Pester Your Representatives, Sign up for Countable!

Countable is an app which seeks to give citizens a greater voice in national politics. The company’s online service, which launches to the public today, gives you a simple and concise overview of the bills your national representatives are debating, and it lets you instantly send emails to these representatives, telling them how you would like them to vote.

Countable joins a growing wave of online tools that can improve the dialogue between citizens and representatives, including Madison, which lets you add your thoughts to both proposed bills and existing policies, and ThinkUp, a tool the White House uses to gauge popular sentiment through social media. The new service is most similar to Democracy OS, which lets governments and non-profits set up websites where people can discuss issues and vote on particular topics. But instead of building a platform that government operations must install on their own computer servers, Countable is offering a ready-made service.

In other words, you don’t have to wait for your representatives to adopt anything. All you have to do is sign up and start sending your thoughts to Congress.

 

Know Your Neighbors

Just start talking to people!

Join Nextdoor: Nextdoor is the private social network for you, your neighbors and your community. It’s the easiest way for you and your neighbors to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world. And it’s free. Thousands of neighborhoods are already using Nextdoor to build happier, safer places to call home. Nextdoor’s mission is to use the power of technology to build stronger and safer neighborhoods.

People are using Nextdoor to:

• Tell folks when a new business has opened up
• Quickly get the word out about a break-in
• Organize a Neighborhood Watch Group
• Track down a trustworthy babysitter
• Find out who does the best paint job in town
• Ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog
• Find a new home for an outgrown bike
• Finally call that nice man down the street by his first name

 

Know Your Neighborhood Advocate 

Meet Your Coordinator for Seattle Department of Neighborhoods The Neighborhood District Coordinators work to bring City government closer to communities across Seattle. They help to empower all community members to make contributions in their communities, as well as serve as their resource and liaison. Learn more about their major function here.

 

Neighborhood Resources

• Community Blogs and Websites
• Neighborhood Service Centers
• Land Use Planning Projects and Activities
• Seattle City Clerk Legislation and Archives by Neighborhood