Socrata

Building a local government open data portal

Gov 2.0 Radio hosts Adriel Hampton and Allison Hornery talked with Cook County Deputy Director of New Media Sebastian James about the launch of Data.cookcountyil.gov.

Edmonton launches open data site

According to Edmonton Chief Information Officer Chris Moore, the city has launched its official open data site at edmonton.socrata.com.

B’more Open: Is Baltimore the new San Francisco?

From open data to open source procurement policy to open311, San Francisco has led the open government way, but with the recent departures of former mayor Gavin Newsom (now California lieutenant governor) and former chief information officer Chris Vein, it looks as if Baltimore is on its way to becoming the new San Francisco.

Free open data webinar: ‘Build Your Own Data.Gov Site in 30 Days’

Open data start-up Socrata will host a free webinar, Build Your Own Data.Gov Site in 30 Days, tomorrow, January 19, 11:00 a.m. PST. Founder and CEO Kevin Merritt will demo how goverment can leverage Socrata platform to to build their own open government data initiatives.

Open data with Socrata CEO Kevin Merritt

Socrata CEO Kevin Merritt on Open Data: Merritt and host Adriel Hampton discuss open data principles, open standards and APIs, and how to use social principles to get more value out of government data.

10 entrepreneurs changing the way government works

I recently began reading The Power of Social Innovation: How Civic Entrepreneurs Ignite Community Networks for Good and felt compelled to highlight more people building business models around better government. The role of business and the entrepreneurial spirit as it relates to government is at times under-played or discredited (sometimes, rightfully so), but it’s the backbone of a democratic society.

Consider this the first in a series. For starters, here are 10 entrepreneurs changing the way government works.

OpenGov APIs: Interfacing with Open Government

There has been lots of good talk (and a good deal of action) lately around open government APIs (Application Programming Interface) at events like Transparency Camp, Where 2.0 and on the Twitters.

So, as a prelude to a talk I’ll be giving at eComm next month, I wanted to write a post surveying the landscape of recent government API developments, and also to describe evolving efforts to construct standards for government APIs.

MyGovApp: Socrata Social Data Platform

The Socrata Social Data Platform allows organizations to make data available to citizens by transforming the way audiences consume and share public datasets, enabling government agencies to boost participation and fulfill transparency mandates.

With the Social Data Platform technical and non-technical audiences can interact with data online. Scientists and analysts can download data while everyday citizens can access data through an easy to use interface, much like media players are used for audio and video content.