MySociety
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The correct title of this article is mySociety. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
mySociety is a project of the UK-based registered charity UK Citizens Online Democracy, that aims to build "socially focussed tools with off line impacts". It was founded by Tom Steinberg in September 2003, and started activity after receiving a £250,000 grant in September 2004.
mySociety projects include:
- PledgeBank — runs pledges on all topics, of the form: "I will do x if y people agree to do the same."
- notapathetic.com — a site about people who planned not to vote in the United Kingdom general election, 2005.
- YourHistoryHere.com — a site where people can annotate a map with their knowledge of the history of that place.
- Placeopedia — an online gazetteer that is a mashup of Google Maps and the English Wikipedia.
- TheyWorkForYou — tracks speeches and activities of Members of Parliament, including presenting an accessible version of Hansard
- WriteToThem.com — facilitates contacting elected representatives at all levels of UK government.
- HearFromYourMP.com — a site encouraging MPs to email their constituents.
- hassleme.co.uk — "Because your mother can't remind you of everything."
- DowningStreetSays.com — searchable text of the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman's briefings.
- Downing Street e-Petitions — a petitions website for 10 Downing Street.
- Neighbourhood Fix-It — another map based application facilitating citizens informing their local authority of problems needing their attention, such as broken streetlamps etc.
Steinberg says that mySociety was inspired by an article by James Crabtree on openDemocracy, "Civic hacking: a new agenda for e-democracy".