My year as a Code for America Fellow was a whirlwind. Last January, inspiring thought leaders explained local government, startup processes, and the art of negotiation. In February we had 100+ meetings about problems in our city, and a boatload of suggested solutions we could build. By March, I had something akin to an informationRead… Read more »
What happened this year in civic tech? We recently convened our final Municipal Innovation call of 2012, bringing together civic innovators from inside and outside government for a roundtable review of the year. Here’s what we heard from them: What were the biggest successes for civic tech in 2012? Wider adoption of Gov 2.0 principlesRead… Read more »
In a panic about what to get the civic nerd(s) in your posse this holiday season? In the spirit of the holidays (and shopping procrastinators everywhere), I’d like to provide this informative, “extremely official” guide — so you don’t feel compelled to go out and buy a drone for each of them. (Big shout outRead… Read more »
Sure, this is one of the tunes you’ll hear from eggnog- fueled carolers this time of year, but it’s also what folks in Anchorage, Ala. are saying now that 191 of the fire hydrants in that city have been adopted by citizens. Becky Boone, a program analyst at an IT firm in Anchorage by dayRead… Read more »
In November, Code for America proudly closed out its first class of Accelerator startups. These seven companies showed investors, press, and the Code for America community what was possible with technology — and provided services that fulfilled real need among governments (literally) everywhere. Code for America profoundly believes in the need to not only buildRead… Read more »
This is cross-posted from opensource.com. Open source has a secret. Do you know what it is? It has to do with a common characteristic found across successful open source communities that set them apart from others. For those that are new to open source, understanding the intricacies of how open source communities share, communicate, andRead… Read more »
This blog post is cross-posted from Google Developers Blog. Google supports diversity and inclusion in all of its communities, including users, employees, and developers. In that spirit, Google Developers Live launched Women Techmakers (WTM) in November, an initiative to bring visibility to women in technology who are fearlessly innovating, honing technical expertise, and testing theRead… Read more »
Meet Eddie. He’s an 8-year-old contributor to ToledoWiki, a new hyper-local information platform that’s serving Toledo, Ohio. After asking the first question at the community event for ToledoWiki he set to work on his Dad’s iPad creating a wiki page for his elementary school. Eddie is one among the 631 users that have registered forRead… Read more »
Andrew Coy talks about Race for Reuse, his work at the Digital Harbor Foundation, and why technology needs a “little league.” Imagine you run into a friend you haven’t spoken with since 2009. What’s the quickest way you’d update them on your life? I am as passionate and driven to solve the most difficult problemsRead… Read more »
Hi, I’m Brian. I lived in a cool neighborhood in Toledo, Ohio before coming to Champaign-Urbana for work and school at the University of Illinois. As a founding member of both CUwiki.net and ToledoWiki.net, I’m in a good position to provide a brief sketch of these projects. Both Champaign-Urbana and Toledo have folks celebrating andRead… Read more »