PRESS RELEASE:
Contact:
SeeClickFix Main
Ben Berkowitz
ben@seeclickfix.com
SeeClickFix Local
____(your name)___
_____(your email address)__
SeeClickFix _____(your town)___
Web-based 311 System Allows All Residents to Report and Solve Local Infrastructure and Other Issues
DRAFT
(city), (state)_ - (today's date) - SeeClickFix, a website that empowers residents to take responsibility for their neighborhood, announced today that (your city) has been named a pilot city. (your name), a resident of _(your town/neighborhood) has decided to promote the SeeClickFix tool as a way to create a community solution for improving (your city)__.
The SeeClickFix.com website allows anyone to:
- See - see a non-emergency issue in your neighborhood.
- Click - open a ticket describing the issue and what can be done to resolve it.
- Fix - take responsibility by watching an area and solving the problem or passing onto someone who can.
As a pilot city, (your city)_ will be among the first cities to take advantage of the new tool.
A few local governments have enough sophistication to run functional
websites or 311 hot lines. Most do not have the resources to do much
more than deliver content. SeeClickFix is a place for citizens from anywhere
to give their local government and others responsible for maintaining public space in their community a website that tracks local issues and send alerts when they are created.
We believe in the power of technology to promote:
- Transparency - governments and most organizations work best when
they conduct their business in plain view. We'll do our best to do the
same.
- Collaboration - Three brains are better than one. And millions of
brains are better than three. Our goal is to give everyone else the
tools to accomplish what we never could ourselves. Open source software
and wikis are good models for us.
- Scale - We could have created a site that focused on our home town.
Using the Internet and all the tools others have created, we want to
reach as many people as possible around the globe. Massive scale,
please.
- Efficiency - Although paper has its place, there is a lot more room
for the web and the mobile phone. Rather than re-invent the wheel, our
site is built on open source software and Google maps.
About SeeClickFix
SeeClickFix encourages residents to become citizens by participating
in taking care of and improving their neighborhoods. By creating a few watch areas for the people responsible for the public space and reporting a few issues and encouraging your friends to do the same, you can have a full blown 311 in minutes.
As a web-based service free to the public, SeeClickFix empowers local governments, business improvement districts, special service districts and others with the tools to identify, track and resolve local issues. Founded in 2007 and based in New Haven, CT, SeeClickFix is in pilot mode.
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