Get ready for some hackathon! I'm sure there are a lot of useful and interesting ideas to build with whatever comes up.
Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
41–50 of 87 posts
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#42I'm reminded of this recent post by James Fee, talking about geodata, but I think it applies to the general case: "... The question was APIs or downloads... Personally, I believe [data] is one of the best ways for citizens to keep track of their government (local to federal) ... APIs tend to deliver what their “owners” want them to do. Raw data means everyone has an opportunity to check each other’s work. Of course,…
Hmm, not sure API vs data is productive to see as a dichotomy. Consider that an API might provide access to "raw" data directly. I'd ask not for data over APIs but for more universally useful properties such as stability, currency, consistency, etc.
> Hmm, not sure API vs data is productive to see as a dichotomy.
It's not, necessarily. An API provides a [very] limited view into the data. A view selected by the publisher. That's part of the problem.
> I'd ask not for data over APIs but for more universally useful properties such as stability, currency, consistency, etc.
Amen. I'd add: clear license and usage conditions, simple and concise metadata, and frequent updates.
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#43I'm reminded of this recent post by James Fee, talking about geodata, but I think it applies to the general case: "... The question was APIs or downloads... Personally, I believe [data] is one of the best ways for citizens to keep track of their government (local to federal) ... APIs tend to deliver what their “owners” want them to do. Raw data means everyone has an opportunity to check each other’s work. Of course,…
They've published a lot of data, too.
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems like, if the President were interested in "now", they would have been working on this for going on 3.5 years, and would be actually publishing some APIs.
I'm going to my apartment now. 3.5 years ago I would not have been going there. Now and 3.5 years ago are not the same thing. He's interested in doing things now, and since neither he nor I can turn back the clock, that's as good as either of us can do.
Just like he's just getting around to planning his re-election campaign "now".
If the President of the United States wants to be impressive -- and I don't know that APIs are where one would start -- he can do better than make announcements.
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#45"...Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, create a page on its website, located at www.[agency].gov/digitalstrategy, to publicly report progress in meeting the requirements of the Strategy in a machine-readable format.... ...implement the requirements of the Strategy within 12 months of the date of this memorandum and comply with the timeframes for specific actions specified therein" 3 months to get a "machi…
I'd like to see you hire an entire department's worth of people, wait for them to devise an API for your agency, code it, provision server space and servers, and deploy in 12 months!
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm going to my apartment now. 3.5 years ago I would not have been going there. Now and 3.5 years ago are not the same thing. He's interested in doing things now, and since neither he nor I can turn back the clock, that's as good as either of us can do.
Just like he's just getting around to planning his re-election campaign "now". If the President of the United States wants to be impressive -- and I don't know that APIs are where one would start -- he can do better than make announcements.
They were putting out ads against Romney at the beginning of the Republican nominee campaign.
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#47This seems quite relevant now: http://xkcd.com/927/ What will this bring? Well, the US govt has X agencies. The result of this decree will be that, within 12 months, all of the public will get to enjoy the thrills of having X incompatible web API's, one unique one per agency.
Better than it is now, where none of that data is available except possibly through FOIA lawsuits.
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm going to my apartment now. 3.5 years ago I would not have been going there. Now and 3.5 years ago are not the same thing. He's interested in doing things now, and since neither he nor I can turn back the clock, that's as good as either of us can do.
Just like he's just getting around to planning his re-election campaign "now". If the President of the United States wants to be impressive -- and I don't know that APIs are where one would start -- he can do better than make announcements.
FYI data.gov launched in May 2009 after being announced by Obama's CIO in March 2009. This isn't a new effort, it's the continuation of ongoing efforts.
For example: http://ideascale.com/userimages/sub-1/736312/ConOpsFinal.pdf is a document (Dec 2009) documenting the vision for Data.gov, and http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/mem... is a memoranda from 2009 that first started requiring the online sharing of major datasets.
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#49[deleted]
Re: Barack Obama Directs All Federal Agencies to Have an API
#50Bloomberg "learning to code", Obama directing agencies to have an API.
All part of politicians (particularly Democrats) trying to look like they have a clue. Give up already for heavens sake and get back to managing the deficit.