Gov 2.0 Grows

Online tools like SeeClickFix are at the forefront of this new trend in government and, as this article from Fast Company notes, the amount of players in the game is rapidly growing.

"Advocates of this kind of public-spirited innovation, typically known as 'e-government,' 'we-government,' or 'gov 2.0,' say they're employing social media and mobile technology to build not only a more responsive, collaborative, and effective government but also a more engaged citizenry and a richer civic life.

This January, a new organization called Code for America, with support from Yahoo, Microsoft, and others, will launch, aiming to leverage the idealism of a generation of young programmers, this time from within city hall. Modeled on Teach for America, it could not have arrived at a better time, given that budget deficits -- half a billion dollars in L.A., nearly $655 million in Chicago, $3.8 billion in New York -- are killing city services around the country. 'This transcends political ideology,' says Jennifer Pahlka, Code for America's founder. 'One thing that people of different backgrounds can agree on is that government needs to get better.'"