The Rise of the iPhone Gadflies

Craig Newmark built the “Rants and Raves” section on Craigslist (it’s really mostly rants). So where does he go to blow off steam? According to CNN, he turns to his iPhone.

Newmark was reportedly riding one of San Francisco’s legendarily inconvenient Muni railcars when he noticed it was too hot. Rather than writing a tirade on some stodgy old Web site, Newmark used the SeeClickFix app to notify City Hall. A week later, he heard it was being looked into.

CNN trotted this anecdote out as an example of how mobile apps can provide for a more intimate engagement between a government and its citizens. How everyday folks can get involved and light the proverbial candle rather than cursing the darkness.

Well, maybe.

Newmark should know better than anyone how many nuts have taken to the Internet, since he helped build them a home. And many of them seem particularly exercised about their government these days. And this new wave of tattletale apps is likely to empower do-gooders as well as busybodies.

Another recent app encoded with good intentions is EcoSnoop, which its developers say is “meant as a tool for a gentle form of awareness.” The positive potential of EcoSnoop is clear: ratting out egregious environmental offenses—toxic pollution, chemical dumpings, massive waste of water or energy.