Generally speaking, we don't like being associated with the word "idiot." That being said, we could not have been more excited when SeeClickFix was recently featured in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Crowdsourcing.

Coined in 2006 by Wired writer Jeff Howe, 'crowdsourcing' involves the "new opportunities cropping up due to our interconnected world, vast online communities, and cutting-edge communications tools" (as described by Howe). What does that mean? Tapping the power of many to get things done. And that's exactly what SeeClickFix does.

We like to say that two heads are better than one and 300 heads are better than two. Since the government can't be in all places at all times, SeeClickFix makes it easy and fun for everyone to document concerns in their neighborhoods from potholes and graffiti to planting trees and installing bike racks. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can communicate with your local government officials, media outlets, and fellow neighbors---effecting real, positive change in communities across the globe.

In Chapter 21 "Organizing for Crowd Action," author Aliza Sherman discusses how SeeClickFix fits into this idea of crowdsourcing civic innovation. With platforms like SeeClickFix, individuals can raise awareness about problems and apply pressure to those responsible for resolution. As the author notes, however, crowdsourcing civic innovation can only be as effective as "the city officials or people in positions with the power to implement the ideas and make change happen." Read more about how SeeClickFix harnesses the power of crowds in the excerpt below:

SeeClickFix (seeclickfix.com) encourages citizens to report their concerns about their neighborhoods using their website, mobile applications, voice-mail, and widgets that can be embedded into websites and blogs, pulling in neighborhood maps and pinpointing problems. The site involves citizens, community groups, government, and the media to report and track nonemergency issues anywhere in the world. The site also runs analyses to see how cities around the world respond to citizens requests and reports.

The site taps into the crowd and aggregates input to provide on-the-scene intelligence that no single agency or organization can provide. Bringing issues to the attention of those who can take action and then seeing action taken empowers and engages citizens in new ways. Citizens can also alert others to a problem and set up watch areas to monitor the situation. This could include anything from broken windows and potholes to traffic issues and crime reports. You can help fix a problem by publicly broadcasting the issue to the appropriate parties for resolution. The crowd works together to raise the profile of key concerns or by taking collective and direct action (pg. 286).

This Friday, CityCamp Colorado 2011 will again bring together a great group of people dedicated to enhancing access to government in the Centennial State. SeeClickFix is proud to be a sponsor of this year's participant-driven unconference, organized by Open Colorado.

While the theme of this year's CityCamp Colorado is "Enhancing Access to Government", the topics and discussions are decided by the participants. Open Colorado's Brian Gryth explained the importance of the theme, for both citizens and government, on their blog.

We chose access to government as the theme because citizens are becoming both more engaged and more frustrated with government. Furthermore, they are becoming more active and mobile. Thus, they expect the government to respond to their needs on modern day terms.

Tools such as the internet, social media, smartphones, and others hold the promise of improving government, but it's up to citizens and local governments to utilize these tools and fulfill this promise. Participants at CityCamp Colorado will be discussing how local government can improve access to services, make information easier to find, and create meaningful citizen engagement using modern technology. The organizers at CityCamp Colorado seek to create innovative and practical solutions to make cities and other local communities more open and “user friendly"; clearly a goal near and dear to our collective heart here at SeeClickFix.

The unconference kicks off tomorrow with an hour of Ignite presentations to help spark discussions and ideas for the day. Our very own Jeff Mooney will be attending this year's CityCamp Colorado, as well as giving an Ignite presentation. If you're there, be sure to say hello!

A few weeks ago, SeeClickFix CEO Ben Berkowitz joined fellow leaders and innovators from across the globe for the annual Meeting of the Minds. The two-day event sought to challenge "old paradigms with untold urban sustainability innovations and fresh ideas from around the world." With its reputation in sustainability, Boulder served as the perfect backdrop for this year's conference which focused on the role innovation plays in effecting post-carbon urban environments.

Ben spoke alongside Mayor Ron Littlefield of Chattanooga and John Williams, senior VP of HDR Engineering Inc, on a panel entitled "Sourcing Urban Innovations from the Bottom Up + from the Top Down – Empowering City Dwellers Through Open Source/Smart Apps"---try saying that ten times fast.

Throughout the session, they discussed how innovative organizations (like SeeClickFix) discover new ways to harness the collective knowledge of city dwellers to solve both simple and difficult urban problems from monitoring traffic and pollution to pinpointing potholes and other infrastructure concerns. In the process of employing new technologies, municipalities can engage the public and promote "sustainability, smarter planning, and action-oriented policy dialogue." To learn more about this topic (and see Ben rockin' his sportcoat), check out the session's video below!

This TGIF(ixed) goes out to our furry friends and the SeeClickFixers who love them. When a house cat named Lucy recently went missing in the SOHU neighborhood of New Haven, her owner turned to SeeClickFix to ask neighbors to keep an eye out for the missing feline.

If you see a brown and black cat looking like the one in this picture hiding around your house or backyard, please call... her name is Lucy and she got out of the house on Sunday and has not been able to find her way back.

The SeeClickFix community in Lucy's neighborhood quickly shared the issue on Twitter and posted comments, updates and questions on the original issue. One user even shared a tip on how to help the missing kitty find her way home.
We can't be certain if it was this advice from a fellow user, the help of concerned neighbors, or Lucy's sense of direction, but over a week after she was reported missing Lucy and her owner were reunited!

Inspired by this story and similar issues reported through our platform recently, SCF CEO Ben Berkowitz even created a new website that allows residents in New Haven to report and monitor lost cat issues using SeeClickFix powered reporting tools.  The SeeClickFix team gets excited about ALL issues that are resolved on our site, but this fix is really the cat's meow*!

*Disclaimer: SeeClickFix Community Managers Megan (who spotted this awesome issue!) and Emma are both self-admitted cat ladies.

"We are hoping to leverage this comprehensive platform to increase efficiency when responding to service requests while improving the city's infrastructure and quality of life along the way," Koch said. "And, more important, SeeClickFix will help us empower the citizens we serve and push them to actively engage with each other, their neighborhoods, and us."

Currently, residents can submit requests to the Constituent Service system only through the city's website. With this partnership, however, residents will now be able to use their smartphones when participating with local government. The free SeeClickFix app is available on iPhone, Android, and Blackberry platforms.

For residents, this new tool will enable reporting of service items such as potholes and graffiti in real-time. Once the mobile app is downloaded, a resident can use the app to take a photo of the problem, select a service category, and report it to the city. The app records location information via the phone's GPS capabilities.

Another benefit of this partnership is to strengthen the existing ties SeeClickFix had with the City of Quincy. Residents could previously report issues through SeeClickFix on sites such as Boston.com and Patriotledger.com. Prior to this partnership, however, those requests were not formally logged into the city's system. Now, residents can seamlessly use SeeClickFix to report problems in the same way they had been using the constituent service system on the city's website.

“We’re excited to see how Quincy promotes citizen involvement and enacts offline results with our technology,” said Ben Berkowitz, SeeClickFix CEO. “With our online tool and mobile apps, we place the power directly in the hands of the city’s residents and hope this partnership allows them to realize their full potential as citizens.”

Residents are encouraged to download the mobile app on their smartphone; it can also be found by searching for ‘SeeClickFix.' More information is also available via SeeClickFix.com.

SeeClickFix welcomed a new media partner to the family this week with the launch of our service on Maine's newspaper of record for over a century, Bangor Daily News! The outlet partnered with us to offer a platform by which readers can voice their concerns and advocate for quality-of-life issues to be fixed.

From a left-turn arrow needed in Bangor to neglected roads in Orono, over 130 issues have been reported across Vacationland since Wednesday when Bangor Daily News implemented our reporting tools and introduced SeeClickFix to their readers. Issues can be viewed and submitted through our widgets on their statewide news page, as well as through their regional pages for Portland, Bangor, and Aroostook County. As with all SeeClickFix media partners, issues reported by Bangor Daily News readers can become the focus of stories, features and investigations by journalists covering the region.


In addition to submitting new issues, Bangor Daily News readers can use the new SeeClickFix powered forms to support the concerns of friends and neighbors by sharing comments, voting to fix, adding pictures and more. Citizens who wish to work with their local government to resolve community problems can also use SeeClickFix tools such as our watch area feature. Creating a watch area allows citizens to sign up elected officials or municipal departments to receive email alerts about issues submitted locally, helping everyone to take an active role in improving their community!

SeeClickFix is proud to welcome Bangor Daily News and their readers to our growing community of media outlets and users!

Grande Prairie, AB (October 4, 2011) - Today, Mayor Bill Given announces a new pilot program that will allow residents to report non-emergency issues and request city services through an online and mobile platform.

“This new tool will empower all city residents to actively participate in improving the quality of life and infrastructure in our neighbourhoods,” Given said. “SeeClick-Fix will ensure service requests or concerns get to the right person the first time and allow residents to keep updated on the status of their request."

The City of Grande Prairie will initially use SeeClickFix to accept online service requests for the Transportation Department only. A limited trial will ensure a smooth and efficient implementation once the city decides to expand the service to other departments.

“We [Department of Strategic Services] had been looking at a few alternatives to enable online service requests through our website,” said Shawn Tucker, Web Analyst for Strategic Services. “SeeClickFix was the obvious choice due to excellent support for mobile devices, transparency, simplicity, and interactivity for the user.”

Residents can report common concerns through service request categories via the Grande Prairie website, mobile app, Facebook page, and SeeClickFix.com. They can even create their own “watch areas” to receive notifications about issues reported in their community.

“The Internet has proven to be a powerful tool for connecting individuals over shared concerns. As we expand across North America, we’re excited to see how the City of Grande Prairie harnesses our online technology to make offline results,” said Ben Berkowitz, SeeClickFix CEO. “With our mobile and online platform, citizens become empowered to engage with each other and their local government over problems that affect them in very direct ways.”

Shoreline, WA (October 3, 2011)- Reporting non-emergency issues to the City just got easier! The City is testing a new online reporting tool that will expand how Shoreline residents can report non-emergency issues. Using a smartphone application, residents can report a pothole or other problem to the City without having to search for phone numbers or addresses.

The SeeClickFix application reports problems instantly. It uses GPS to locate the coordinates of the issue and allows residents to take a picture and submit it with their report. Residents can also provide a brief description and contact information in case follow-up is necessary.

When an issue is reported using SeeClickFix, an email is sent to the city department responsible for investigating the issue. Residents can follow the status of their report, along with the status of other reports, on the city's website.

The application is free to download and can be found by searching for "SeeClickFix" in a smartphone's application marketplace. If residents do not have a smartphone, they can submit issues using SeeClickFix directly from the City’s website.

If residents would prefer to speak with someone directly about an issue, they can always call the Customer Response Team at (206) 801-2700 or visit City Hall.

Providing the best customer service possible is a priority at the City of Shoreline. City staff are always looking for ways to improve the ease and convenience for residents in communicating with the City. The SeeClickFix application is at the forefront of resident to local government communication.