In 2011 I was part of the inaugural class of Code for America fellows partnering with the City of Philadelphia. One thing that really struck me was the incredible work that was being done by every public servant that we met, completely debunking the government stereotypes in my mind. I remember being particularly enamoured by our conversation with Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Everett Gillison. Why was I unaware of all of the great work being done by him and so many others?

Part of the problem is that we as the City don’t always tell our story. Many departments find it difficult to sit down and write a blog post about the work they’re doing, myself being the chief offender. The other challenge, for those occasions when we do sit down to write, is that it’s difficult for the public to find because the City has so many blogs.

That’s why we’re adding blogs to alpha.phila.gov. The public will be able to follow all posts for the entire City and by specific departments or topics. Starting today, the web team at the Office of Innovation and Technology will tell our story exclusively on alpha.phila.gov, starting with a complete introduction to alpha.phila.gov. We’ve been working incredibly hard all year and are excited to share our story with you.