Comments on: Government data wants to be free http://ulken.com/2009/02/11/government-data-wants-to-be-free/ Eric Ulken's adventures in online journalism Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:37:27 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Mike Pirner http://ulken.com/2009/02/11/government-data-wants-to-be-free/comment-page-1/#comment-1690 Mike Pirner Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:08:14 +0000 http://ulken.com/?p=403#comment-1690 Hey Eric, Am enjoying following your travels. Hope all is well. Mike Pirner Hey Eric,

Am enjoying following your travels. Hope all is well.

Mike Pirner

]]> By: Andrew D. Nystrom / @latimesnystrom http://ulken.com/2009/02/11/government-data-wants-to-be-free/comment-page-1/#comment-1679 Andrew D. Nystrom / @latimesnystrom Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:30:39 +0000 http://ulken.com/?p=403#comment-1679 Interesting Eric, thanks for sharing. Thought you and your readers might like to check out the freshly launched Mapping L.A.'s Neighborhoods project, by the @latimesdatadesk - http://latimes.com/mappingla It just went live this morning. We welcome everyone's input and look forward to a rollicking debate on LA's ever-shifting geographic, cultural and psychographic boundaries. Coolest feature, IMHO? Select one of the 87 draft neighborhoods (based on U.S. Census 2000 data), then remix leaving your own visual comments. Kudos to Ben and the full LAT Data Desk team. Interesting Eric, thanks for sharing. Thought you and your readers might like to check out the freshly launched Mapping L.A.’s Neighborhoods project, by the @latimesdatadesk – http://latimes.com/mappingla

It just went live this morning. We welcome everyone’s input and look forward to a rollicking debate on LA’s ever-shifting geographic, cultural and psychographic boundaries.

Coolest feature, IMHO? Select one of the 87 draft neighborhoods (based on U.S. Census 2000 data), then remix leaving your own visual comments.

Kudos to Ben and the full LAT Data Desk team.

]]> By: Ben Welsh http://ulken.com/2009/02/11/government-data-wants-to-be-free/comment-page-1/#comment-1243 Ben Welsh Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:05:58 +0000 http://ulken.com/?p=403#comment-1243 While we're relatively blessed here stateside, the most insidious trend I've seen recently are "public-private partnerships" that present themselves as models of openness, but have a minor impact on public disclosure and tend to act more effectively as a cover that allows governments to pose as transparent. For an illustrative example in the tech sector, look at how the FCC and state governments are handling broadband data. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/why-spend-350-million-to-map-broadband/#more-2511 And take a look at the "openness" of their actual product. http://www.connectmn.org/mapping/ Ah, a PDF and an expensive, clunky, locked down ESRI mapping app. Whoopie. In full disclosure, I used to work with Drew and we were both part of a lawsuit seeking to force the FCC to disclose its broadband deployment data. And, in case I look like a lone nut, have a quick read of the comments to this recent article on a new "openess" initiative in Boston data. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/11/19/new_map_technology_to_aid_city_snowplowing/ Or the shameful failure of the Senate Office of Public Records to account for something as basic as amendments in a database that's intended for no other purpose than public disclosure -- rending it deeply crippled for data analysis. http://realtime.sunlightprojects.org/2008/08/14/mark-warner-biggest-recipient-of-lobbyist-dough-new-disclosures-show-so-far/ While we’re relatively blessed here stateside, the most insidious trend I’ve seen recently are “public-private partnerships” that present themselves as models of openness, but have a minor impact on public disclosure and tend to act more effectively as a cover that allows governments to pose as transparent. For an illustrative example in the tech sector, look at how the FCC and state governments are handling broadband data.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/why-spend-350-million-to-map-broadband/#more-2511

And take a look at the “openness” of their actual product.

http://www.connectmn.org/mapping/

Ah, a PDF and an expensive, clunky, locked down ESRI mapping app. Whoopie.

In full disclosure, I used to work with Drew and we were both part of a lawsuit seeking to force the FCC to disclose its broadband deployment data.

And, in case I look like a lone nut, have a quick read of the comments to this recent article on a new “openess” initiative in Boston data.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/11/19/new_map_technology_to_aid_city_snowplowing/

Or the shameful failure of the Senate Office of Public Records to account for something as basic as amendments in a database that’s intended for no other purpose than public disclosure — rending it deeply crippled for data analysis.

http://realtime.sunlightprojects.org/2008/08/14/mark-warner-biggest-recipient-of-lobbyist-dough-new-disclosures-show-so-far/

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