Potholepalooza by way of Twitter: Is it the New Way of Gathering Statistics?

In the DCist blog on http://dcist.com/2009/03/fenty_klein_announce_potholepalooza.php, there is talk about the growing number of potholes in the District, as it is the season for potholes to appear on the city’s streets. This happens when the temperature fluctuates, which in turn, makes the asphalt expand and contract, thus creating large cracks, gaps, and potholes. The acting director of the District Department of Transportation, Gabe Klein, and Mayor, Adrian Fenty have “announced this year’s pothole filling blitz” as “Potholepalooza,” which the DCist’s blog comically describes as the combat of oncoming Potholepocalypse.

The blog goes on to describe Potholepalooza as a “month-long campaign to encourage residents and commuters to report potholes, starting today and running through April 11.” The reporting methods residents are encouraged to use are “calling the Mayor’s Call Center at 311, filling out a request through the Online Service Request Center at www.dc.gov, or – new this year – emailing potholepalooza@dc.gov or tweeting a message to www.twitter.com/DDOTDC.” This year’s initiative has embraced technology by broadening its contact methods. Calling or filling out forms online has always been an acceptable method of communication, but tweeting could be viewed as the next best method that young DC/metropolitans can use to reach out to the Mayor’s Call Center.

In my opinion, most people living or working in the DC area are connected to the Internet most of the time. Whether it’s via blackberry or personal computer, an individual can tap into the World Wide Web at any given time to report potholes. I believe it is a very smart move to introduce this method of communication to DC/metropolitans for reporting potholes because it enables the DC government to reach out to a broader audience. We all know that Twitter is the new trend for teens to late twenties. Using Twitter to report potholes may encourage the younger population to participate. This method can help offset the other methods of communication where there is a lower response from the younger age group. Broadening the methods of communication for the Potholepalooza initiative can help DC government gather useful statistics on what is important to its residents and commuters. Taking the Twitter idea and implementing it in other initiatives not only quantifies the data received, but also qualifies the statistics when comparing it to other initiatives.