It wasn’t too long ago that Mayor Walsh was Mayor-elect Walsh, stuck in an awkward limbo between winning the election to succeed Tom Menino and actually taking office. It was during this time that he revealed something quite intriguing: City Hall was without a voicemail system. Since being sworn in less than half a year ago, though, Mayor Walsh and his administration have taken major strides to overhaul Boston’s lacking technologies. Initiated back in November but recently updated with a new Tumblr, this melodic project aims to curtail the annoyance that comes with calling in to City Hall and being put on hold.
Aptly dubbed BOStunes, the initiative is of the crowdsourcing variety, soliciting local music to be played while a City Hall inquirer is put on hold or transferred to another department.
According to the City of Boston Department of Innovation & Technology, a newly-installed phone system is the perfect venue for showcasing some of the Massachusetts’ more musically inclined. Through December 2, they’re encouraging musicians to submit tracks to be included on the transfer playlist. They’ll also promote the songs through the City’s social media outlets and general web presence.
There are only two rules to this game. One member of the band has to live in Boston, and the music should not contain any profanity. Other than that, as is written on the DoIT’s webpage, “We think that music should be as uniquely Bostonian as you are.”
Submitting tracks is easy. Just follow and tweet @DoITBoston using the hashtag #BOStunes, or send them a direct message on Facebook.
This project exemplifies Mayor Walsh’s commitment to social media and technology, as well as garnering the direct input of Bostonians to help bolster his dedication to transparent government. In fact, he and his constituent officials have used the power of crowdsourcing in a dexterous capacity that differs strikingly from the previous administration’s. Sure, Mayor Menino has a Twitter handle, but he didn’t proactively garner project ideas and sentiments with it.
For Mayor Walsh, there’s the Public Space Invitational for which he encouraged Bostonians to rethink the city’s public spaces in an affordable and innovative manner. Then there are the vacant storefronts in Boston he’s hoping to fill, giving residents the choice of what they’d like to see occupy them. And, of course, he’s made himself abundantly available for engagement through Twitter, Facebook and reddit.
BOStunes has already been met with an overwhelmingly positive response, and a handful of songs have already made the cut. There are plenty more on the way, though, so stay tuned to BostInno, or just give City Hall a ring and ask to be put on hold.
Image via BOStunes
