David Dimbleby.

Prime Minister’s Question Time

Prime Minister’s Question Time (often referred to as PMQs) is an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject.

It lasts for about 30 minutes and usually focuses on the key issues of the day.

The PM answers questions every week that Parliament is in session - so for about two hours per month. This is twice as long as his chief cabinet colleagues or their junior ministers.

PMQs were introduced fairly recently, in 1961, after a successful experiment while Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister.

Those Brits are rowdy debaters. They jeer and boo, cheer and carry on.

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