MakeUseOf Directory » public records

CitySourced: Quickly Report Civic Problems In Your Neighborhoob

abhijeet — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 01:01:51 +0000

What do you do if you see potholes or broken street lights in your neighborhood? You find out who is the civic authority concerned and then email them, or maybe visit their office. CitySourced aims to speed up this process by helping you report civic problems in your neighborhood through your cellphone quickly and easily in real-time.

It provides mobile apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Android which can file a report, complete with pictures, problem description and a map of the area, to the city hall. You could also use their web interface to file and report civic issues.

The tool is currently limited to cities and neighborhoods in the U.S. Overall, a great service that could help city authorities take swift action and help citizens keep their place clean and tidy.

Features

Report civic issues through cellphone in real-time
Apps available for Android, Blackberry and iPhone
Reports can be filed through their web interface too
Reports include photos, description of the problem and a location map

Check out CitySourced@ www.citysourced.com (via Download Squad By Abhijeet from Guiding Tech)

Google Public Data Explorer: Explore Interesting Data Statistics via Animated Charts

jpot — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:01:37 +0000

Numbers don’t lie, but it can be very hard to figure out what they mean. Google Public Data Explorer seeks to clarify trends by letting you explore them in a variety of ways: graphs, maps and animations, to name a few. As the service’s name implies, all information used is freely available information compiled from public services, including the US Census Bureau.

While this isn’t something the average person would be itching to play with, it’s great for number nerds, as well as journalists, public officials and politicians. Bloggers will be happy to know that all information, charts and animations can be embedded, allowing you to share your discoveries with your readers.

More than anything, however, this site is about interesting statistics, and discovering cool ways to arrange it. Check this out for that alone.

Features:

Public data arranged into charts, graphs and animations.
Explore information in interesting ways.
Embed animations and graphs on your blog or website.
Similar tools: ChartsBin, DataMasher, ManyEyes, Cynergy Systems Map and VisualEconomics.

Check out Google Public Data Explorer @ www.google.com/publicdata/directory (via Mashable.com)

SporkNYC – Discover Recent Health Violations Of Any NYC Restaurant

jpot — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:01:35 +0000

With all the restaraunts in New York City it can be hard to keep up. If you suspect one of your friend’s favorite Chinese places has a little trouble staying within the city’s health codes, SporkNYC can tell you the past two years of health code violations of any New York City eatery.

SporkNYC gets its information from the publicly-accessible NYC Datamine, but arranges it in an easy-to-search database. Simply type the name or the address of the restaraunt you want to know about and you’ll be informed of all their recent transgressions. Using this data you can make your decision about where to eat that much more informed.

Features

- Easy to search database of restaurant health code violations.
- Data from New York City’s Datamine.
- Glossary of terms relevant to understanding health code violations.
- Flash-based interface

Check out SporkNYC.

Find A Grave: Search 27 Million Cemetery Records

Kaly — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:59:00 +0000

Find A Grave is a website where you can search and locate the final resting place of your relatives, ancestors, friends and well known individuals. The website has an extensive database with over 27 millions names. Some records even incude photos, biography and dates.

You can search cemetery records by name, date of death or browse records by location. Optionally you can become a member, create a memorial, submit new data, and upload photos.

Features:

Search and find a grave of your ancestors, old friends and relatives.
Search by name, date or location.
Database has more then 27 million names.
Create a memorial, submit data, add flowers, add photos etc.
Check out memorial pages of famous people.
See most popular searches and interesting monuments.
Additional cemetery search that includes maps available as well.

Check out FindaGrave @ www.findagrave.com