Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Data.gov and the Digital Open
While working on the Digital Open: the Innovation Expo for Global Youth that IFTF is running in partnership with Sun Microsystems and Boing Boing, I have tried to keep an eye out for potential areas that would benefit from the types of projects the Open is seeking. It was great to see this interview with the U.S. Government's first C.I.O. in the July edition of Wired. Among Mr Kundra's responsibilities as Information Czar is overseeing the fantastic resource Data.gov, a veritable font of government statistics and studies, which is open for manipulation by anyone with the time and technical know how.
Earlier this week I tweeted about the Guardian's project to crowdsource government oversight - which has been described as "like signtificlab but for journalism" - and while I think the Guardian's efforts are commendable, the beauty of Data.gov is that citizen oversight of government need not be limited to responses to crises of faith in elected officials. With this resource, citizens can begin to maintain continuous contact with their representatives, as Kundra notes, "not only [will people be able to rate the usefulness of the data feeds], they'll also be able to provide feedback on quality. And one of the most important things ... is [for users] to tag the data feeds. Once you tag them, you'll be able to put them in the right context." Once the government data begins to acquire user-generated metadata, the potential applications for the governmental information will grow exponentially.
With the 2010 Census (and its attendant data dump) not far off, I hope that the Data.gov is able to iron out the kinks in its systems -- chief among them, the acknowledged need to achieve "a balance between privacy and security on the one hand, and ensuring that we have a participatory democracy." In the mean time, if you are 17 or younger and are looking for a way to contribute to the Digital Open, here is your chance: Read the Wired interview, dig into Data.gov, and see what you can do to Open up your government.