It's Laura Whitehead, live-blogging from the N2Y3 Conference. We're in a featured project session where we hear in more detail about some of the innovative projects are here at the conference that are hoping to get your vote!

Moderator: Sharon Burns, MacArthur Foundation

OpenCongress: Track Congress with Social Data

www.opencongress.org

OpenCongress aims to create a snapshot bringing together news coverage, blog buzz, insightful comments, and more. Congress is complex to understand, so on their website you can see what's rated "most helpful" by the community.

Their goal, is to bring a shared understanding in how Bills can affect our everyday lives. Users can also create their own 'My OpenCongress' pages.

Where does the data come from? Bill data comes directly through from Congress, and campaigns for example come through from news networks etc. Subject based issues can be tracked.

They want the work to grow further too and build towards creating relevant information in a meaningful and a user orientated way (ie, RSS, Google calendars, subscribing to alerts, text, email etc). They work with open standards. This will enable people to access the news relevant to their own political interests in ways that are accessible to how they want to receive their information.

One World Connect

www.us.oneworld.net

OneWorld began back in 1995 with a simple CMS, in 1998 worked with online radio, and in 2001, screening with online video and moved more recently with more innovations into cell phone techonologies, and even into Second Life in 1997.

OneWorld's goal is to build a more global society though community, by providing access to information, enable connections between organisations and people across the world. They have over 500,000+ articles, 2500+ partner organisations, 80,000 users across the globe, with 11 centres worldwide and multi-media in 12 langauges. Over a quarter of involvement is US based.

They're seeking help with enhancing their user experience through better vizualisation of their datasets, creation of customisable widgets and binding their vast global network through standards, mapping, timelining and tagging.

Freecycle Cellular Osmosis

www.freecycle.org

An overview was given in how Freecycle works and is a grassroots driven organisation. It has 5.1 million members and 3rd most searched environmental term. They have an international network of over 10,000 globally local volunteers and a staff of one. It's an organisation which has grown vastly across the globe, and currently mainly exists using Yahoo groups.

Their goal is to widen the reach of Freecycle to enable gifting of used items and directional mapping functionality on a regular cell phone via text messaging and radically expand the reach of a global gift economy in to the third/developing works and onto the streets.

By enabling the creation of a cell phone service it will reach further into communities that may have not been able to participate with Freecycle and recycling in the past, due to not owning or having access to a computer.