Citizenville: How to take the town square digital and reinvent government by Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco and current California Lieutenant Governor, would like to make citizen participation in government easier and more effective.  If millions of people play Farmville, why not make citizen participation in government more like a game?  Voting via smartphone, town hall meetings online, crime statistics in real time, are just a few of the ways Newsom suggests making participation in governing easier and more game-like. Of course, making government data more easily available to the public poses enormous security risks.  And then there is the perception that government hosted technology is outdated and even not functional-cue the healthcare.gov website! But anyone interested in improving how government functions will find some interesting ideas here.  272 pages.