Lots of open government data is available, and combined with corporate data, can lead to value. But since it has not been constructed with usability in mind, its use can be problematical. Can we improve and generalize the design? In CWorld:
" ... what many didn't bargain for was the state in which they'd find these once-buried data sets. "A dog's breakfast," "a train wreck," "a massive hairball" -- those are a few of the terms IT leaders have used to describe the vast volumes of public data now being made available to the general public.
Yet the business opportunities are unprecedented -- open data offers bits and bytes of public information that are freely available for anyone to use to build new businesses, generate revenue, develop new products, conduct research or empower consumers. With the federal government as the single largest source of open data in the U.S., we now have unfettered access to information about everything from bus routes and pollution levels to SEC filings and weather patterns. Savvy businesses are using public data to predict consumer behavior, shape marketing campaigns, develop life-saving medications, evaluate home properties, even rate retirement plans. ... "
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Governments want developers, innovative thinkers if we're honest, to produce applications and services which leverage the data they provide with a view to creating a revenue stream for all concerned. That's a fantastic thought but the simple fact is, most of the data is useless. At this point in time, a small percentage of it may be useful to existing applications and companies, many of which are probably closed to the public. Figures suggesting that open data has a value in the millions or even billions is simply fanciful at this point in time. Half the states in American run their own race, their systems are unique as is the data they'd provide. When government can't even get everyone on the same page, what hope is there for truly useful let alone profitable data?
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