What can possums and hydrants teach us about government and citizenship? Ask Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America, a Knight-supported organization working to bring the people and power of the Internet into government.

In her recent TED talk, featured below, Pahlka gave some insight into the Code for America fellowship program, which pairs startup-style teams of developers with cities throughout the country to help them engage with citizens. 

The first fellowship class built over 20 apps, hosted over 50 events and worked with hundreds of civic leaders. The fellowship is currently in its in its second year, with 26 fellows and eight cities, including three Knight communities: Detroit, Philadelphia and Macon. 

Code for America is in its final days of recruitment for the 2013 program. Cities interested in having fellows next year have until March 31 (end of the week!) to apply: http://codeforamerica.org/cities.

By Abhi Nemani, director of strategy and communications at Code for America