Battle Royale from Our Friends at OpenCongress: The Must Have Accessory this Holiday Season

There are some great sites on the Internet to help you track the political issues of your choice, as well as the hottest issues du jour. One of the best things about the web is that it allows people quicker, faster access to information than ever before -- so you, too, can help change the world, one person at a time. Many of the best sites serve a critical watchdog function by educating and informing the populous. Only a truly informed electorate can make good decisions and solid choices -- but the information needs to come from respected sources, too. One of the best, most trusted sources for that information comes from our friends at OpenCongress.gov. And, just in time for the season of giving -- but mostly just in time for the new Congress teeing up on January 6th -- they've introduced Battle Royale. Read their missive below -- a holiday gift for us all.

Dec. 11, 2008

Hi everyone,

We just launched a really fun new tool on OpenCongress called "Battle Royale" -- take a look ::

http://www.opencongress.org/battle_royale

Like a Billboard Chart for legislation or a Digg for Congress, Battle Royale lets you see what bills people are loving or hating.

Battle Royale builds on all the votes and comments that OpenCongress users generate every day. For the first time ever, we’re creating a dynamic data set of public opinion on Congress. You can easily see:

- The most- and least-popular bills in Congress, with more than two thousand bills in the mix

- The highest- and lowest-rated senators and representatives, including your own elected officials

- The most tracked and commented-on bills, issues, and Members of Congress

… for more info, visit today’s announcement on our blog: http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/782

… and if you have a Digg account, give a quick digg and help spread the word:
http://digg.com/politics/Digg_for_Bills_in_Congress

This new tool is a key part of our work to harness the social wisdom created on OpenCongress and make it accessible & useful across the web. Dive in to vote up or down on bills and lawmakers you care about, see what’s hot with our open user community, and let us know what you think!

Thanks,

-David & the OC Team

http://www.opencongress.org/