Citizenville

How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government

Gavin Newsom

By integrating democratic government with cutting-edge American innovation, the lieutenant governor of California charts a bright future for open-source America

Citizenville is the story of how ordinary citizens can use new digital tools to dissolve political gridlock and transform American democracy. As social networking and smart phones have changed the way we communicate with one another, these technologies are also changing our relationship with government.

In a world where people can do anything at the touch of a button—shop, communicate, do research, publish a blog, transfer money—government cannot keep functioning in a twentieth-century mind-set. Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom explores the many ways in which technology can transform government and empower citizens: Opening up vast troves of government data, then letting people create apps to use them wisely. Harnessing the popularity of online games to establish a kind of "Angry Birds for Democracy." Inventing new feedback loops so people can take active part in every facet of governing.

Drawing on wide-ranging interviews with thinkers and politicians, Citizenville is the first book by Lieutenant Governor Newsom. He broke new ground as the mayor of San Francisco, one of the most high-tech, experimental, and progressive municipalities in the nation. But when Newsom's tenure as mayor began, he found that San Francisco was behind the likes of Estonia and South Korea in terms of digital governance. Newsom's quest to modernize one of America's most modern cities—and the amazing results he achieves—form the backbone of this far-reaching book.

Lieutenant Governor Newsom explains how the problems of twenty-first-century America are too big and too expensive for the government simply to buy solutions. Instead, we must innovate our way out. Just as the post office and the highway system provide public infrastructure to channel both personal and private enterprise—a platform upon which citizens can grow—so too could a modern digital government house the needs, concerns, information, and collaboration of an enlightened digital citizenry.

Citizenville shows that the only way Americans can secure their future is by reinventing their relationship to government, just as they have countless times before.

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Citizenville Bookplate Giveaway

If you've pre-ordered a copy of Citizenville, fill out the form below to receive a signed bookplate from Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom. One bookplate per person, and this is limited to the first 2,000 pre-orders. U.S. residents only.

Entry Form

Pre-order* the book Citizenville and the first two-thousand (2,000) eligible entrants who fill out and submit the entry form will receive a bookplate signed by the author, Gavin Newsom (Approximate Retail Value = $1.00 each).

Entry period ends January 30, 2013, 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time.

No purchase necessary.

Open to residents of the fifty United States, and the District of Columbia, age 18 or older.

Void where prohibited by law.

Scroll down for full Official Rules.

*If you haven't preordered, you can still enter by sending a 3-1/2" x 5" postcard with your full name and mailing address to Penguin Press Marketing, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, Attention: Citizenville Bookplate Giveaway.

Official Rules for the Citizenville Bookplate Giveaway

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT ENHANCE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia, age 18 or older.

How to Enter:

  1. To enter the Citizenville Bookplate Giveaway (the "Giveaway"), review these Official Rules and enter in one of two ways: (1) if you have pre-ordered the book, fill out the entry form with your full name and mailing address, or (2) if you have not pre-ordered the book, please send a 3-1/2" x5" postcard with your full name and mailing address to Penguin Press Marketing, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, Attention: Citizenville Bookplate Giveaway. Entries may be sent via this website or via postal mail only and must be received no later than January 30, 2013, 11:59:59 PM, Eastern Time. Limit one entry per household. The sole determinant of time for the purposes of receipt of a valid entry will be the computer servers of Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. ("Sponsor"). Proof of transmission (screenshots or captures, etc.) does not constitute proof of receipt.
  2. Entries are void if they are in whole or in part illegible or incomplete. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for late, lost, incomplete, illegible or misdirected entries.
  3. Sponsor and its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies are not responsible for technical, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, garbled or delayed electronic communications caused by the sender, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Giveaway which may limit the ability to play or participate, or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the entries in this Giveaway. If for any reason the Giveaway is not capable of being conducted as described in these rules, Sponsor shall have the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Giveaway. In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized holder of the email account.

Winners:

  1. The first two thousand (2,000) eligible entries submitted to and received by Sponsor by January 30, 2013, 11:59:59 PM ET will be winners. Winners will be determined by Sponsor, whose decisions concerning all matters related to this Giveaway are final and binding.
  2. Winners will receive a prize via postal mail. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received within the relevant time period.

Prizes:

  1. Two thousand (2,000) winners will each receive a book plate signed by Gavin Newsom, the author of Citizenville. These bookplates are postcard-size stickers and have the author's signature. Winners can affix the signed bookplates to their copies of Citizenville (Approximate Retail Value = $1.00 each).
  2. In the event that there are less than two thousand (2,000) eligible entries Sponsor reserves the right not to award any prizes.

Eligibility:

This Giveaway is open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia, age 18 or older. Employees of Sponsor and its parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates or other parties in anyway involved in the development, production, or distribution of this Giveaway, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible to participate in the Giveaway. Void where prohibited by law. All state and local restrictions apply.

General:

  1. No substitutions, transfers or assignments of prizes allowed by winners. In the event of unavailability, Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value.
  2. All expenses, including taxes (if any), related to receipt and use of prize are the sole responsibility of the winners.
  3. Should the ARV of the prize equal or exceed $600.00, winners shall be required to provide a Social Security Number or a Taxpayer Identification Number to Sponsor for issuance of a 1099 Form.
  4. By accepting a prize, winner grants to Sponsor the right to use his/her name, likeness,, hometown, and biographical information in advertising and promotional materials, including posting on the Sponsor's website, without further compensation or permission, except where prohibited by law.
  5. By entering this Giveaway and/or accepting a prize, entrants release Sponsor, its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies, or the agencies of any of them and the authors and/or editors of any books promoted hereby from any and all liability for any loss, harm, injuries, damages, cost or expense arising out of or relating to participation in this Giveaway or the acceptance, use or misuse of the prize.
  6. Any dispute arising from this Giveaway will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in New York County and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

Winners List:

To receive a copy of the winners list, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by July 30th, 2013 to Penguin Press Marketing, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, Attention: Citizenville Bookplate Giveaway Winners List.

Sponsor:

Penguin Press
An imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014