[mattgolsen]

Oh absolutely! This is a first step, sort of an experiment to see how citizens use this platform. We chose IFTTT because it wouldn't tie us to any specific ecosystem (Alexa, Google Assistant etc), but would allow us flexibility in terms of service delivery.

That being said, our next steps are to include things like content, public safety announcements and the like. What I'm personally really excited about though is using this with Open Data. Pushing things like restaurant data, crime, neighborhood development, or road closures.

Alot of these won't be very exciting in the get go, as we get an idea of usability and reliability. But think about checking for SNAP/WIC benefit eligibility through a multitude of interfaces, and then automatically connecting to a local grocery (or e-grocer like Amazon Fresh), then having it delivered to your door. That impacts real change, while respecting citizen data rights (at least from the government).

Government has a huge amount of incredibly valuable data, that just needs a contextual lens for citizens. We just needed a good method to start this sort of work.