Apps Have Got Your Back

Who needs governments? The ongoing trend toward mobile, social and crowdsourcing apps has led to a wealth of new community-based resources that support or supplant traditional civic and government services. Think Kickstarter instead of the NEA or Canada Council. Or consider the new Circle of 6 app, which is intended to help prevent violence before it happens, by letting users reach out to friends when dicey situations arise, instead of calling 911 after they get out of hand. Circle of 6 is the brainchild of health educator Deb Levine and anti-violence activist Nancy Schwartzman, who have found that it's often easier for people to reach out for help via a screen, and that it's important for groups of friends to offer concrete strategies for supporting each other. It's already won the White House's Apps Against Abuse challenge, and racked up tens of thousands of iPhone downloads. "We are working to get the app in the hands of Android users as soon as possible," says lead developer Christine Corbett Moran (an astrophysicist with a double-major Physics/CS degree from MIT, who develops apps in her copious spare time.) Apps like Circle of 6 are the thin edge of a really interesting wedge.

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