Just when you though junk mail was going the way of the horse and buggy, along comes another use for it. Well, not another use for the junk mail exactly, but rather, another use for the database used to get that all-important junk mail delivered to you.
In an altogether outstanding example of mash-up technology at work, the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC) has combined the information from Valassis Communications’ RedPlum direct mail operation with a Google map of New Orleans to keep track of the number of homes that actively receive the direct mail promos. Since the RedPlum information tells the United States Postal Service (USPS) exactly where mail is being picked up, it can also be used to tell GNOCDC the locations in which people are there to receive mail. In other words, GNOCDC can now tell exactly which areas of New Orleans have been repopulated.
What’s more, the USPS regularly updates and reports data about the number of addresses actively receiving mail. It’s not so much that the USPS tracks housing and population movement; rather, they note at which addresses the mail is being picked up, and which addresses the mail is piling up. Valassis is qualified to receive weekly updates to their database from the USPS, which allows them to enhance their database and make it that much more accurate.
GNOCDC mashed the raw data together with Google maps, using a color code to show population density for the entire city. While the system is pretty impressive, it’s not exactly perfect. Although it’s reasonable to assume that addresses receiving mail actively have people living at them, that doesn’t always turn out to be the case. Landlords or neighbors, for example, may pick up the mail at a particular address, even though the quarters aren’t occupied. Likewise, mail still isn’t being delivered to all areas of New Orleans—even though those areas are occupied.
Still, the mash-up allows community activists to see, at a glance, which areas of New Orleans are getting back on track, and which areas still need improvement. GNOCDC’s innovative combination of cutting-edge technology and traditional data is making great strides to help the city of New Orleans get back on its feet.