When it comes to Internet pioneering, Pierre Omidyar knows what he’s doing. He founded eBay. And now his investment vehicle, Omidyar Network, has poured an undisclosed sum of money into New Haven’s cutting-edge web-based community problem-solving site.
The site is Ben Berkowitz’s Chapel Street-based SeeClickFix, now used in communities around the world. SeeClickFix (often placed on news sites like the Independent and the New Haven Register) allows users to register complaints about potholes or crime or trash and have it mapped while other citizens join in and officials respond. Tens of thousands of people now participate in the site, which was founded just in 2008.
Omidyar has invested some $30 million in not-for-profit ventures aimed at making government more transparent. The SeeClick investment is its first such investment in a for-profit transparency venture. Click here to read Omidyar’s release.
SeeClickFix also just released a new phone app. Read about that here.