crowdSPRING Unites Gov. 2.0 and Web 2.0 in Rep. Mike Honda’s New Site
By opening the design process to the public via crowdsourcing, politician casts his vote for openness and collaboration
San Jose, Calif., September 16, 2013 – This week, Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA) announced the launch of his new website at http://honda.house.gov, which was created via crowdSPRING, the world’s #1 marketplace for crowdsourced web design, logo design and all types of graphic design, industrial design and writing services. As the representative for California’s 17th Congressional District, which includes Silicon Valley, Honda strives to be on the leading edge of technology. The winning design was chosen from dozens of submitted designs via a constituent vote, with a special focus on design functionality and usability.
According to Ross Kimbarovsky, co-founder of crowdSPRING, government and crowdsourcing are the perfect marriage. “For years, government has been making a concerted effort to become more transparent and collaborative,” said Kimbarovsky. “Crowdsourcing is the embodiment of all that is open and honest. It’s a democratic process by its very definition.”
crowdSPRING co-founder Mike Samson added, “We’re thrilled that Rep. Mike Honda has allowed designers and constituents weigh in on his new site. In doing so, he’s making a statement that he is interested in hearing the voices of the people. Today, the people have spoken.”
Honda’s call for the creation of a small website received 26 design concepts from eight designers. The winner of the design award is Tiffany Allegretti, known in the crowdSPRING community as “iamtiff.” Allegretti received $1,050 for her design. The compelling new site features a photo of Honda’s office, as if to say, “Come on in,” meant to communicate an inviting and open approach to governance. The site also invites visitors to interact with Representative Honda on social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Delicious and his blog.
Honda stated that his goal in the redesign is to further advance the public’s access to government via technology. “Congress must take advantage of Web 2.0 technologies to transform the relationship between citizens and government,” he said. “Instead of viewing the public as a customer for services, I believe that we should empower citizens to become our partners in shaping the future of our nation.”
This is actually the second time Honda has used crowdSPRING for web design. In fact, he was the first person in Congress to use such a method, and his previous site won a number of awards, including four gold and two silver Mouse Awards by the Congressional Management Foundation. In his work, Honda is highly engaged in advancing technological innovations, and serves as the founding co-chair of the Democratic caucus' New Media Working Group, where he works to promote the use of technology so that more voices are heard.
Thousands of others have learned, as Honda already knows, the perks of crowdsourcing. The method is simple, efficient, affordable and brings to life an array of diverse ideas. To date, more than 140,300 creatives work on crowdSPRING and have completed more than 37,000 projects for Buyers from around the world. Each project receives an average of 136 entries and has over 40 participants. The process is straightforward, easy to use and there are no hidden costs. Companies of all sizes, including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, Tivo and more have discovered the benefits of crowdsourcing for graphic design, website design, logo design, marketing, writing and other projects. Now, through crowdSPRING, government is seeing how easy it can be.
To post a project or join the crowdSPRING creative community of designers and writers visit http://www.crowdspring.com.
About Mike Honda
U.S. Congressman Michael Honda represents the 17th Congressional District of California and has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for over 12 years. In Congress, Rep Honda is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Chair Emeritus of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Co-chair of the Democratic Caucus' New Media Working Group, House Democratic Senior Whip and the original author of the Equity and Excellence Commission now housed in the US Department of Education. Mike's district includes Silicon Valley, the birthplace of technology innovation and now the country's leading developer of green technology. For more information, visit Mike’s website at http://honda.house.gov.
About crowdSPRING
crowdSPRING is an online marketplace for custom logo design, web design, graphic design, industrial design and writing services. Entrepreneurs and small businesses simply post what they need, when they need it and how much they want to pay. Once posted, more than 140,300 creatives from 200+ countries around the world submit an average of 136 options for the buyer to choose from until they find “the one.” crowdSPRING is a privately held company based in Chicago. For more information, visit http://www.crowdspring.com. To learn more about the world of small business, startups, design, marketing and business strategy, follow crowdSPRING’s blog, their Twitter stream or their Facebook page.
Lauren Russ at 773.868.0966 or lauren@connectcomsinc.com
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