IB5k's Correlate Selected as a Finalist at SXSW's Interactive Accelerator Program

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Correlate, IB5k's flagship analytics platform, was selected as a finalist amoung hundreds in the 4th annual SXSWAccelerator, the marquee event of SXSW StartupVillage, where early stage technology companies demo innovative new technologies in front of influential industry judges and a live audience.  

Correlate is currently used by the leadership in the U.S. Congress to understand what's in their constituent communications; a new version, built for the private sector, will be released in Austin. 

IB5k, a civically-minded digital development & media firm born out of Obama's 2008 New Media campaign, aimed to take what had worked for the campaign and bring it to the rest of the world.  "When we got to Washington the week after Obama's inauguration," said Dan Beckmann, CEO and Co-Founder of IB5k, "We were a group of programmers and designers looking for ways to make government work better, based off the mandate we received from the American people."

Due to the increase in communications brought about by the information age, coupled with static staffing levels, IB5k found overwhelmed Congressional offices struggling to keep up with the avalanche of constituent correspondence.  Even before social media arrived on the scene, these backlogs meant the wishes of the American people were not getting through to their elected leaders.

Working together with the Leadership of the House of Representatives, IB5k's team of engineers, with backgrounds in bio-informatics, machine learning, and statistics, went to work on the challenge of improving constituent communications.  "We built a comprehensive yet nimble solution to the correspondence backlog," said Tom Hallaran, CTO and Co-Founder of IB5k.  Correlate was born.  

"The thing that I'm most proud of in this effort is that, during this incredibly contentious period in American politics, an Obama Start up was able to work together with the Republican House Leadership in building something together in a non-partisan way that structurally improves the most basic facet of our Representative Democracy-- our ability to talk to our elected officials," said Beckmann. 

"Correlate has been critical to our efforts to modernize Congress, by leveraging cutting edge technology to strengthen the connection between the public and their elected officials," said Matt Lira, the Digital Director for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.  "Correlate is what happens when the best engineers, programmers and reformers put their political differences aside and work together on finding solutions to modernize our country's legislative institutions."

Working with government and private sector partners over the last 3 years, IB5k has built significant intellectual property in data and sentiment analysis and machine learning.  Correlate is a robust analytics, machine learning, and data visualization platform that can be deployed in customizable dashboards for government and private industry. 

In Congress, Correlate visualizes a Representative's correspondence in real time, telling legislative staff what constituents are writing in about, where they're writing from, and which legislation corresponds to their inquiry.  Most importantly, Correlate streamlines the workload of overburdened legislative staff, while simultaneously making this information immediately accessible to senior decision-makers in Congress.

House offices not using Correlate have very little in the way of analytics or reports on what their constituents are trying to tell them.  Correlate strengthens the relationship between the public and elected officials by improving communication and enabling users to be more attentive and responsive to their constituents.

By design, Correlate asks nothing new of the end user, whether individual constituents or advocacy groups.  They can simply communicate with Congress through the channels they have already been using; offices that have Correlate in place simply work better and provide improved access to elected leaders. 

IB5k will be presenting a new version of Correlate in front of influential industry judges and a live audience during the SXSW Accelerator at the Austin Hilton on March 12th and 13th.

For more information on Correlate, please visit http://ib5k.com/products/correlate/

For more information about SXSW Accelerator and to view the complete list of interactive technology finalists, visit http://sxsw.com/interactive/startupvillage/accelerator/finalists

About IB5k

IB5k is a civically-minded digital media conglomerate that started where Obama's New Media campaign left off.  IB5k offers clients a full range of custom-made solutions from social media analytics, to media production, to ad distribution.  IB5k's client list includes public servants, non-profits, and civically-minded corporations who are passionate about building media together that connects them with their customers, audiences, friends, and constituents through a genuine, commonly shared experience.  IB5k - Big Ideas Made Simple.

About SXSW Interactive Festival

The 19th annual SXSW Interactive festival will take place March 9-13, 2012 in Austin, Texas.  An incubator of cutting-edge technologies, the event features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer. From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future, SXSW Interactive has become the place to experience a preview of what is unfolding in the world of technology.  Join us March 2012 for the panels, the parties, the 15th Annual Interactive Awards, Startup Village, ScreenBurn at SXSW, the SXSW Trade Show and, of course, the inspirational experience that only SXSW can deliver.  SXSW Interactive 2012 is sponsored by Miller Lite, Chevrolet, IFC, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Monster Energy, Samsung, Freecreditscore.com, Microsoft, Isis, Esurance, AT&T and The Austin Chronicle.

SOURCE IB5k