A UNC-Chapel Hill professor says Facebook's state bill groups have untapped potential.

Ryan Thornburg, who teaches journalism and new media, said that groups that have organized around specific state legislation could bring new people into the political process.

But first, the groups will have to expand significantly.

"The power isn't in the number of people you sign up per se," he said. "The value is the more people you get signed up, the wider your circle and the more of a chance you have of activating people who wouldn't normally be activated."

That could mean, for example, a member in Winston-Salem who might decide to attend a local protest or write their legislator.

Thornburg said that the groups' memberships, which are open to any Facebook user, could also be contacted by political candidates looking to draw disaffected voters.

"They're ripe for the harvesting," he said.