311 and the importance of internet in government

When it comes to using data, government and its task of collection is rather important. So much so, that when it comes to collecting, validating, processing, analyzing, reporting, protecting and storing data by civilian federal agencies, the price to do so is $60 billion as of 2012....Military? Boost that spending to over $200 billion, with trillions of megabits being collected each year by the federal government (Holzer & Schwester, 2016).

Best part? The spending for it grows dramatically each year! 

Big data is a big deal not just in our federal service, but our state and local as well, with more positions opening for CIOs (Chief Information Officers) and CTOs (Chief Technology Officers), they are considered the new "it" position to have in the local government arena, due to the rapid expanding of technology, which includes making sure data is stored securely; as well as information, which collection has rapidly improved and thus requires adequate sorting, collection, processing, and of course privacy.

Management courses now teach exactly the pros and cons of using specific technologies due to privacy, and the ability of malicious people to access said ways. Such as explaining what exactly is the "cloud" (put it briefly, cloud computing, runs on the internet housing data instead of a particular spot of servers in a physical area holding and sharing data), or how to recognize human error and vulnerable areas such as web security, networks, emails, mobile, and how to fix them (Holzer & Schwester, 2016).

Seriously, government officials fall for this

 Data has grown so much so throughout the world, that government needs to understand exactly how to properly handle said information, with 90% of the world's data being generated since 2012 (Holzer & Schwester, 2016), it has grown to a big problem of who protects said information, and how exactly can on effectively transmit data properly to those looking.

How does this big data relate to applications? Well, certain applications like a local government's 311 system is effectively taking this "big data", information given by citizens and put in a database, to properly handle and collect citizen data, requests, certificates, and questions to continuously improve itself, or as a spot to understand the needs of the constituent.


The history of the 311 system is rather recent in terms of technological innovation, as it was initially used in the city of Baltimore in 1996, to help reduce an already overwhelmed 911 system which listened to not only emergency requests, but non-emergency requests or confusion about government processes (Goodyear, 2015)....yes people called 911 to complain about issues with trash collecting...and it wasn't good for the system.

With a $300,000 federal grant to see if this would help alleviate the problem, it was found to be a booming success! Federal government after seeing this working in alleviating the congestion of 911 systems, reserved the 311 number to all police departments just in case those local governments wanted to use it (Goodyear, 2015). Jump a couple of years later, and major cities (such as Los Angeles, and Chicago) creating their own systems and slowly incorporating other public services in there, New York created the "premium" 311 service in 2003, as it is able to respond to 180 languages and incorporates thousands of municipal services 24 hours a day(Goodyear, 2015). This strive to continue 311 support still grows to this day, as cities such as New York accepting digital images from phones as part of 311 information now (Rivera, 2007).  Some cities such as Los Angeles, even incorporate twitter and a specific hashtag to its system, to address problems and reports! While some have made 311 systems programs open access to constituents, to build better apps for cities involving 311 (Open311) (Goodyear, 2015)!. The use of being a cost saving machine compared to a constant phone center stressed is another one of the benefits that can come from it, as cities such as Miami appreciate the 311 system for that reason after their budgets were slashed (Wilkinson, 2010).


So how does this amazing service relate to big data? Well, everytime you(the citizen) submit a call to the service, or use the 311 app (digiTally app in Tallahassee as an example, which I recommend all citizens should get here), it is recorded. Yes, your location (if using the app of course, or giving your address to address the problem), your topic of problem, and what your needed are all recorded in a 311 system constantly collecting data to improve the services of government to you.

And this is why we now have CTO and CIO positions to protect this data, or metadata..sometimes it works?

  This data has been used in numerous government research, having seeing a whole panel dedicated to 311 research during my time at PMRC (Public Management Research Conference) this summer. We as scholars love to see what exactly are main issues of the public towards the government, and so are journalists (wait what?). WIRED posted an interesting article, collecting the data from a span of about a week in 2010 showing what exactly the complaint was, and what areas of New York used the 311 system the most! I highly recommend reading this article, and there are neat pictures in it too...and I know we all like neat pictures (Johnson, 2010). In terms of emergency management, 311 systems and social networks such as twitter (at least for cities which now used twitter and crowdsourced data), can prove to be of high use to emergency managers during a natural or technological disaster. Cities like New Orleans used both types post-Katrina to help in knowing who exactly needed help, or where downed trees or lines were. New York after Sandy on the other hand, had issues with their 911 service when people again called for "non-emergencies"(Grohsgal, 2013). This may be due to lack of education of the 311 system and how it works, but when promoted effectively, should prove its use to all.

Totally not looking into this app for research at all and totally don't have any *Cough* bias *Cough* towards it.

In relation to big data, the 311 system is an advancement of good when in relation to it. But there are incidences of when information from big data can be used improperly by those in government (or at least a little too far beyond the bounds of the intent of some organizations), and can be called out upon as major issues. This will come to with surveillance and big data..

Sources:

Goodyear, S. (2015). 3-1-1: A City Services Revolution. Retrieved from Citylab: From The Atlantic: https://www.citylab.com/city-makers-connections/311/

Grohsgal, B. W. (2013). The Role of 311 and Social Media During Disasters. Retrieved from Government Technology: http://www.govtech.com/e-government/The-Role-of-311-and-Social-Media-During-Disasters.html

Holzer, M., & Schwester, R. W. (2016). Public Administration: An introduction. New York: Routledge.

Johnson, S. (2010, November 1). What A Hundred Million Calls to 311 Reveal About New York. Retrieved from WIRED: https://www.wired.com/2010/11/ff_311_new_york/

Lyon, D. (2014). Surveillance, Snowden, and Big Data: Capacities, consequences, critique. Big Data & Society, 1-13.

Rivera, R. (2007, January 18). Plan Will ALlow 911 and 311 Lines to Accept Digital Images. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/nyregion/18cameras.html

Wilkinson, K. (2010). Miami 311 Goes Online, Keeps Phone Calls. Retrieved from Government Technology: http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Miami-311-Goes-Online-Keeps-Phone.html