Torque

Here Be Dragons

20 August 2008

 

 

I really enjoyed the Channel 7 show 'Dragons Den' that ran a couple of years ago, it was essentially 'Australian Idol' for entrepreneurs. Contestents would pitch their ideas to a panel of successful business people (the 'dragons') and they would decide whether to invest their hard earned cash and business experience into the initiative. The ideas ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous and in line with the 'Idol' format, the viewer at home had the pleasure of admiring ability and scoffing at stupidity. Sadly Channel 7 didn't decide to run a second series due to poor ratings... I'm not sure what that says about me?

To help fill the void, recently I've been keeping an eye on the website 'Show Us A Better Way'. This UK Government Initiative is offering a £20,000 prize to the person that submits the best idea on what government data should be made freely available and how it could be used ('Dragons Den for the data world' if you will). To date ideas have ranged from the inspired to the err... somewhat specialist, either way it's great to see people actively seeking public information that they have the rights to as a tax paying citizens.

This initiative is further evidence of the recent growth of freely available data from governments and organisations on the web. Following the 'Open Source' mentality that has embraced the online world, the intention is that by putting data in the public domain it will increase the sharing of information and expertise, drive innovation and collaboration, and ultimately benefit the end user. Advantages for governments include the contribution that innovation makes to the country's economy and non-for-profit organisations benefit from pooling resources and raising awareness.

Many people have speculated about what this cultural shift in information accessibility means for companies who specialise in the collection and sale of data, but one thing seems certain... the growth in freely available data is here to stay and as a result the opportunities to extract information from the world around us has never been greater. Of course the knock on effect is greater importance on how that information is collected, analysed and presented... but I guess I would say that wouldn't I?

The winner of 'Show Us A Better Way' will be announced in September, but in the meantime lets hope that the Australian government takes note of this initiative and continues to make information freely available so that Australian consumers and businesses can benefit from greater visibility and access to information about our immediate environment.

In the event that the Australian government launch a similar competition, I'm quietly confident that my 'Pub to Public Transport Proximity Plotter' (or 'PTPTPP') idea could well have the prize in the bag!

DP

http://www.showusabetterway.co.uk