FollowYourGov » app

NYC Wants Citizen-Created Apps in Challenge

Chris — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:31:12 +0000

New York City is having its second app challenge, known as BigApps. According to the BigApps website:

The NYC.gov Data Mine can be found at http://nyc.gov/data. You are required to use at least one data set from the Data Mine in your application. NYCEDC and DoITT coordinated with over 40 City agencies and commissions to provide the datasets, with 15 new city agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection, School Construction Authority and Campaign Finance Board, participating in DataMine for the first time. CompStat and City budget data, taxi and limousine trip data, complaints to the Department of Buildings, and real-time traffic information.

The best apps in the challenge will win $20,000. Last year’s winners were Big Apple Ed, Taxihack, WayFinder NYC, and NYC Way.

Entrepreneurs and Gov 2.0

Chris — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:01:33 +0000

govfresh has a great list of entrepreneurs that are changing the way government work. Many of their companies have been featured on this site, but you should check out the list for new ideas for your organization.

National Budget Video Game?

Chris — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:13:29 +0000

A USA Today article on Wednesday had an interesting bit buried deep within the text:

[Former White House Chief of Staff Erskine] Bowles has been in touch with Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer about creating a deficit-reduction video game that would enable anyone with a computer to take a stab at balancing the budget, much like the 1994 commission did.

Updated for 2010, Kerrey says, such a game could “go viral.”

The tech site Gizmodo picked up on the video game mention.

While it might not “go viral,” this might be a good way for the ordinary citizen to understand the Federal budget issues.

Social Media for Government Communications

Chris — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:28:54 +0000

Software provider Adobe’s Government Bits Blog has a great post on using social media for government communications:

One lesson from social media is the immediacy and richness of information that can be shared through digital channels. Blogs, online video sharing platforms and Twitter have demonstrated the power and desire by the public to share information quickly and easily.

An example of injecting social media lessons into achieving core agency missions is the French Government, who in partnership with students of EPITA (France Graduate School of Computer Science and Advanced Technologies) created a cross-platform widget, DirectGouv, to increase transparency and communication to the press community and thus, to citizens-at-large.

Local Govs Need to Release More Data

Chris — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:48:01 +0000

How user friendly data (from governments) and civic app contests complement journalism.

White House in the iPhone App Store

Chris — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:12:15 +0000

Last night the White House announced the availability of a new White House iPhone/iPod Touch app (see coverage on TechCrunch). The App is even going to stream live the President’s State of the Union Address. More on teh features:

The application comes packed with content, including the latest news items, videos, photos and blog posts from The White House. One feature that stands out is live video streaming, which enables iPhone and iPod Touch owners to watch the President’s public events at the White House as well as other events like key speeches and press briefings in real-time.

The White House also announced that they will soon have a mobile site available at http://mobile.whitehouse.gov.

Newmark Link about Gov 2.0

Chris — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:15:55 +0000

Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, links to a great CNN article about mobile apps and gov 2.0.

NYC’s App Contest

Chris — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:22:20 +0000

Here is the list of apps submitted in New York City’s BigApps contest.

Gov 2.0 Predictions for 2010

Chris — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:12:31 +0000

Social Computing Journal has 7 government 2.0 predictions for 2010, which include: self-service integration (and mashups), increased transparency and citizen involvement (due to apps), and incorporating more social media.

iPhone App for Mobile City Hall

Chris — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:11:20 +0000

iPhone app ‘Mobile City Hall’ ready for residents to use.

NYTimes on Local Government Data

Chris — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:01:09 +0000

The New York Times has a great article today on local governments that are opening up their data to be used in mashups, apps, and mobile apps (think iPhone apps).

More on Open Gov in San Francisco

Chris — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:42:22 +0000

InformationWeek has a great article on open government and San Francisco.

Example of Online Reporting

Chris — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:19:07 +0000

New web application for citizen interaction and 311, SeeClickFix allows for citizen reporting of problems and government response. They recently posted an example interaction with a citizen in Meriden, CT and the city manager.

TSA Crowdsources with Employees

Chris — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:06:36 +0000

The US Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration are getting employees to brainstorm, using a new crowd-sourcing app.

SF Mayor Announces City App Store

Chris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:40:19 +0000

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom posts on TechCrunch about the City’s App Store.