Citizen Services
- Citizen Profile – This feature provides a comprehensive interface for selecting a username and constructing a citizen profile. Citizen profiles may include personal information such as location, photograph, professional affiliations, as well as usernames and URLs for services on other popular websites. By selecting "Listed" or "Unlisted" the user determines if their profile will be included in the USofA White Pages.
- Web-based Email – Registered users are automatically provided a web-based email account that is in the form of UserName@UnitedStatesOfAmerica.com and that will also receive email sent to the alias address of UserName@USofA.com.
- Digital Art and Photography Gallery – Registered users are automatically provided a web-based Digital Art and Photography Gallery where digital works may be stored for public or private viewing. Copies of the user’s publicly-shared works may be sold using the Gallery Marketplace and Portfolio Management Tools.
- Audio Library – Registered users may create collections of audio recordings they have produced by uploading them to their Audio Library. Users may then add an embedded recording to their profile or to any of their blog articles.
- Video Library – Registered users may create collections of videos they have produced by providing links to YouTube. Such videos will be randomly displayed on the city page associated with the user’s account. Additionally, users may add an embedded video to their profile or to any of their blog articles.
- Citizen Blog – In addition to submitting articles to the Blog to the Editor, registered users may create an individual citizen blog. Titles from articles in individual citizen blogs are featured and linked on the city page associated with the user’s location.
- Citizen Groups – Registered users may join available groups or create their own group. Citizen Groups facilitate orgainzation for discussion and events
- Event Calendars – Registered users, acting individually or as a designated Citizen Group leader, may plan, schedule and publish events on any of several permanent calendars or by creating a new calendar. Permanent event calendars include Social Events, Civic Events, Art & Music Events, Nonprofit Events, and more.
- Classified Advertising – Registered users may utilize the limited classifieds system. Classified ad titles are displayed on the city page associated with the submitting user’s account.
- Action Logs – All websites record the actions of visitors. We believe participation is enhanced by sharing this information with citizens. Unlike in the real world, we believe citizens should have ready access to records of their activities, including their website voting record. By clicking on the Action Logs link, registered users may review their login activity, voting records, blog article titles (along with number of endorsements), and statistics for other comments and media presentations.
Locate citizens by searching or browsing location or affiliation information published by registered users.
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We seek to inform citizens and encourage their participation in government. Believing that awareness is the first obstacle to participation, our goal is to connect to RSS feeds from every city government website and publish the output on the appropriate UnitedStatesOfAmerica.com city page. To the extent necessary, we anticipate providing assistance to cities and towns that do not have the resources or knowledge base required to set up RSS. |
| By aggregating and analyzing this information, regional and national support for specific projects can more easily be ascertained. By centralizing the aggregate of government news in one location, we expect to facilitate the taking of meaningful action by citizens inclined to do so. We also provide a safe practice area for citizens that are currently uncomfortable with the pressures of actual civic participation. |
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We seek to amplify the individual citizen’s voice and provide a fertile environment for collaboration and consensus. Citizens benefit from exchanging ideas and grow from understanding new perspectives.By aggregating and analyzing this information, regional and national support for specific projects can more easily be ascertained. |
| One our goals is to channel the energy from popular issues into citizen action.There are many ways we will attempt to accomplish this, including the recognition of virtual representatives. By conducting mock activities and elections, we will provide a safe practice area for citizens that are currently uncomfortable with the pressures of actual civic participation. |
 Based on the IP address of a visitor, websites can now easily detect that visitor’s general physical location. In marketing, this is called geo targeting. And while we may utilize the information for marketing purposes in the future, the current scope of this project is focused solely on the enhanced manipulation of dynamic content. Most features of the website are tied to physical locations. Since we know statistically that most people want to see local information, using their IP number to automatically take them to that content saves visitors several seconds of clicking. For example, an Internet user visiting the website from Portland, Oregon can be instantly presented with the city page for Portland. But that’s just the beginning. When we determine a visitor’s general physical location, it also permits us to determine what type of access the visitor should be offered. Thus, IP-based identification helps us address several unique challenges for this website presents that can be d by utilizing this capability. If, for example, you consider that one of the primary goals for the website is to promote citizen dialog and participation in shaping local and national policies, then you may see where it could be important to take some steps to try to identify foreign nationals. This, because while it may be appropriate for foreigners to engage in such discussions, it is also appropriate that citizens be made aware of the participant’s status as foreigner. The IP-based identification of visitors also allows us to determine what type language the content should be provided in. The website already enjoys visitors from around the world, and document translation is one of the projects anticipated in the second phase of the website development. |
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I dedicated myself to improving democracy and all I got was this t-shirt?
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USofA
Personal Landing Page! my.USofA.com |