"... I'm NOT looking for a discussion about politics. I'm looking for insights about technology and its impact on communication between local governments and it

"... I'm NOT looking for a discussion about politics. I'm looking for insights about technology and its impact on communication between local governments and its citizens ..." Adrian Holovaty of Chicago Crime ~ http://holovaty.com/blog/archive/2008/01/31/0102 http://holovaty.com/blog/archive/2008/01/31/0102 and http://www.everyblock.com http://www.everyblock.com is probably the best example I can think of. Everyblock is going to be opensourced at some time in the future. The ability for citizens see what is really going on at street level thematically is the key benefit thus allowing the Local government to get on with governing and release the data for others to use.