Welcome 2010: iPhone app Election Hub & new site

Welcome, 2010!  It’s been a while since the last post, and the PolicyPitch team has been busy working on several new initiatives!

First, we want to announce the release of our first iPhone application: Election Hub! Election Hub includes up-to-the-minute stats, facts, news and notes on each New Orleans 2010 Mayoral and City Council candidate. Features include candidate bios and platform stances, incoming news articles, campaign finance reports, and twitter feeds.  Election Hub also features an interactive community section where users can comment and sound-off on the candidates, campaign spending, platform stances, and news.  Additionally, Election Hub polls the app’s users once a week on who they would vote for in the Mayoral race.  DOWNLOAD the app for FREE.

Election Hub was launched as a joint venture between PolicyPitch and Susco Solutions.  Susco Solutions is one of the premier mobile development and software companies in the South.  Susco’s expertise and responsiveness was fantastic at all levels.  Check out Susco’s take on Election Hub’s development.  More information on Election Hub here.

Second, the re-design of the PolicyPitch site has been underway for months and is FINALLY nearing completion.  The new site will feature a streamlined look and simplified navigation; easier tools to pitch your policies, the ability to contact local elected officials, and all of the legislative bills from Arizona, California, and Kentucky (with Louisiana coming very soon)!  Shortly thereafter, we will have all of the bills filed by legislators in all 50 states!

Third, check out the “If I Were Mayor” platform developed by HumidBeings.com in partnership with PolicyPitch and Engage Nola.  IIWM allows citizens of New Orleans to post policy ideas for the Mayoral candidates and vote on those ideas!  Check it out.

Overall, this has been a fantastic few months and a great start to 2010!

June-July Updates

Things are moving along at PolicyPitch.com!

Among the biggest news, we were selected and honored by New Orleans City Business for The 2009 New Orleans Innovator of the Year!  We were selected as a top honoree from hundreds of submissions.   The final selection will be in late September.  We have our fingers crossed!

Opening Pitch

As our April recap demonstrated, PolicyPitch has gained a great deal of momentum lately. Over the course of the next few months, we hope to capitalize on this by rolling out the new and improved PolicyPitch now with 30% more policy and less pitchy aftertaste!

Democracy is only as good as its citizenry and PolicyPitch is likewise only as good as its users. Therefore, we are currently working deep in an underground bunker implementing improvements to the site that will make it more functional and user friendly than ever before. The new version will feature advanced video camera functionality, including double tap auto-focus and low light level macro settings… oh wait sorry that’s the new iPhone 3GS… well, at least you don’t need AT&T to use PolicyPitch! I guess ya’ll just have to check back often to see our progress.

Oh and one last thing. I’d like to thank the PolicyPitch team for welcoming me on board. We are looking forward to bringing civic engagement to an entirely unprecedented level and I am just proud to be a part of that process.

~ Damien LaManna

April recap: gaining momentum

April was an exciting month for the Policypitch team!  Our first legislative bill was pitched by a Louisiana state legislator, we made it to the finals of the Tulane Business Plan Competition, made a splash in the press, and continued development of our new platform!

Policypitch gets our first elected official to “pitch” his bill

State Representative Walker Hines, D-New Orleans, became the first elected official to post a proposed piece of legislation on Policypitch for public comment and feedback.  With Louisiana facing a large budget deficit, his bill to eliminate the Louisiana state income tax for residents age 18-29 attending college or with college degrees was sure to face an uphill battle in the 2009 legislative session.  So, Mr. Hines pitched the idea to his constituents on Policypitch.com – writing an open letter to residents, seeking input and feedback, and asking for their support.  Within a few weeks, the bill easily became the most popular–and polarizing–issue pitched on the website.

Policypitch Coverage in New Orleans

The past few weeks we have received some great press from the New Orleans media.   I wanted to share some of the coverage that we have received.   A lot of it stems from the first bill that we made available for public comment 2 weeks ago, House Bill 638 by Representative Hines.  The Louisiana Legislative session starts today, and Rep. Hines is still seeking public input on the bill.

From WDSU Channel 6 News “New Web Site Offers Public Feedback on Proposed Bills:”

The site allows users to communicate directly to their state representatives and communicate with other residents about the issues they care about most.  The web site www.policypitch.com is an online forum for introducing and discussing community ideas. Citizens can give input into proposed bills and receive feedback by voting or ranking the ideas in their community.  People who visit the site can also start petitions, accept online donations, and build support for their ideas.

Policypitch was launched by local New Orleanian Zach Kupperman.

And from New Orleans City Business “No State Income Tax for Young Adults:”

…Kupperman said his Web site, launched in test form last year and headquartered in New Orleans, is “trying to change the way that the public interacts with their elected officials. Society is moving towards a bottom-up approach to creating public policy. We are entering the era of the community authored wiki bill.”

The Web site will soon offer free legislative tracking for Louisiana and, eventually, the United States.

Also watch the news video from ABC 26 News “Tax Break for College Students.”

Check out our press page to check out all of our recent buzz!

Change the Web Challenge Finalists Announced! Winner to be selected April 28

As a strategic partner with Social Actions, Policypitch is excited about all of these amazing widgets and applications!  Which apps do you think could be of most use to enhancing the ideas on Policypitch?

NetSquared and Social Actions are proud to announce the Top 24 Finalists from the Change the Web Challenge…read more.

March Policypitch Roundup

We got a lot done in March.  A short snapshot at our inner workings:

Headline news:

• Policypitch founder Zach Kupperman was invited for a nomination to Pop!Tech’s Social  Innovation Fellows Program!
• We worked with MakeNewOrleansHome.com on voting for their pitched idea “Outdoor movie screening on the levee,” scheduled to take place in Audubon Park, New Orleans, LA on May 7.  Vote here

A Little Behind the Times?: Federal Court Documents and the Debate Over Charging for Access

Hey PolicyPitch readers, members and supporters! This is my first post here as a member of the PolicyPitch team, one of many I hope. Since PolicyPitch provides a way for citizens like you and me to get involved in our communities, I thought it would be interesting to look at something that affects all of our U.S. readers, whether they know it or not: access to federal court filings and documents, and the cost associated with that access. The next step, of course, is to see what kinds of ideas we can put together to pitch to our local and national leaders to effectively address the shortfalls in the current system. That’s what PolicyPitch members are doing on a daily basis, and it’s something I hope gains a great deal of traction and can assist in more citizen involvement in politics and policy.

Government 2.0 Un-Conference, Un-packed

GovCamp 2.0 took place over March 27-28 in Washington DC.  While the PolicyPitch team was not able to attend the conference, we wanted to give our readers a summary of how the conference went. Originally posted by Amanda Eamich at Government Social Media.

The first-ever government 2.0 un-conference was impressive and invigorating. Coming together with a reported 500 colleagues, enthusiasts and thought leaders in social media and web 2.0 applications was a great opportunity to focus my individual efforts as well as those driven by the Social Media Subcouncil on which I serve. Not to mention, the gathering allowed a forum for our Subcouncil to meet and interact with the larger community.

110 sessions over two days addressed relevant, and sometimes tough, questions that our Subcouncil is working through. I was impressed by the enthusiasm and expertise brought to each session I attended. From exploring how Federal employees can use social media to achieve their mission, how to effectively engage communities to a session drafting a list of transparency objectives for the new administration, every 45-minute session was filled with rich and thought provoking discussion.