Google map mashups have really showed how creative people can be in finding value by utilizing data in unforeseen ways. I am working right now on a project with a Google map mashup as the main interface to a database of faculty collection of dialect samples for speech coaching. It isn’t that hard to create an xml feed for a database. In this case a part-time student in our office whipped up one in an afternoon for the aforementioned project. So it always surprises me how rarely these interfaces are provided.
For instance I was working on a project recently where I assumed that the Federal Aviation Industry would have an RSS feed for their air worthiness directives and other aviation notices. Well they don’t. And if you start digging around you’ll find this is not unusual with federal agencies.
Barack Obama’s technology proposal is well worth a read. And it looks to me like he’ll fix this no-RSS issue:
BARACK OBAMA: CONNECTING AND EMPOWERING ALL AMERICANS
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
- Making government data available online in universally accessible formats to allow citizens to make use of that data to comment, derive value, and take action in their own communities.
- Employing technologies, including blogs, wikis and social networking tools, to modernize internal, cross-agency, and public communication and information sharing to improve government decisionmaking.
Obama really gets it right with his information technology proposals. The New York Times has a new initiative, offering APIs to collections of data. It will be interesting to see where this all goes, but again I think a reflection that they get what today’s network is all about. They could try to close ranks, go after people re-using their content on copyright infringement, and try to force everyone to their web site. But that wouldn’t work. Instead they are taking control of the situation, and making themselves a source for data. For a company in the business of interpreting and dissemenating information this is a perfect move. I don’t quite see how they make money on this, but I don’t know that they have much choice. It is probably best to take the bull by the horns!
Announcing the New York Times Campaign Finance API – Open – Code – New York Times Blog
First New York Times API is Live – Here’s Why it Matters – ReadWriteWeb
The much-anticipated first Application Programming Interface (API) from the New York Times went live today, according to a post on the company’s blog Open – All the code that’s fit to printf(). First up is a campaign finance data API and next is a movie review API. Also available is a database management program initially developed for internal use at the NY Times.
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Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!
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