Friday, 26 February 2010

There's An App For Everything These Days...

...even, it seems, for ensuring politicians national and local do their jobs:
A new iPhone application designed to help council workers and housing officers keep their streets clear of graffiti is being launched in the UK.

Citizens Connect enables local residents to pinpoint nuisances on the move and report them direct to the desktop or mobile device of the member of staff charged with resolving the problem.

Belfast-based Lagan Technologies is currently in talks with a number of local authorities in the UK about trialling the application.
And if you want to keep an eye on your MP, rather than your streets...
A new iPhone application that connects voters with their MP has proved popular in Derek Wyatt's constituency.

The member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey is the first to use MyMP.
In fact, you don't even have to have an iPhone to join in:
It's simple enough. Now that most of us have some kind of camera in our pocket, we're encouraged to be active, responsible citizens by snapping photos of flytipped rubbish and rubbish graffiti and submitting them to an online map, thereby alerting the authorities to clean them up.
Interesting times ahead...

8 comments:

Old BE said...

I have done this: I emailed a photo to my councillor to prove that the assurance he had been given by the relevant council officer that my local recycling hopper had been emptied was a big fat lie.

I did stop short of sending him photos of the pile of dog sh1t on the pavement outside though...

JuliaM said...

"I did stop short of sending him photos of the pile of dog sh1t on the pavement outside though.."

No need to in the future!

I wonder how long it'll be before that's considered to be 'stalking', though..?

PJH said...

Citizens Connect enables local residents to pinpoint nuisances on the move and report them direct

Does this include reporting, say, local councilors? Or PCSO's?

Roue le Jour said...

"snapping photos of flytipped rubbish and rubbish graffiti..."

I thought photography in public places had been banned? Can't they make their minds up?

RantinRab said...

I'm going to use it and take pictures of all the lazy bastard council workers skiving behind the local shops.

And taking pics of council gardeners cutting the grass in the middle of February, in the snow. I shit you not.

English Viking said...

I thought taking photo's in the street was frowned upon by the NuLab dictatorship. I wish they would make their mind up. No, actually, I wish they all are tried for war crimes and get executed.

Sorry, that's just the way I feel.

Actually, I'm not sorry.

JuliaM said...

"Does this include reporting, say, local councilors? Or PCSO's?"

It had better!

"I thought photography in public places had been banned? Can't they make their minds up?"

Joined up government, right?

"I'm going to use it and take pictures of all the lazy bastard council workers skiving behind the local shops."

Hope you've got a lot of memory. You'll need it!

"And taking pics of council gardeners cutting the grass in the middle of February, in the snow. I shit you not."

Oh, indeed. Many's the time I've seen the Parks Department out in a cherrypicker in Southend High St, watering the hanging baskets.

Sometimes after heavy rainfall, once during it! The worst of local council 'tick box' mentality...

"Actually, I'm not sorry."

Never thought so for a momeent... ;)

Mike said...

yes but is there an ap to make the internet safe for chiiiiildren?

Dr Popalopadus seems to believe that pornography makes men exist to hate women and chiiildren believe that women should become victims to fit in with our sexual expectations. Her conclusions based on the findings she has set out are that we must not be exposed to porn because of its affect on chiiiiildren. How about not exposing chiiiildren to porn?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/haveyoursay/2010/02/should_there_be_stricter_contr.html?