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Local Government, Policy

San Francisco govt contact centre now on Twitter

By Kelly Ng | 15 June 2009

San Francisco residents can now reach the government customer service centre through Twitter, a free social messaging tool.

According to the city’s Chief Information Officer, Chris Vein, San Francisco is the first city in the world to use Twitter on such a large scale to communicate directly with its citizens.

On top of the traditional methods of contacting the centre by phone or through the web site, residents can now send a request on Twitter via SMS (GSM mobile short message service), IM (instant messaging), Twitter web site, or third party applications.

Examples of requests include street cleaning, graffiti removal, porthole and sidewalk defects, abandoned vehicles, city garbage can maintenance, park maintenance, streetlight repair and department information.

Residents can even attach photos or links in their tweets (or messages) using third party twitter applications. The additional information can help the agency accurately identify the location or problem being reported.

Since its launch on 2 June, SF311, the centre’s Twitter profile, now has 1,720 followers and 47 updates. The centre has received more than 90 requests.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said: “We are changing the way cities connect with their government.”

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