Jason Putorti and Resistbot offer a slick new interface for government - Pitchwerks #35

Years of civic tech work are paying off - Resistbot has found a huge audience.

This week, Scot goes to San Francisco to chat with his old friend Jason Putorti, a well-known and respected interface designer & civic technology innovator.  Several of his past projects have been aimed at solving issues in civic engagement, but his latest one is creating a nationwide buzz.  

Created in collaboration with Eric Ries and a large and cast of volunteers, Resistbot (text RESIST to 50409) connects users to elected officials whenever the mood strikes.  It’s different from Jason’s past civic tech projects, in that there’s no website, mobile app, or specialized interface - Resistbot is a chatbot that works over whatever SMS chat app you already have on your phone.  For bonus points, it works on Facebook Messenger and Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices too.