For the last two weeks I have been dying for an excuse, any excuse, to be in Helsinki right now. The announcement of Matt Biddulph's Aula talk today comes a full 48 hours too late for me to do up and go. Flights went from $1,200 to $6,000 (cause I'd want to go tomorrow morning and not stay a week.)
My personal tragedies aside, I am very pleased and intrigued by the fact that the Aula folks, and entourage, are peeking into Open Data. Though, from the write up it sounds more like Open Content they are talking about...
Around here, Michael and a bunch of a bunch of folks have been organizing Civic Access:
Citizens for Open Access to Civic Information and Data (CivicAccess) is a group of citizens which believes all levels of government should make civic information and data accessible at no cost in open formats to their citizens. We believe this is necessary to allow citizens to fully participate in the democractic process of an "information society."
Objectives:
To encourage all levels of governments (county, municipal, provincial, federal) to make civic data and information available to citizens without restrictions, at no cost, and in useable open formats.
To encourage the development of citizen projects using civic data and information
Making civic data and information freely available to citizens is important because:
Citizen participation in decision-making is fundamental to democracy
Good decisions are made by informed citizens
Quality civic data and information are fundamental to keeping citizens informed in an "information society"
Taxes have already paid for civic data and information; therefore these should be made available at no cost to citizens
Citizen projects using civic data will generate innovative solutions to social, economic and environmental problems
Citizen projects using civic data will allow citizens to creatively plan their communities
This is what a democracy looks like!
In this context, Open Data refers to such information as government activities (like "TheyWorkForYou" and "OpenSecrets"), geographical data (hello all you geo wonks, salivating at Google Maps. Can you imagine what geographical resources your government, which you pay for, has access to?), and in combination with Open Content--cultural objects, like BBC archives, all the way to local event listings...
Sorry, distracted by work.. but you get the picture right?
