Citizen Y: The Rules of (Citizen) Engagement

This week’s post is the first in a series by Rebecca Smart, an author representing the growing population of engaged citizens residing in every town, city, and county in the USA. 

Earlier this month, Ms. Smart acquired her first smartphone and began putting our YourGOV Mobile application through its paces.  Check back often for her genuine insight and candid observations from the citizen side of the fence — the place where the work of agencies like yours is felt most. 

Smartphone:  check. 

Download YourGOV app:  check. 

That was easy.  This is my first smartphone.  My last cell phone was practically a rotary.  Texting was a beast.  So yes, the learning curve could be steep, but so far, the YourGOV app is the smoothest one I’ve got.  And it’s free. 

I hit “Aerial” and the first thing I noticed was that I might need new shingles.  Nice detail.  The app pinpointed my exact location.  It’s so exact, it’s got me in the correct part of the house.  If I “pinch” the photo in, I can sail above my neighborhood.  Looks like I’m not the only one that could use new shingles. 

My initial reaction is that this is a great tool.  How many times have you left your oil pan next to a pothole or wondered if your municipality knew that there was a deer carcass in the park next to the baby swings?  (This actually happened in my local park two winters ago.  No, they did not know.  But I had to let them know the old-fashioned way:  on my rotary.) 

My second reaction is “was this app made for me?”  If you consider yourself an engaged citizen, you’re going to like this app.  If you always wanted to know who to call when the streetlight went out, you’re going to like this app.  It’s a simple tool to connect to local government, helping you be their eyes on the street to keep your community running smoothly. 

But…my final reaction was wondering if this much citizen engagement would be intimidating to government staff.  Will they worry that it could become too time-consuming? 

Stay tuned!