GovFresh at 1: Thank you

GovFresh launched a year ago May 1. That first weekend, GovTwit’s Steve Lunceford tweeted it, Sunlight’s Ellen Miller blogged it and Gov 2.0 Radio talked it. I didn’t know anything about open government, how government was using technology and social media or any of the people involved. I had no idea GovFresh would evolve into anything more than aggregated government social media feeds.

Since that day, my faith that the common citizen can play a part in building a better government has been renewed beyond my wildest imagination. Not because I’ve done anything important, but because every single day for the past year I’ve witnessed it in action.

I don’t work for the government and never have. Although I grew up right outside and worked inside the Beltway before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area 10 years ago, home to me is literally on the opposite end of the country. The idea that one citizen 3,000 miles away from our nation’s capital can connect with with the greatest minds in government with simply a laptop, Internet connection and civic passion speaks volumes to where we’re headed.

When people ask me what GovFresh is, I generally explain it in literal terms. It’s a news/blog site about technology and social media in government and open government. Clay Johnson called it the TechCrunch of Gov 2.0 (thank you again, Clay).

To me, GovFresh is also more than that.

It’s a civics project that inspires me to engage. It’s connected me with the democratic process in a new way and introduced me to the smartest people in government, from Washington, DC, to the City of Manor, TX, to everyone in between.

I could wax poetic about what’s happened at GovFresh over the past year and get introspective about open government and Gov 2.0, but I’ll spare the soliloquy and leave you with this:

GovFresh has introduced me to some great friends and wonderful people, and I have you to thank for that.

P.S. Here’s a quick GovFresh Year 1 interview on Gov 2.0 Radio:

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