On New YouTube Site, Mayor Newsom Launches Second Webisode of "Interactive State of the City"
Instead of a traditional speech behind a podium, this year I am delivering my State of the City address directly to my constituents in a series of ten webisodes," said Newsom. "Each webisode will be posted on the city website and on my new YouTube channel."
We are committed to using technology to cultivate an ongoing conversation with our constituents," said Newsom. "Now our YouTube site gives us one more channel for communication where you can submit on video your own ideas for improving city government."
Newsom said his commitment to using technology for direct communication is yielding measurable results. So far in 2008, the mayor´s website has received over 27.6 million hits – up from 3.8 million in 2006. Newsom has also established a significant presence on online communities such as Facebook and as an online columnist on sites such as DailyKos, Huffington Post, and Salon.
Newsom recorded the webisodes at the new Academy of Sciences, which "stands as a symbol of the great achievement our city is capable of," said Newsom.
Despite severe budget constraints and declining investment by the federal and state governments," said Newsom, "what we have accomplished – and will soon accomplish – proves that a city can continue to be bold and innovative even in the face of extraordinary challenges."
In today´s webisode, Newsom discussed improvements made to San Francisco´s transit system and his commitment to using new technologies to increase on-time performance and ridership.
He will unveil the remainder of the webisodes throughout the week:
Wednesday:
Violence Prevention
Poverty
Thursday:
Economic Climate
Economic Development
Friday:
Emergency Planning
Public Art
The State of the City will also air on SFGTV, cable 26, at 9:00am each day during the week.

