Open Government – A personal lesson from Tim O’Reilly
Below is an opinion based on what Tim O’Reilly shared with me this past New Year’s Eve.
This whole conversation with Tim happened as a result of doing research for my upcoming book entitled Escape Velocity and Tim was kind enough to share an unpublished chapter from his upcoming book – Open Government. He gave me permission to work with small parts of this body of work in support of helping me form thoughts about Government 2.0.
Tim has approved this content which is an important point, as I want to ensure I don’t overstep my bounds.
Being this fortunate means not only has Tim afforded me with the ability to study his work ahead of release, but also to communicate with him directly. This wonderful gift also means that I can share brief thought provoking portions with you here on my blog as part of the process.
You’ll notice elements of his work in my PowerPoint from the recent ALI Social Media for Government Conference available for download here. http://bit.ly/anwOWY
From Tim O’Reilly’s chapter within the book Open Government.
As President Obama explained the idea during his campaign: “We must use all available technologies and methods to open up the federal government, creating a new level of transparency to change the way business is conducted in Washington, and giving Americans the chance to participate in government deliberations and decision-making in ways that were not possible only a few years ago.”
Allowing citizens to see and share in the deliberations of government and creating a “new level of transparency” are remarkable and ambitious goals, and would indeed “change the way business is conducted in Washington.” Yet, these goals do not go far enough.
I agree
I agree with Tim that the idea of an Open Government Initiative as explained by then Presidential Candidate Barrack Obama doesn’t go far enough. The next paragraph that Tim provides starts to talk about “government as a platform.” Why? Simple, just having citizens participate in a government based conversation is only the beginning of the change required and the change that is taking place.
For example, one of the things I’ve personally experienced is that it is the private sector who in many ways is driving innovation within an open and transparent government ecosystem. Open Data is a step towards the foundation of government operating, as Tim would say, a “platform.”
My firm is a direct beneficiary of Open Data and we’re the ones driving a specific form of innovation on behalf of three city governments at the moment with respect to our Route 411 transit application. We’re not the only ones or the first but we’re in the game. As Chris Moore, CIO for the City of Edmonton told a crowd at Pecha Kucha the other night. ”No tax dollars were harmed in the making of Route 411.”
I’m not making the above point to brag, only to reinforce one of the many positive outcomes which go beyond citizen generated conversations or direct participation in government deliberations.
The Open Data movement is a concrete step that governments can take to inspire innovation while saving tax dollars in the process. Our goal as citizens should be to push this effect further via those important digital conversations. Let your government know (regardless of level) that this is important to you.
Social experience
I agree, the words “social media” are being over used!
Yesterday I read “Is Social the new dirty word?” by John Moore out of Boston. Moore’s post highlighted what I’ve been feeling for nearly a year or more but especially in the last 6-8 months.
I’m concerned with the dramatic “watering down” of the burgeoning industry that my team and I work in full-time. So I thought I’d reference a point in time and then tell a bit of our story.
For example, I was walking to my truck while at nextMEDIA in Banff, Alberta last summer. The timing was such that I happened to bump into Kris Krug (@kk) who was outside taking photographs of the beautiful scenery,(here we are). We had an interesting chat, not only then but later on camera, as the fusedlogic team streamed live interviews from nextMEDIA and Kris was kind enough to stop by. Kris is a unique character, a non-conformist, and I’ve learned a staunch evangelist for his community, his craft (photography) and the non-use of labels. I know Kris well enough now from our online exchanges and phone calls to know that he reluctantly refers to himself as a “web strategist” but really, he’s a guy who likes to be a part of the social experience through is crazy skills as a photographer. He’s also committed to and an integral part of the cool happenings around his community of Vancouver which often includes considerable charity work with the Union Gospel Mission and others.
Here’s the dilemma, not all of us can develop the nomadic persona or lifestyle of a Kris Krug, our clients wouldn’t understand it and it wouldn’t be authentic. That’s in part, what makes Kris a unique human being and business person, he has real-world experience having started Bryght in 2004 and successfully selling the company in 2007 to Raincity Studios. That aside, he’s just being himself. I respect Kris for what he’s accomplished and I suspect countless others do as well.
Having said that, I’ve never asked him directly, but to Kris during that chance meeting at the Banff Springs Hotel I must have appeared to be that outsider guy, that “what gives you the right to be a social media strategist guy?”
Interestingly, Kris said something I’ll never forget after our interview was over. I thanked him for taking the time to speak on camera and told him I really enjoyed the experience of meeting him. Kris said, “no problem, you know, it’s interesting we’re all here to talk about social media and you guys are in the room doing it….that’s cool man.”
Here are the “yummy chunks…”
November 2004
This is the night my Web 2.0 journey began. I watched CNN as they pulled commentary off of political blogs for the broadcast. I found this amazing and started researching the blogosphere.
Many haven’t heard the fusedlogic story so I’m going to go over the last year or so rather than go over every blog post starting in September 2005 from my blogspot blog or since our incorporation in March of 2000. (Secretly, I’ve been doing some thinking about where fusedlogic has come from and where we’re going, since this coming March will be our 10th anniversary).
Interestingly, I blogged about Twitter in April of 2007 but didn’t join until 2008.
In 2008 we continued to deliver social media work for several small businesses including Edmontonians Magazine, also notable was our project with the Public Affairs Bureau – Government of Alberta.
Crossing into 2009, we worked for ATB Financial, MacEwan School of Business, EEDC, Fringe Theatre Adventures – Industry Canada’s Marquee Tourism Program and we broke all sorts of ground on that project, multiple projects for NorQuest College which are still in play and again a number of small businesses mingled in. Including our first Pay-Per-View live streaming sporting event with Aggression MMA. (our second PPV event will be tomorrow and it’ll be even bigger). We’re proud to say that our footage from the last event (as with our work tomorrow) will be broadcast on the FIGHT network, as well as, HDNet.
Also in 2009, we took on the digital marketing for Pik’s Revenge, an ambitious indie iPhone game developed by Edmonton’s Fluik Entertainment Ltd. Starting with zero Google search results for “Piks Revenge,” we now have nearly 1500 results and it will continue to grow as we’re expecting a big review from a major US property later this month. The game was featured on the Apple app store which is not an every day occurrence. Also, we’re doing something different with Pik as we build out the character a bit in real-life, expect more fun and dare I say “cheesy by design” things on that front soon.
Further, I started writing my book on Government 2.0 in 2009 entitled Escape Velocity, which is due out this spring provided I live up to the expectations of my editor.
In January 2010, we finally launched our iPhone transit application Route 411 and in less than 2 weeks we’ll be posting an update that will dramatically change the user-experience in Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto. All I’m willing to say at this moment is that we’ve integrated York transit data with Toronto and we hope folks out there will appreciate that integration because it wasn’t easy to pull off that’s for sure.
Also, we’re celebrating a big week as we’ve closed a few new deals including a project with Health Canada and Alberta’s Centre for Child, Family and Community Research. There’s much more to say about February and March but I’ll leave it there for now.
My point with all of this is simple, credibility in this game (as with all business and life) is paramount. If Kris had asked for background in Banff I would have at least been able to provide names and brands as above where we have taken projects from concept to metrics. Granted, the brands are not global brands like Coke or Virgin, but to us and our clients, they are successful examples of digital planning and deployment experiences and it’s a story we’re very proud of and not even close to finishing.
Edmonton’s Open Government a model for Alberta
- Image by mjb84 via Flickr
Scott McKeen of the Edmonton Journal wrote:
“City Hall has embraced open data. Great. But I’m confused”
McKeen goes on further to describe himself as a “second-class citizen.” In theory, because he doesn’t entirely understand or use technology in the way early-adopters within the City of Edmonton’s tech community do or will now that the city’s data catalogue has been partially released.
Although it’s true that some of this data has been publicly available online in some cases for years. The difference now, is that it’s in machine readable format now and not a PDF or application that doesn’t allow for independent coders to work with it. As McKeen explains this will inspire a new level of innovation in the Greater Edmonton Region. Our iPhone transit application Route 411 is a prime example of the kind of innovation that can take place when a city such as Edmonton, Vancouver or Toronto releases transit data.
Many may not be aware of the fact that I’m well into writing my first book on Government 2.0 and the “open data movement” that’s happening around the world as we speak. During this experience of exploration within government, I’ve managed to have some very interesting discussions and exchanges with thought leaders in Canada and the US. There’s a distinct overlap of social media, and this is where Web 2.0 applications are really shining and driving innovation. The return on investment for Open Data is a higher quality of life for citizens and a considerable savings in tax dollars.
Freedom to Create, Spirit to Achieve
Rather than make this about the book, I thought I’d provide another short list of applications or projects that are available as a result of government releasing data. A process which I’ve said many times on Twitter that our own Government of Alberta needs to work towards immediately. We need to be forward thinking in Alberta and of course, it takes more than simply stating, Freedom to Create, Spirit to Achieve. If one believes the propaganda behind the current Alberta brand, then it’s high time we act on it. I’m not referring to our oil industry, royalty reviews or the environment. Rather, our strong Alberta tech community putting words into action and leveraging our strengths, which are considerable and should be given “more credit.”
SIDEBAR: Not looking to sound overly critical, but why are we spending tax dollars to “rebrand” a department that has connections and rapport around the world at a time when what we really need is an “open government directive” and policy with teeth? Just think about the simplest of tasks for the over 700 people in this department that now have to take the effort to explain to people across Alberta and around the world, “no it’s still us, but change our name and update your address book.” Further, in the interest of transparency, every government worker should have a complete LinkedIn profile so that they can be easily reached. How’s that for making you feel uncomfortable?
This is constructive criticism from the heart – it’s also motivation, inspiration and evangelism for this great province and its’ people inside and outside government to embrace what’s already here and has been since 2007.
Below are just a few open data examples and sources from around the world on how government can work as a platform for citizens to leverage:
There are countless more applications and websites being launched, it seems daily, as more and more governments open their data to the public. I encourage bloggers across Alberta and beyond to create your own list and share it with the world. Increased accountability, transparency, participation and collaboration are the results. Those detractors from this movement are typically worried about privacy and security issues or they simply don’t get it. Privacy and security are important and yet, not barriers to be used as excuses for inaction.
For those government jurisdictions considering the open government movement here’s a list of guiding principles to get you started.
Open Government Data Principles
Government data shall be considered open if it is made public in a way that complies with the principles below:
- 1. Complete
- All public data is made available. Public data is data that is not subject to valid privacy, security or privilege limitations.
- 2. Primary
- Data is as collected at the source, with the highest possible level of granularity, not in aggregate or modified forms.
- 3. Timely
- Data is made available as quickly as necessary to preserve the value of the data.
- 4. Accessible
- Data is available to the widest range of users for the widest range of purposes.
- 5. Machine processable
- Data is reasonably structured to allow automated processing.
- 6. Non-discriminatory
- Data is available to anyone, with no requirement of registration.
- 7. Non-proprietary
- Data is available in a format over which no entity has exclusive control.
- 8. License-free
- Data is not subject to any copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret regulation. Reasonable privacy, security and privilege restrictions may be allowed.
Compliance must be reviewable.
Clearly, Open Data is here!
The Open Data movement is something that all levels of government, in all regions within the industrialized world and beyond should immediately be looking to address. This isn’t a matter of “if” it’s going to happen, it’s already here. Being discussed for nearly 3 years now, more action is required. Yesterday on Twitter, Kathy Telfer according to her LinkedIn profile a Director in the Government of Alberta but her Twitter account says she’s a communications consultant for the Government of Alberta. (Who by the way is working on a great project called InspiringEducation). That said, Kathy was extolling the virtues of “patience” as it relates to the Government of Alberta and the current adoption rate of social media. With all due respect to the belief that citizens need to be patient, strategic and prudent, which I agree with to a point. What the majority do not know is that the impending release of the “latest version” of social media guidelines and policies for the Government of Alberta has been more than a year in the making. I suggest we need to “speed up government,” while increasing transparency. Patience in government is often a crutch that reinforces the slow-moving status-quo. Imagine what we could accomplish if we looked to speed up even 25% of our efforts? I believe that our governments have incredibly smart people working for them who want to work with more urgency but don’t have the support to do so.
Our leaders need to provide these people with a directive to move which supports internal early-adopters and evangelists who are chomping at the bit. The Government of Alberta in particular needs a Chief Information Officer to bring into policy discussions, the perspective of an Open Data culture. Further, we need to realize that while Premier Stelmach may be in Dubai speaking about our oilsands, the environment and our efforts around that issue. We, in the Alberta tech community, another one of Alberta’s key industries, require more than a $100 Million dollar tech fund that has strings attached to it. While that’s wonderful, we need speed, we need policies and programs that reflect today’s fast paced open and collaborative ecosystem, not yesterday’s proprietary silos. We need the government’s culture to change and support us on the fringes, outside of academia. We need a government that understands that by the time a researcher has filled out the funding application to further “differentiate Alberta’s research institutions,” someone could have written the code for a new Twitter or GoogleWave like application and they need support at the speed at which they work. This isn’t what’s best for government process, it’s what’s best for its’ citizens. Don’t just start attending DemoCamp in Edmonton or Calgary, start funding companies and developers at DemoCamp. Business plan contests are great, and there are other methods we should be employing. This shouldn’t take this long to get our ducks in a row and at the risk of not being politically correct we don’t always have to include every single slow-moving agency, organization or institution, academic or otherwise, before the first project gets support.
We need Government 2.0 leadership to go with our Web 2.0 ideas.
Patience? We’ve been patient, we continue to be patient and yet, there’s evidence throughout our political landscape which suggests that patience is running thin…
The oil industry in this province may be content to refrain from communicating openly about the issues, Alberta’s tech industry will not take the same approach and folks…we know how to self-organize, amplify messaging and engage to apply pressure in a myriad of ways.
Work with us, we’ll collaborate with you and help you work even more efficiently. Transparency and open data means we can help you accomplish this and countless other tasks right here at home. You don’t need to buy Microsoft, SAP and IBM solely anymore. Your Alberta tech community will make you look good, you just need to support us by enabling our creativity through the “open government movement” and in my humble opinion, “sooner rather than later…”
All it takes to get things started is a memo from the right person.
