Open Data - Not just a buzzword

Open Data:Not just a buzzword

by Robert BatesPhase2

rbates@phase2technology.comarpieb most other places

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Joseph_Minard

What is “open data?”

“He who receives an idea from me,

receives instruction himself without lessening mine;

as he who lights his taper at mine,

receives light without darkening me.”

- Thomas Jefferson

Information has public good characteristics.

It is ‘non-rivalrous.’

One person’s consumption of it

doesn’t prevent others consuming it.

If it can’t be spidered or indexed, it doesn’t exist.

If it isn’t available in open and machine readable format, it can’t engage.

If a legal framework doesn’t allow it to be re-purposed, it doesn’t empower.

The Three Laws of Open Government Data(http://eaves.ca/2009/09/30/three-law-ofopen-government-data)

What kinds of data?

● Cultural● Science● Finance● Statistics ● Weather● Environment● Transport

Why is open data important?

Open data is global...

Scaling recent results of the McKinsey Global Institute suggests that implementation of open data policies … could increase G20 output by around USD 13 trillion over the next five years.

“Open for Business: How Open Data Can Help Achieve the G20 Growth Target.” June 2014.

Open data promotes...

● Transparency● Social value● Commercial value● Engagement

Great stuff!Now what?

Be a data consumer...

● DataCatalogs.org● FedStats.gov● DBPedia.org

● Industry associations● Research organizations● NPOs / NGOs (UN, IMF, WorldBank, etc)

… or be a data provider!

● CKAN (http://ckan.org)● DKAN (https://drupal.org/project/dkan)● Hadoop (http://hadoop.apache.org)

● Socrata (http://socrata.com)● NuCivic Data (http://nucivic.com)

What can you do with it?

What can you do with it?

Open data in the wild!

Questions?