Congress Top 10

We have spent several months getting our iPhone application to work with the iPad. There were dozens of technical challenges as well as the 112th Congress update to deal with over the past few months. But the good news is this: we submitted the iPad version to Apple for review today. Kudos to our development team led by Sean Cook, who has done an outstanding job.

Congress+ and CongressPro, when approved, will be “universal apps.” This means that if you already paid for either one, you’ll be getting the iPad version for free. We will not be releasing an iPad version for Congress, our 99¢ version. If you already unlocked the 112th Congress on your iDevice, please remember to answer “No” to the first question when you see the update. This way you won’t have to pay the update fee again.

Congress+ and CongressPro look pretty amazing on an iPad. All of the links that look a little small or squished on an iPhone look just great on the iPad. The iPad 2 is particularly fast in loading up these links. Both the iPad and iPad 2 are very fast in processing searches and do a neat job of showing large photos if you tap on the smaller thumbnail.

Going forward, we are already redesigning the iPad version to take better advantage of the screen. We are going to provide the list on the left side of the page in landscape with a large pane on the right for content as well as links. It will be really, really great. We wanted to get this first version to you (you’ve been patient) and to make sure we didn’t miss anything along the way.

Thank again for purchasing Congress in Your Pocket. We look forward to hearing from you once it’s released. Look for screenshots in this space soon.

Today we got some great news.  Kim Komando, who hosts America’s largest weekend talk radio show, has chosen Congress+ as her App of the Day for December, 23, 2010.  Even more interesting to us, however, was that somehow we missed her Top 10 Apps for 2010.  We clocked in at #3 behind Angry Birds at #2 and NexTag in the top spot.  Both are outstanding in their own way.

Since we’re located in Washington, DC, we do not get her show over the air.  But, a little digging into her site, you can subscribe to her broadcast.  With over a half a million listeners, we’re looking forward to hearing what we’ve obviously missed.

Ergo, Facebook. Please “like” us here.

No, this will not be a place where we spam you.  This Facebook page, like our other feeds, will be strictly informational.  For example, we’ve put together a discussion section where there are now two topics (you can add yours too).

1. When will my app be updated?  That’s what most folks are wondering about and so this will be the best place to check to see the ETA for your updates is currently in the hopper.
2. New features.  We want to hear from you about what features we’re lacking and which ones need more niftiness or a bug fixed.

We’re also going to post interesting links that are related to Congress, the Administration, and the state legislatures.  For example, today’s feed includes a Washington Post link to a great story on redistricting.  We also posted a link to the Politico story about our app being on the first iPad on the podium in the U.S. House of Representatives.  If you read today’s page, you’d also know that we submitted the last update of the 111th Congress to Apple for review.

So, please check out the Facebook page and click on the “Like” button so you can stay connected with us.  Thanks again for working with us and happy holidays to you and your family.

Here is a peek at two what it looks like on your homescreen and the welcome page once you log in. Click on the screenshot below to see it in full view on a Droid.

The application offers many of the same features including searches for members, staff, committees, and by state. It also offers all of the essential information you need while you’re on-the-go including address, phone number, staff names, and a short bio. There’s campaign information, links to the official THOMAS congressional database and our partners LegiStorm, who provide all kinds of interesting information on staff salaries, earmarks, and trips. We also include increasingly vital links to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube where available.

You’ve got to tip your cap to Google as Android is becoming a serious player in the smartphone market. According to Business Week, Android market share is growing and might overtake both Apple’s iOS and RIM’s BlackBerry very soon. There are many reasons for this including the fact that Verizon carries Droids but not iPhones. Cost is also a factor as Android phones are significantly cheaper than iPhones and, while it’s not as good (IMO), they offer rich and interactive experiences. BlackBerry appears locked in the business market.

We are interested in what you think about the new version for Android. Please contact us at android at congressinyourpocket.com with your feedback. Also, feel free to give us your opinions below. Thanks again for your business and happy holidays!

Here are the new and improved features coming soon:

• New: Sens. Coons, Manchin; Rep. Stutzman
• New: Election results in bios
• New: Tap thumbnail for larger photo
• New: Retina display splash page
• New: Create notes locally without an account (Pro only)
• Improved: Mobile search for congressional bills
• Improved: Facebook and Twitter integration
• Improved: Information page scrolling
• Improved: Speed of over-the-air updates
• Improved: Faster scrolling through lists

Below are are screenshots of two newbies who took office in special elections: Senator Coons and Rep. Stutzman:

We can’t tell you how often we’re told, “I can’t see what these people look like in your app — the pictures are too small!”  Point well-taken.  The photos are 100 by 100 pixels, which can look microscopic if you don’t have perfect vision.  The solution?  Tap on the member’s photo and you’ll now be treated (or not) to a larger version of the photo.  This was quite an undertaking.  There are 541 members of Congress (including delegates) and let’s just say that not everyone has a large picture handy.  If you work for a member of Congress and either (1) don’t like the photo or (2) have a larger version, please send it to us and we’ll put it in the next update.

Here is Speaker-designate John Boehner’s photo:

Tap on that and you get this:

We are particularly proud of our redesign work on the Legislation page.  Many of you have asked us to make this easier on the eyes on your mobile device and we have taken that suggestion to heart.  Now, you can search for bills (e.g. H.R. 1) or words/phrases in bills (e.g. health, defense) and you’ll get the latest information from the official THOMAS database (named for Thomas Jefferson).  Here is a screenshot of that page, located in the More section of the apps:

This update will be the final one for the 111th Congress.  The new 112th Congress, which was elected on November 2nd, will be available to current users as an in-app purchase in January.  To reward your loyalty, we are pricing this update at the absolute lowest available to us: 99-cents.  That’s right, for less than a buck, you’ll have all of the new information on the 112th Congress right where you want it — in your pocket. Finally, for those of you who have been patient with us on the iPad version, it will be offered as a Universal App in January. If you already own a version of our congressional apps, you’ll get the iPad version for no additional charge with the 112th in-app purchase.



As you can see, we put these words in the short bios very carefully so that they’d get pinged if you searched for them.

On the other hand, let’s say you’d like to take a broader view of the newbies to Congress. If you’d like to see all of the seats that either changed hands or were filled, type “election update” into the Search bar and you’ll get a larger list that looks like this:



Before we release the major update for the new Congress, we are updating the current members with some new information. For the congressional apps, all members will have the 2010 election results provided in the short biography section at the bottom of the page. If you’d like to see what happened in the open races, you can search for “Open seat in 2010″ in the search bar. If you’d like to see which incumbents were defeated, search for “defeated incumbent”. If the member was reelected s/he will have the correct winning percentage from the November 2nd election.

We are also adding something many of you have requested: larger photos. In the next free update, you will be able to tap on the small thumbnail in the information page and you’ll get a screen-filling photo of that member. If you have an iPhone 4, you’ll notice that the quality of the photo is pretty great — for most members. If you see a photo that’s a little fuzzy it’s because the member does not provide one on their website or Google failed us. If that’s your boss, please send us a better photo. Yes, I’m looking at you Rep. Tom Graves!

In addition to the data and photos, we’re also pushing through a number of tweaks that should make the app run faster, and update faster for pro users. Moreover, you’ll see some enhanced and nifty Twitter and Facebook integrations.

***

The second thing we’re working on is updating seats in Congress and the new legislatures for when they officially take office in January. This is a significant undertaking, especially considering how many seats changed hands and changed parties. Many new members are just beginning to get an inkling of where their offices might be and are now recruiting staff members. They’re also lobbying their colleagues for plumb committee assignments. With party control changing in Congress and many legislatures, Ranking Members are making sure they get the gavels. There are also leadership challenges (Hoyer vs. Clyburn in the House) that we’re tracking.

So, to recap, there will be one free update for congressional app users, which will be submitted this week. But what about the big update? We talked for several months about it and we’d like to reward our users’ loyalty. Most of you have received many, many free updates over and above what we’ve promised. But we’re grateful and want to reward you for your feedback and for recommending it to so many other people. So, the price of the update in January is only … 99 cents!. We’ll be offering updates for the state legislative versions soon for the same low price.

Yes, for a buck, you’ll get the app updated with all new members. No need to buy the expensive paper version. No need to spend even another $4.99 with us. One dollar. That’s it. We hope you find this fair. Thanks again for all of your support!

The top words are about academics: most went on to college (e.g. University, College, High School, graduated, Harvard, B.S., J.D.). Political achievement is also well-represented with many reporting that they had been elected and reelected to various offices (e.g. governor, mayor, assembly, state, board).

But what struck me was the large presence of the word county. At first, I thought this was simply the location of where the district is located, and in many cases it was. However, there were just as many members of Congress who got their start in county politics. In 2010, many high-profile candidates are running big without much experience. The bios show that many of the current members are pros who started in the minors at home in their county government.

Another neat tidbit was a smaller word in the cloud: unsuccessful. Most often, the word was used in conjunction with losing an election. While the word cloud does not lie, in this case the word count is better. The word unsuccessful was listed 117 times. Some failed multiple times before moving to Capitol Hill but most list only one election they lost: usually the office they now hold. Despite how successful you are, you never forget the losses.

Now, let’s turn it over to you: what do you see in the cloud? What do you think it says about Congress? Do you think this will change after November 2nd? What would you like us to include in the bios for the 112th Congress?

Splash Screen on the iPad

Like many of you, we were pretty excited about the possibilities of what the iPad could offer us. As Steve Jobs said in its unveiling, the iPad sits somewhere between an iPhone and a Mac. The iPad performs as advertised on its core uses. It’s better for reading books, working with email, watching video, flipping through pictures, and playing games. In all of these instances, it’s better than an iPhone with its increased speed and larger screen. It’s better than a computer – even a notebook – as it’s more portable and gives off less heat.

But with this blend of technology comes the inevitable trade-offs. It simply does not work to create or edit professional documents dominated by Microsoft Office. It doesn’t even allow you to edit Google documents. My hope is that the people at DataViz and others come up with suitable workarounds. But it’s not there now. Also, there is no native printing, which is a silly omission. Again, app developers have done a good job trying to fill the gap of what should be core functionality.

So those are our initial thoughts. What about the app you own from us? It’s most likely a congressional directory so let’s take that as the example. We are currently building an app for the iPad that utilizes the same content you have on your iPhone. We could release it tomorrow if we didn’t care what it looked like, or felt like in your hands. And it would be terrible. You’d hate it. I would be a complete fail.

The iPad’s screen is so spacious that we have to redesign the look and feel of the application while keeping what makes it great: the information. Most other mobile applications rely on a list that someone else compiles which means that when you see something wrong, they cannot update it on the fly. In addition to our quarterly phone calls, we get feedback from almost 28,000 users who give us leads on which offices have staff changes, new Twitter accounts, etc.

As we go through the redesign, here are a few thoughts. First, we love the idea of having panes in landscape mode. On the left side you can get the list view with headshots, tap, and get that member’s content on the right side. This is handled well by the folks at MyCongress, who are using an API for their data.

Second, we need bigger headshots. The ones we had made sense for smaller devices but clearly we need to upgrade them. The virtue of having the bigger “heads” (as we call them here) means we’ll be able to port them over to the iPhone as well. So, for example, if you’re looking at a member’s page and tap on the headshot, it will show a much larger version. Tap back and you’ll be back to the info page.

Finally, we need to add value. Who is going to pay for an iPad version if it simply replicates what they already have? The short answer is a lot of folks. For example, our team has repurchased several games that are exactly the same except for the ability not to see a fuzzy “2x” version. To be truthful, we feel kind of let down. What we expected was clearer graphics but we wanted more levels or something that said, “thanks for paying us again for the same thing – here is a little extra something for the effort.”

Don't you want a better list?

That’s the challenge. Yes, all of the off-app website links will look great on your iPad (especially if they don’t have Flash). You will be able to have more room to send that email about HR 1 to your member of Congress. You’ll be able to see more of our handcrafted information on a screen.

But you expect that.

The info view is pretty ugly too.

What we have to figure out before we ask for your money again is what features really fit the technology best? We designed the iPhone application to be something you can use on the go. But for iPad users you likely have a little more time. What else would you like to see?

The iPad is a very different device than an iPhone. We are working on bringing you the application ASAP. While we have some ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Many of your great ideas have become features. Thanks again for sharing them with us.