Coding the middleware for government data

from O'Reilly radar:

Cities, states and agencies are publishing more government data online, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Much government data is still in paper form, locked away in file cabinets, or in closed formats on obscure servers. ... The Department of Labor is just now starting to put that data online. That's why reporting on the progress of open government data initiatives is a key pillar of Gov 2.0. For those who have been working toward more transparent government, that issue is central to their work.

[...]

Under the Open Government Directive, a PDF qualifies as an open format. BrightScope uses government data, but it's not "open" in the sense that technologists use the term, nor did BrightScope's business result from the open government initiative. Put in the context of Tim Berners-Lee's definition for open linked data or the principles at OpenGovData.org, PDFs on CD might not merit even one star, although BrightScope has been able to move forward with their business in the meantime.

Read the rest here.