Government Technology

    Digital Communities
    Industry Members

  • Click sponsor logos for whitepapers, case studies, and best practices.
  • McAfee

San Francisco Residents Can Tweet 311



July 6, 2009 By

Sensible System

MIT architects and engineers have taken the guesswork out of public transit for commuters in Florence, Italy, by creating a futuristic bus stop called EyeStop, which lets users plan bus trips on an interactive map, surf the Web, monitor their real-time exposure to pollutants and use their mobile devices as an interface with the bus shelter. Users can post ads and community announcements on its electronic bulletin board. EyeStop also powers itself through sunlight and collects real-time information about the surrounding environment. -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

San Francisco Tweet

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced in June that residents can make 311 customer service requests or complaints to the city's call center using Twitter.

Residents can tweet to the city's call center about various services like graffiti removal, potholes, garbage maintenance and street cleaning. Mobile users also can send messages and pictures using a third-party application.

To make service requests, residents who have Twitter accounts must follow San Francisco's account at SF311. Once a service request is submitted, it's logged by a call taker into a customer relationship management database. The resident is then given a tracking number so he or she can follow up on the issue. Users can send direct messages to the call center by appending the letter "D" before SF311, which allows them to receive real-time responses. However, users with general inquiries usually receive a link to the information they need.

The city had 1,500 followers in the first days of service. The city's site also features a list of sample tweets.

Crime Tracker

Worried about crime in your community? Citizens nationwide can search and track crime data from more than 800 participating police departments on CrimeMapping.com, CrimeReports.com and EveryBlock.com. Live feeds from police record-keeping systems are automatically posted to these sites, according to The Wall Street Journal. The service is free to users and lets them post blogs and offer tips to law enforcement.

Business Continuity

A recent survey of 159 Government Technology subscribers found that many had experienced unplanned outages and other business continuity issues during the past 12 months.

 


| More

Comments

Allen    |    Commented July 7, 2009

The SF twitter service is for their 311 service, not their 911 service. The difference is immense, I think.

Allen    |    Commented July 7, 2009

The SF twitter service is for their 311 service, not their 911 service. The difference is immense, I think.

Allen    |    Commented July 7, 2009

The SF twitter service is for their 311 service, not their 911 service. The difference is immense, I think.


Add Your Comment

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. We reserve the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

In Our Library

White Papers | Exclusives Reports | Webinar Archives | Best Practices and Case Studies
Are You Sure You Are Maximizing the Value of Your Microsoft SharePoint Investment?
The Microsoft SharePoint platform provides a wealth of opportunities for any organization to streamline business processes and expand knowledge sharing; however most government organizations struggle to take advantage of these opportunities.
Hurricane Preparedness
Make sure you are prepared for hurricane season before it is here. Join in this Digital Communities teleconference and gain insight on how to prepare from experts who have been on the ground during major hurricanes.
Government-to-Government IT Services: What Works and What's Left to Work Out
This paper offers some best practices for shared government-to-government services, but also points out challenges that government and industry still must overcome before this model gains widespread adoption.
View All


Featured White Papers & Reports

Government-to-Government IT Services: What Works and What's Left to Work Out

This Digital Communities white paper highlights discussions with IT officials in four counties that have adopted shared services models. Our aim was to learn about the obstacles these governments have faced when it comes to shared services and what it takes to overcome those roadblocks. We also spoke with several members of the IT industry who have thought long and hard about these issues. The paper offers some best practices for shared government-to-government services, but also points out challenges that government and industry still must overcome before this model gains widespread adoption.


View Full Library

Events

GTC East

Don't miss this opportunity to see the latest in digital government solutions, keep abreast of current policy issues and network with key government executives, technologists and industry specialists.

View All Events