November is often a time for giving thanks, eating inordinate amounts of turkey, watching football, and joining millions of people early one Friday morning to buy the same things you could get online from the comfort of your home. We’re not judging on that last one, but as a tech-focused team we’re simply reminding you that most websites offer free shipping.

For Project MyGov, we’re thankful that a mere 16 weeks after we met each other in Washington, DC, to begin our time as Presidential Innovation Fellows, we launched our first working prototype of the MyGov beta – and nearly 600 folks signed up to kick the tires.

If you’re late to the game, here’s a quick primer on the project.

###MyGov - The Cliffs Notes version###

1. Tasked with reimagining the relationship between the government and the people from a technology standpoint.
2. Creating a platform to standardize how agencies interact with the people, focused around the public’s needs, as opposed to the goverment’s fragmented beauracracy. (We’re defragging government, so to speak.)
3. Working on sample apps for simplifying common tasks like changing your name, applying for grants, and finding benefits.
4. Creating a service to bring government forms online.
5. Launched working prototype the week of Thanksgiving. Taking iterative approach: invite folks in, make changes based on feedback received (using IdeaScale and other channels), invite more people in. Rinse, repeat. To participate, [sign up today] (https://my.usa.gov).

That’s all for now. Hope you’ve got lots to be thankful about as well, and that you eat, drink, be merry this December. And remember: free shipping, people.