Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
readwriteweb.com
Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
1–10 of 63 posts
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#2[deleted]
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#3More detail here: http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2011/03/23/transparency-t...
I haven't made any apps with data.gov, but I refer to it regularly for research material and statistical data and have found many useful resources that I would not have thought to look for otherwise. It's far from perfect, but seeing small improvements all the time and it's certainly easier to have a single resource for feed discovery.
Cutting the budget for this seems perverse, at best.
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#4It is extremely ironic then, that the Canadian open data movement has held up the US as an example of transparency and openness, and a model for the sorts of disclosure that the Canadian federal government should live up to.
This is such a momentous leap backwards, i just don't know where to begin. There is no other source for this data. We're still figuring out the best use for it, but if the government doesn't provide it in this manner, the only way we're going to get access to it is via laborious and time consuming FOIA requests. And then, only if you know the data exists.
This really is fucked.
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#5Was Data.gov really that expensive to maintain? What is this cut really saving? $20 / month?
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#6from the sources it seems to be a doing of the House. Do we have any Republican here? Can such a person elaborate on the merits of this decision, please.
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#7Was Data.gov really that expensive to maintain? What is this cut really saving? $20 / month?
If you only consider hosting, but gathering data and formating takes more than $20.
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#8I don't claim to understand. Maybe there are problems with the ambition of the project, not the cost. Or maybe not enough people actually use it.
But, shutting down a visionary (and probably inevitable) effort to open and modernize government feels like a backlash.
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#9What a shame.
I can't imagine there's a significant financial burden imposed by Data.gov (can't speak to the other services). I mean, the data collection certainly is the most expensive component... and from what I understand that keeps going independent of Data.gov. Presumably, the data is collected for programs beyond Data.gov - only more reason to keep maintaining the site since the marginal cost is minimal.
Data.gov has been a useful resource for both my own work (marketing & sociological research), but more importantly is a great way to find free, relevant data for cutting one's data analysis chops - either as student or professional.
As a stats nerd, I find this very depressing.
[edit: As an amusing aside regarding my "relevant" data comment. A few years ago I was trying to develop a viz technique that I knew some potential clients would like, but I lacked a good data set that fit the requirements. I eventually ended up using R and other various free tools to create visualizations of fish weight and length depending on various conditions such as geography, water temp and a few others I forget. I certainly learned a lot, but I certainly would have benefited by having a data set that was both relevant in the real world and met the contraints of my problem.]
Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut
#10It is extremely ironic then, that the Canadian open data movement has held up the US as an example of transparency and openness, and a model for the sorts of disclosure that the Canadian federal government should live up to. This is such a momentous leap backwards, i just don't know where to begin. There is no other source for this data. We're still figuring out the best use for it, but if the government doesn't prov…
I know what you mean. I find it incredibly frustrating that we HAPPILY go after minuscule savings on things like data.gov and NPR, meanwhile it is 100% taboo to talk about cutting big budget areas like the military. In my opinion we need to be looking at the big 3 because that is where we have the best opportunity to make significant improvements.
Defense
Social Security
Medicare/Medicaid