Now citizens can send direct messages 24 hours a day to the sf311 Twitter account to report standard non-emergency city-related sightings (like pot holes), request street cleanings, and any other service already supported by the phone or website.
The announcement was made today by San Francisco's Mayor, Gavin Newsom, and Biz Stone in a press conference (video pending). Today's news establishes San Francisco as the first major city to adopt a city-wide Twitter program of this magnitude.
To participate, San Francisco residents just need to follow the sf311 account. The process has been automated using Twitter OAuth and a custom Twitter application to create the direct link between the Twitterer and 311. Users will then receive a Direct Message confirming the connection, and will be able to send in questions, requests, and reports via Twitter and either get an answer to their a question, a service request number confirming the request, or a Direct Message back with a request for more info. 311 plans to field all the questions and answers via Twitter using CoTweet to manage the load.
Of course the real beauty of enabling 311 support through Twitter is that residents can now have the convenience of sending in their requests on their terms, include photos, relevant links, and do so while on the go.