A VC - Latest Comments in Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Priya Narasimhan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:10:35 -0000

I just read your thoughtful post. And I completely agree. I hope that more cities, small and large, see the wisdom and efficiency of moving to mobile e-government.

Pittsburgh released its mobile 311 app (iBurgh) in August 2009, and iBurgh has seen some 7000 downloads since its release. iBurgh is actually integrated into the City's 311 IT system so that every incident report filed through your cellphone is directly seen by the City and attended to. iBurgh is moving to other cities within the US and abroad. iBurgh aims to empower people with a two-way (so that the City is actually listening) channel into their local governments.

More on iBurgh at http://www.facebook.com/cit... and on twitter (@cityZenMobile).

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Mon, 18 May 2009 06:28:05 -0000

Sweet! Now I gotta find a local issue to tweet about

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Ben Berkowitz — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:52:04 -0000

Hey Fred,
Your idea is reality:
You can tweet @seeclickfix with map link location issue description and photo optional.
Here's the instructions: http://www.seeclickfix.com/...

Thanks again for this. We've been having some fun tweeting issues to our local officials.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Ben Berkowitz — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:07:59 -0000

I'm going to look for an email for NYC 311 so I can create a watch area for NYC 311 on SeeClickFix.
If anyone has an email for them, please post.
If you want to beat me to it: http://www.seeclickfix.com/...
This is how data is sent to city hall (or anyone you choose) when a clicket is reported on SeeClickFix.

One thing we did not anticipate when we allowed anyone on the site to be a "Fixer" and receive alerts from watch areas was that citizens might go out and do the fixing. Since the site was created we have seen citizens removing graffiti, purchasing pedestrian in-road signs for their street, doing litter pick-ups and even removing an abandoned boat and ski-do from a park before the city's park's department could get to it. What you are proposing goes beyond Gov 2.0 it's Community 2.0.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Ben Berkowitz — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:57:26 -0000

It's in the works sir! This was an awesome suggestion and a great preemptive strike at our Iphone and Blackberry Apps.
The only thing I notice is that twitterific's map location tends to be pretty off. Suggestions for a better twitter app. for us to recommend with photo and one click googlemaps link?
Stay Posted for SeeTweetFix!

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:00:15 -0000

Nice. Two of the most hated institutions pare up

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

William Mougayar — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:30:12 -0000

Speaking of which, "Microsoft unveils open government initiative- The Open Government Data Initiative provides an Internet-standards-based approach to host existing public data in its cloud computing platform"
http://www.igovernment.in/s...

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:34:11 -0000

Thanks

I'll do that

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Craig — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:19:49 -0000

Hi Fred, Might be worth you having a look at 4ip an £50M innovation fund spun out of Channel 4. One of the UK's public services TV channels. http://www.4ip.org.uk/ Tom Loosemore, who heads up the fund has a great track record of building valuable social and democratic services, having been involved in mySociety and the BBC previously.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Peter Corbett — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:41:35 -0000

And here's DC's Open Data Catalog: http://data.octo.dc.gov which enabled Apps for Democracy and DC's "Digital Public Square": http://dps.dc.gov

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Peter Corbett — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:18:59 -0000

I meet with the guys who did Open Feedback when i was in Helsinki recently. One of the coolest ways of using OpenFeedBack is to encourage the cyclist community to be the mobile reporters that add info to the system. Cyclists really really want safe streets, and see more of the cityscape than other kinds of commuters.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Peter Corbett — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:09:43 -0000

Thanks for the tip. Seeclickfix is great. I'll let them know about Apps for Democracy.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:10:15 -0000

This is all great. It makes me so optimistic about truly open gov't

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:07:15 -0000

Wow

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

William Mougayar — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:39:57 -0000

That's correct.
They also announced toronto.ca/open where they'll publish real time feeds and public data,- but I'm not sure if they'll accept open participation, as that may be the place to do. I'm copying and will re-tweet to @mayormiller who is on Twitter.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

William Mougayar — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:34:27 -0000

Also in Canada, we have FixMyStreet.ca which is part of VisibleGovernment.ca, modelled after the UK's WhatDoTheyKnow. FixMyStreet strikes me as similar to SeeClickFix.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

BmoreWire — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:26:11 -0000

Just a testimonial on Baltimore (and thanks for the shout out, we appreciate it). Called 311 at 9am on a Saturday about some graffiti on the side of our building. By 11am they had matched the paint color and painted over it.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:54:04 -0000

That's half right

They should accept info from the open web too

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

howard lindzon — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:11:26 -0000

cnbc is not human. i just posted on that. so dumb when it could be so smart.

i guess i should be grateful

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

William Mougayar — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:32:21 -0000

I was at an event yesterday where Toronto Mayor Miller said their 311 service will be an end-to-end call center, where a caller can request an "order" on a government service (e.g. fixing a pothole), and they get assigned an order number which is trackable on the web until completion. Some info on program here: http://tinyurl.com/d6hram

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Carl Rahn Griffith — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:39:28 -0000

Absolutely not, Fred - by their very nature (1:1/call to call centres) they are verbose and apart from the ubiquitous and often meaningless 'trouble ticket' number being issued, any such calls usually vanish into the ether.

As ever, data is king - and any such processes (such as discussed) which are automated, data-centric and in the public domain should/could be an improvement. However, there needs to be (and i hate to use such terms) clear KPIs/SLAs in place, along with ownership. Similarly, people need to learn to express themselves and use such services, believing they will deliver results. A lot of education is required but better to start sooner rather than later, for sure!

Around our village the roads are in the usual post-winter utterly dire condition with pot holes aplenty, unattended to for months, not just weeks - friends have suffered car damage and won't even complain to the authorities to seek the compensation they are rightly due (because they are so cynical of 'the system') as a result of the local government's neglect.

PS, i can't see this replacing a good old French protest, however ... ;-)

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:53:27 -0000

Carl - is there more accountibility and transparency in a call to a call center?

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

Carl Rahn Griffith — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:42:20 -0000

this is all good stuff but accountability and transparency is key - otherwise it is just cathartic.

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Wed, 06 May 2009 07:17:14 -0000

Yes, but they pull data out of govt databases. I want to get the data on the way in

Re: Use The Public Channel For Better Customer Service

fredwilson — Wed, 06 May 2009 07:17:13 -0000

Yes it is. Thanks for sharing it