Are You Ready for the Impact of Government Open Data?
“Information is a valuable national asset whose value is multiplied when it is made easily accessible to the public“.
Early May, President Obama released historical new rules for US government Open Data: from now on, data generated by the US government is to be made available in open, machine-readable formats. A new portal is setup to make the data available to those that want to use it to enhance its use.
To clarify the impact of that decision and how it will change things for the citizen, this excellent paper by the Canadian David Eaves, an eager supporter of Open Data, gives further insights: ‘Thoughts on the White House Executive Order on Open Data‘
No doubt that this US initiative will span similar initiatives in a number of other countries. Crowdsourcing the usage of government data to create meaningful information is in its infancy. Watch as incredible usage will be made of this data and how it will change public policies for the better!
