One of my favorite elements of the Internet is the general level of accessibility that it has to offer. Between free code-writing programs and the thousands of free lessons on writing code that are available to web users, there are relatively low buy-in costs for learning how to write programs and code for web documents.

Due to this low cost of entry, many people learn  to code and are seeking out new outlets to use their skills. In these resources, you can read all about how communities across the United States are mining their local talent for help with public-private initiatives.

• Note that in the article “Innovation Edge: Open Data Opens New Doors,” Karen Thoreson discusses the emerging trend of “hackathons,” and discusses the beneficial results that are realized by a hackathon’s host.
• Review “Making Sense out of Mobile” for helpful hints on how your local tech-lovers can help your government make the most out of consumers’ desire to be reached on hand-held devices.
• Learn that at the 2013 conference, ICMA hosted a hackathon of its own, and winning ideas are discussed on the Hackathon topic page.
• Read even more about the winning projects from Hackstock for #LocalGov in “ICMA/Esri/ MindMixer Host First Local Gov Hackathon.”

To learn more about how #LocalGov is engaging the burgeoning tech community, browse through the Knowledge Network’s Computer Use, Internet, and Technology topic pages. If you have any resources that highlight how your government has engaged the tech community, please share them on the Documents page.

Aloha,

James Davidson

ICMA Knowledge Network Intern

jdavidson@icma.org