Philadelphia Based Avencia Releases New Version of CiceroLive, the Free Sample of Cicero, Avencia's District Matching and Legisl

PHILADELPHIA – May 6, 2009 – Avencia Incorporated, a geographic
analysis and software development firm announces the release of a new
version of CiceroLive, the free sample application of its Cicero data and
mapping tool. The new CiceroLive sample enables the public to experience
Cicero first hand. Cicero is a district matching and legislative elected
official web service application programming interface (API) that provides
organizations and businesses with an affordable tool to quickly and
accurately match addresses to political and non-legislative districts, and
retrieve a stream of information for all the elected officials at various
scales of government representing those districts. Cicero can also
generate district maps that show how an address fits into the political
geography of the country and more than 100 cities nation-wide:
http://www.avencia.com/Cicero/LiveSample.aspx

The Cicero team’s most recent upgrades to the web service and database
include: faster map generation, the addition of several new city council
districts (Orlando, FL; Atlantic City, NJ; Tulsa, OK; Berkley, CA), foreign
countries’ legislatures, and non-legislative districts like School
Districts and Watersheds. These additions coincide with an increased
public interest in issues around Open Government, Redistricting 2010, the
lack of online local legislative information nation-wide, and a general
push by online media outlets, like The New York Times’ recently released
district and news lookup -- ‘Represent’ -- to enable information to be
browsed based on an individual’s political districts.

Several organizations and agencies are already using the Cicero API. Their
uses range from political advocacy, arts advocacy, grassroots campaigns,
open government campaigns, campaign contribution analyses, gerrymandering
analyses, district matching, publishing Election Day results, and
Business-to-Government services. For instance The Oregonian, serving the
Portland, OR region, has been offering their online readers more innovative
ways to access the news that affects them. On November 4, 2008, the day of
the 2008 national elections, The Oregonian used the Cicero API to provide
their readers with the ability to match their address to live tallies of
votes for key political races in the legislative districts in which their
address was located, in order to get election results more focused, local,
and geographically relevant.
With Redistricting 2010 just around the corner, it is likely that tools
like Cicero will become increasingly important. The Cicero team is
preparing by constantly adding and updating data in its database as well as
expanding the number of legislative districts they support. Their progress
can now even be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CiceroAPI
The free CiceroLive can be found at:
http://www.avencia.com/Cicero/LiveSample.aspx
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About Avencia
Avencia is an award-winning, Philadelphia-based geographic analysis and
software development firm specializing in the creation of innovative
location-based software tools to enhance decision-making processes. Avencia believes geographic technologies can help promote the emergence of
more dynamic, vibrant communities. For more information, visit
www.avencia.com

If you would like more information about Avencia or to schedule an
interview with Robert Cheetham, please contact Abby Fretz at (215) 701 –
7503 or e-mail .