Newsom: Just Tweet Your Problems Away

Mayor announces new partnership with social networking site

Got a pothole? Notice a broken streetlight? Someone graffiti your wall? Maybe you just want to know when the street cleaner's coming. Just Twitter dude!

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the city has hooked up the social networking site to its 311 call center.

Now instead of dialing in to find out where to get your hot dog cart permit, you can simply "tweet."

Twitter founder Biz Stone says the city by the bay is the first in the nation to use the micro-blogging site for city services. 

"There's been times when I've seen something weird like a mattress in the road or whatever and what are you gonna do... call 911?" Stone asked. "It's not that big a deal. But if I can just fire off a text message and feel good about it, like I just contributed, they feel like they're part of it."

Newsom says the new service won't cost the city anything.

He says that is plus at a time when the city doesn't have the money to expand 311. Since it's launch in 2007, the center has received more than six million calls.  To interact with SF311 visit its Twitter page.

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