The City Of San Francisco Now Lets You Submit Complaints Via Twitter

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Jun 2, 2009

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced today that San Francisco residents can now send direct messages via Twitter to the city of San Francisco, @SF311, to complain about street cleanings, graffiti, potholes, abandoned vehicles, garbage issues, noise complaints and more. 311 is the primary contact for city services; residents can call 311 to reach a call center to get answers to questions about city services or submit complaints.

Twitter users and San Francisco residents can simply follow @SF311 (which automatically auto follows) to send and receive direct messages about complaints and questions. The useful part of the new service is the ability to send pictures or video of various offenses, such as a pothole, overflowing garbage can or graffiti. Once you submit a DM to @SF311, you will receive a service request number. Apparently, there is a city staff member devoted to handling and responding to @SF311 Tweets.

San Francisco is also using CoTweet, a Twitter business platform that acts like a CRM, to manage and track these conversations. CoTweet’s platform supports both marketing communication and response-driven customer support via Twitter.

We’ll see if submitting complaints via Twitter helps make the city’s response more speedy. Newsom is a big fan of Twitter and even announced his bid for governor of California via Twitter.

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http://www.michaelingramjr.com Michael Ingram Jr

I wish more cities would take this approach (c’mon Philly!).
http://www.sportsrubbish.com Jonathan

Great, another way for the city to ignore complaints.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ivan_Lazarte/506991550 Ivan Lazarte

In other news, some where some government office now accepts emails for complaints.

Thanks for the protip Techcrunch.
http://www.search-marketing-answers.com/blog Alan Bleiweiss

I bet they’re going to be so overwhelmed by complaints that they’ll shut it down or it will become a nasty PR nightmare or both…
http://solaroverpower.com/ Worried Tech Blogger

What if my complaint doesn’t fit into 140 characters??
No coudbt though, Twitter is chaning the way things are done.
Read why Twitter spells the end of technology blogs:
http://solaroverpower.com/2009/06/02/is-twitter-a-blogbuster/
EH

No word yet on whether tweeting to 311 incurs a $5 chargeback to MUNI the way the phone version does.
billyw

where can i tweet my complaints about tc covering twitter crap?
silicon valley dropout

lol i knew this was coming
america starts

This is a great idea but I don’t think they’ll do it in Philly. Complaint tweets would be up to brim of billy penn’s hat in no time.
what the crap

So what exactly stops trolls from 4chan or crapholes like http://www.anonboard.com from spamming the shit out of this “service”?
what the crap

So what exactly stops trolls from 4 chan and crapholes like anonboard.com from spamming the crap out of this “service”?
http://ideapolicy.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/links-for-2009-06-02/ links for 2009-06-02 « Policy and Performance

[...] The City Of San Francisco Now Lets You Submit Complaints Via Twitter And why are folks complaining about FixMyStreet? (tags: twitter government business complaints government2.0 sanfrancisco cotweet) [...]
http://www.techblogger.org/2009/06/02/remains-of-the-day-chrome-for-mac-is-coming-along-fine-edition-for-what-its-worth/ Remains of the Day: Chrome for Mac Is “Coming Along Fine” Edition [For What It's Worth] · TechBlogger

[...] The City Of San Francisco Now Lets You Submit Complaints Via Twitter San Francisco goes future-crazy, unveiling a new Twitter account (SF311) to which citizens can direct message complaints. [TechCrunch] [...]
http://blog.zooloo.com/2009/06/san-francisco-replaces-city-workers-with-twitter/ San Francisco replaces city workers with Twitter – ZooLoo – Are you Ready To ZooLoo?

[...] to TechCrunch, “San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced today that San [...]
http://jp.techcrunch.com/archives/20090602the-city-of-san-francisco-now-lets-you-submit-complaints-via-twitter/ サンフランシスコ市がTwitterでの苦情受付を開始

[...] [原文へ] [...]
forums

forums were there in internet for such long. why they use twitter?
swag

Can I complain that my tax dollars are going to some novelty PR stunt that was entirely possible under e-mail, Web forms, or SMS?
http://cafyn.com/e/61 The City Of San Francisco Now Lets You S… | Cafyn

[...] City Of San Francisco Now Lets You Submit Complaints Via Twitter http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/02/the-city-of-san-francisco-now-lets-you-submit-complaints-via-tw... [...]
ed

Ridiculous. The point is not to make it easier for people to complain but to listen when they do. Now they’ll have to wade through the clutter of a bunch of trolls to get to any reasonable complaint.
http://concisecomments.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/3rd-june-2009/ 3rd June 2009 « Concise Comments

[...] The City Of San Francisco Now Lets You Submit Complaints Via Twitter San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced today that San Francisco residents can now send direct messages via Twitter to the city of San Francisco, @SF311, to complain about street cleanings, graffiti, potholes, abandoned vehicles, garbage issues, noise complaints and more. 311 is the primary contact for city services; residents can call 311 to reach a call center to get answers to questions about city services or submit complaints. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/02/the-city-of-san-francisco-now-lets-you-submit-complaints-via-tw... [...]
http://www.elendil.es/blog/san-francisco-y-china-en-twitter/ San Francisco y China en Twitter | Blog de Xoxe

[...] San Francisco ha lanzado un servicio realmente increible y útil, la información, asistencia y consulta ciudadana a través de su cuenta oficial en Twitter llamada @SF311. Esta cuenta está vinculada al servicio de atención telefónica al ciudadano de San Francisco. Desde esta cuenta no solo se informará a los ciudadanos de esta ciudad Estadounidense de las novedades que haya sino también se aceptarán sugerencias así como quejas o problemas cuotidianos. Una fabulosa herramienta que facilitará a la ciudad de San Francisco y sus ciudadanos una comunicación más fluida gracias al uso de la Web 2.0 y como no, a Twitter. Techcrunch [...]
http://www.budgetpulse.com Craig

That’s a great outlet for the city to have to allow residents to express all their views, complaints in one area. Keeps things concentrated and others can view what others say.
http://www.pbx-switchboards.co.za Amit Pbx

You Americans giving the ‘Internet use’ a new meaning every day.

I drink for that!
Cheers. ;)
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeff_Enderwick/706821032 Jeff Enderwick

Yeah, like anyone in City o’SF .gov cares! I’m shocked that they haven’t found a way to issue parking tickets through twitter yet :-(.
http://i-zamtech.com/2009/06/03/remains-of-the-day-chrome-for-mac-is-coming-along-fine-edition-for-what-its-worth/ Remains of the Day: Chrome for Mac Is "Coming Along Fine" Edition [For What It's Worth] | Uncategorized |

[...] The City Of San Francisco Now Lets You Su&#173… San Francisco goes future-crazy, unveiling a new Twitter account (SF311) to which citizens can direct message complaints. [TechCrunch] [...]
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2009/06/san-francisco-lets-you-submit-complaints-via-twitter.html Social Networking Watch

San Francisco Lets You Submit Complaints Via Twitter…

TECH CRUNCH — June 2 — San Francisco residents can now send direct messages via Twitter to complain about street cleanings, graffiti, potholes, abandoned vehicles, garbage issues, noise complaints and more. Twitter users and San Francisco residents c…
http://www.powerpymes.com/?p=5764 Quéjate via Twitter al Ayuntamiento | POWERPYMES

[...] los que viven por ahí. Si eres residente y tienes acceso a una cuenta de twitter puedes acceder a su nuevo servicio @SF311 que te da linea directa a reportar cualquier queja que tenga que ver con la ciudad como: [...]
Robert Giggey

@311Toronto is listed as coming soon. The benefit of a City offering a second twitter account just for the service requests means that the city’s regular twitter account can be used to focus on general engagement efforts.
http://beatblogging.org/2009/06/04/thursday-dose-of-social-media-is-npr-the-future-of-mainstream-media/ Thursday Dose of social media: Is NPR the future of mainstream media? | BeatBlogging.Org

[...] The City Of San Francisco now lets you submit complaints via Twitter — Social media is really all about being social and connecting people. The City of San Francisco has found a good way to utilize Twitter to improve the city: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced today that San Francisco residents can now send direct messages via Twitter to the city of San Francisco, @SF311, to complain about street cleanings, graffiti, potholes, abandoned vehicles, garbage issues, noise complaints and more. 311 is the primary contact for city services; residents can call 311 to reach a call center to get answers to questions about city services or submit complaints. [...]
http://www.fabriziosinopoli.it/2009/06/04/buono-e-cattivo-uso-di-twitter/ Buono e cattivo uso di Twitter | FABblog

[...] The City Of San Francisco Now Lets You Submit Complaints Via Twitter [...]
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark_Mayhew/505689060 Mark Mayhew

have u tried @tcsux ?!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Rodrigo_Bandeira_de_Luna/542358235 Rodrigo Bandeira de Luna

Governance 2.0 to improve life in brazlian cities: a new internet platform is trying to connect citizen’s, politicians, public officials and NGOs to improve life in Brazilian cities. The portal allows users to highlight problems, make proposals and support or comment on problems or proposals made by others. Check it out at http://www.cidadedemocratica.org.br/.
http://seeclickfix.com Ben

You can do this in philly and everywhere else using seeclickfix.com.
Not only can you create alerts for city gov but the issue will be documented publicly.
Philly has been very responsive to potholes and other issues reported on seeclickfix.
Try using twitterific with photo and map location for best results.
Also, check out the article from csmonitor about SF, SeeClickFix and Twitter:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0606/p02s01-usgn.html
http://seeclickfix.com Ben

Sorry,
Just tweet @seeclickfix
http://www.glimmerville.com/?p=449 Glimmerville » Blog Archive » Twitter (Part 2)

[...] San Francisco – That’s right, the CITY of San Francisco is on Twitter. And it listens to complaints. [...]
http://flammarion.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/twitter-e-usado-como-arma-social/ Twitter é usado como “arma” Social « Empreendedorismo e Inovação, Gestão do Conhecimento, Gestão da Informação, Gerenciamento de Projetos, PMI, SCRUM, Tecnologia da Informação, Educação à Distância, Mídias Sociais 2.0, Web

[...] pixações, limpeza de ruas, buracos, problemas com lixo, barulho e outros. Segundo o site TechCrunch, basta seguir o usuário do Twitter de nome @SF311, pois ele agora é o canal oficial na internet [...]
http://www.chrismlindsey.com/2009/06/11/links-complaints-via-twitter-smartphones-eagle-scouts/ Links: Complaints via Twitter, Smartphones, Eagle Scouts: Chris M. Lindsey

[...] City of San Francisco is accepting complaints from citizens via Twitter. I think this is the biggest of all the links, because it shows a city [...]
http://100maisnemmenos.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/isso-sim-e-responsabilidade-social/ Isso sim é Responsabilidade Social « 100 Mais nem Menos

[...] acordo com o site TechCrunch, basta seguir o usuário do Twitter de nome @SF311, pois ele agora é o canal oficial na internet [...]
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/09/twitter-crm-service-cotweet-raises-series-a-funding-launches-public-beta/ Twitter CRM Service, CoTweet, Raises Series A Funding; Launches Public Beta.

[...] helps companies and brands, like Whole Foods, Microsoft, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and the City of San Francisco’s 311 manage their Twitter accounts as a marketing channel. CoTweet makes it easy to manage multiple [...]
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/09/twitter-crm-service-cotweet-raises-series-a-funding-launches-public-beta/ Twitter CRM Service, CoTweet, Raises Series A Funding; Launches Public Beta.

[...] helps companies and brands, like Whole Foods, Microsoft, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and the City of San Francisco’s 311 manage their Twitter accounts as a marketing channel. CoTweet makes it easy to manage multiple [...]
http://geek.topnewsdigest.com/uncategorized/twitter-crm-service-cotweet-raises-series-a-funding-launches-public-beta/ Twitter CRM Service, CoTweet, Raises Series A Funding; Launches Public Beta. | Geek News and Musings

[...] helps companies and brands, like Whole Foods, Microsoft, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and the City of San Francisco’s 311 manage their Twitter accounts as a marketing channel. CoTweet makes it easy to manage multiple [...]
http://spinvalleypost.com/2009/07/09/twitter-crm-service-cotweet-raises-series-a-funding-launches-public-beta/ Twitter CRM Service, CoTweet, Raises Series A Funding; Launches Public Beta. | Spin Valley Post

[...] helps companies and brands, like Whole Foods, Microsoft, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and the City of San Francisco’s 311 manage their Twitter accounts as a marketing channel. CoTweet makes it easy to manage multiple [...]
http://techfused.com/twitter-crm-service-cotweet-raises-series-a-funding-launches-public-beta/ Twitter CRM Service, CoTweet, Raises Series A Funding; Launches Public Beta. | Tech Fused

[...] helps companies and brands, like Whole Foods, Microsoft, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and the City of San Francisco’s 311 manage their Twitter accounts as a marketing channel. CoTweet makes it easy to manage multiple [...]
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/15/tc50-citysourced-lets-you-report-pot-holes-and-graffiti-on-the-go/ TC50: CitySourced Lets You Report Pot Holes And Graffiti On The Go

[...] has just inked a deal with the city of San Jose, Calif. San Francisco recently implemented a similar plan to crowdsource city complaints via Twitter, but the ability to use a location-based [...]
http://angusgastle.com/blog/2009/09/15/best-of-tc50-citysourced/ Best of TC50: CitySourced | The Bottom Rung

[...] has just inked a deal with the city of San Jose, Calif. San Francisco recently implemented a similar plan to crowdsource city complaints via Twitter, but the ability to use a location-based [...]
http://koskim.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/san-francisco-uses-twitter-to-support-311-services/ San Francisco Uses Twitter to Support 311 Services « I Crashed The Web

[...] SF residents. Interesting note – this isn’t the Mayor’s first look at Twitter – I read in TechCrunch that he also announced his bid for governor of California via [...]