We always knew San Francisco was a little more progressive but even they surprised me on this one! Last week San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced that city residents can now make 311 customer service requests or complaints using the popular micro blogging site Twitter. (See the entire press conference below)

So instead of picking up that cumbersome home telephone to report the pothole in front of your house, you can jump on Twitter to let the city know what’s wrong.  In 140 characters or less, you can contact the city’s call center about various services like graffiti removal, potholes, garbage maintenance and street cleaning. This service is especially useful when you are out in the neighborhood and want to report something like graffiti. You can send a tweet to SF311 via your mobile device with a service like Tweetie or TwitterFon reporting the problem and could even attach a photo using a service like TwitPic or Pikchur.

How Tweeting 311 Works

To make service requests, residents who have Twitter accounts must follow San Francisco’s account at SF311. Once a service request is submitted, it’s logged by a call taker into a customer relationship management database. The resident is then given a tracking number so he or she can follow up on the issue. Users can send direct messages to the call center by appending the letter “D” before SF311, which allows them to receive real-time responses. However, users with general inquiries usually receive a link with the information they need.

If you would like more information, you can visit http://sftwitter.sfgov.org/twitter/