About that "government data" you've been hearing about...
BY Nancy Scola | Monday, December 7 2009
There's not going to be much in the way of new news for our regular readers in Claire Cain Miller's big piece in the New York Times today about how governments are slowly opening up their data stores to the public and software developers are using that information to attempt to build applications that better the lives of the folks living in those cities and other areas. It's a good overview for your mom or dad, though, when they ask what open data-lovin' Gavin Newsom is going on about on their teevee screen. A taste:
Many local governments are figuring out how to use the Internet to make government data more accessible. The goal is to spawn useful Web sites and mobile applications — and perhaps even have people think differently about their city and its government. "It will change the way citizens and government interact, but perhaps most important, it’s going to change the way elected officials and civil servants deliver programs, services and promises," said Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, which is one of the cities leading the way in releasing government data to Web developers. "I can't wait until it challenges and infuriates the bureaucracy."