Open Data Now!

Recently I hosted a TechTalk at Google by Joel Gurin, the author of Open Data Now, and the team published the video. Please check it out!

In Joel's own words:

Open Data Now looks at the incredible applications of the Open Data movement for the public and private sectors. Joel Gurin, a nationally recognized leader in consumer information and website development, has written the first comprehensive book on the emerging power of Open Data. He examines applications and trends for Big Data in the public and private sectors, among them:  

Academic Spring - a revolt pushing for scientific research to be made free and public;
Data-Driven Reporting -- the next Woodward & Bernstein will be crunching open data using new techniques;
Data Detectives - In the wake of the financial crisis, data will become more transparent and structured;
Wind Finders -- Weather data has helped wind energy companies build where wind patterns are optimal.  

"We can expect to see more businesses large and small grow by using Open Data; more high-value datasets released by government at all levels; more ways to analyze the data for market insights, brand management, and predicting tools; and more research of all kinds using open innovation." This is Open Data Now.  

About the Author: Joel Gurin (New York), as EVP of Consumers Union, launched and grew Consumer Reports' website, www.ConsumerReports.org; under his leadership it became the world's largest information-based paid-subscription site, with 3M+ subscribers. In December 2009, Gurin joined the Obama Administration as Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. He served as Chair of the White House Task Force on Smart Disclosure, which studied how the government can provide Open Data to help consumers make choices in complex markets including health care, financial services, education, and energy.  

Currently he is a Senior Advisor at New York University's GovLab. They have launched The Open Data 500, a list of how freely available government data is being put to profitable use in the private sector.  

"In May 2013 the Obama Administration announced a new Open Data Policy that mandates the release of most federal data as usable open data going forward.... The Open Data 500 will provide the first comprehensive census of American companies using federal data and the results of a survey showing what datasets they are using and how."  

More about Gurin is at the link: http://thegovlab.org/understanding-open-data-with-joel-gurin/

Thanks again to Joel for coming to Google and giving a talk!

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not reflect those of my employer. -Fumi Yamazaki