Helping citizens keep tabs on legislators

When it comes to monitoring the workings of democracy, there’s no such thing as too much information. Helping involved citizens stay well-informed, LegiStalker filters US legislative news 24 hours a day. Created as an entry for the Apps for America contest, LegiStalker allows users to search for legislators by name or location, and view live streams of their votes, Twitter posts, YouTube videos, favourite words and more. The website’s database is updated every 20 seconds using Yahoo Search, GovTrack.us and other services. Plans are in place for additional features like voting histories and grouping politicians mentioned in the same news articles. As LegiStalker says: “an accountable government requires an informed citizenry.” One to duplicate for dedicated citizens in other nations? (Related: Tweets from parliament seats — Crowds make parliament videos searchable.) Spotted by: Judy McRae