image from Chile Primero website explaining what a petition is: "What are Petitions? Let's Learn a New Political Practice"

Petitions are one of the most popular forms of digital activism nowadays. MoveOn does it. Avaaz does it. Even the Free Paris Hilton campaign does it. You've probably signed an online petition yourself for one cause or another. The problem is, petitions don't translate into all cultures.

As I've mentioned before, I am working with Chile Primero, a new Chilean political movement (which would like to grow into a party) which is very interested in using technology in spreading its

movement founder Fernando Flores speaks at the launch event a month ago.

I know that it's currently just a movement, but Chile Primero could become my kind of political party. I see the ubiquity of communications technology (everyone has a cell phone, everyone has an e-mail account) as the future of politics and Fernando Flores, the movement's founder, clearly sees this too. The party seems honestly concerned with revolutionizing politics and how citizens interact with their governments, and I find this very exciting because that's what I am interested in too.

Of the different elements of creating a political party,

Teo Valenzuela, a Congressman, with members of Chile Primero

a rather chessy dance number

Senator Fernando Flores, the leader of movement

Flores meets the press