RE: Wiki edits on data.gov.*

Hi all,

I find this data.gov.* memo specially interesting and would like to see
(contribute to see) more on this area coming out from this group. I'd like
to add some comments:

1.- I agree with Rinke when he states that 

 "I would suggest to emphasize RDFa as the preferred way of embedding
(meta)data in existing XHTML". 

So IMHO RFDa is better suited for these scenarios (there are of course
others where JSON could be a better option, but in general I'd stick to
RDFa).

2.- In the 'Choosing formats for putting data on the Web' paragraph:  adding
an example (the one sent by John about UK's civil service could do the job
well - at [1]) would help people to see how easy embedding some extra markup
on existing XHTML pages could be. 

3.- There has been a very interesting discussion about licensing of open
government data in the list, should we add a small paragraph on this topic?
Could we state that, whenever content is published in RDFa, it is possible
to include the license along with the data as well ([2])?

	Why? This has an important benefit: if I'm using data retrieved from
a RDFa datasource in my application, I could potentially detect changes in
licenses / validate automatically I'm ok with the licenses of the data I'm
using.

4.- We should also put more stress on the idea that publishers / governments
may not know beforehand who / why will use the data - and that is precisely
where the value lies. People may (will probably!) use the data you provide
in ways you can't foresee / imagine. Just do it, go put it online!

5.- Search engines are working to add increasing support for RDFa, should we
add this point as well? It's not quite as good as having your own SPARQL
endpoint but it could help  (?)

Regards,

ocr

[1]  http://webbackplane.com/files/civil-service-vacancy-source.jpg 
[2]  http://wiki.creativecommons.org/RDFa

-----Mensaje original-----
De: public-egov-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:public-egov-ig-request@w3.org] En
nombre de Rinke Hoekstra
Enviado el: lunes, 29 de junio de 2009 13:13
Para: Jose M. Alonso
CC: Hugh Barnes; eGov IG; Rachel Flagg
Asunto: Re: Wiki edits on data.gov.*

I'm sorry, here's another comment:

"@@criteria for prioritising: e.g. survey potential consumers, start  
with the most ready data@@ "

I feel that the threshold for publishing data should be as low as  
possible, and therefore feel more for the gist of "@@as much  
structured information as possible!@@" in the line above than for the  
prioritization.

If anything demonstrates the success of the current linked open data  
cloud it is that data providers need not think in advance of scenarios  
for their data use, but that the true innovation lies in the  
serendipitous combination of data from multiple, sometimes widely  
varying sources.

"open your data" therefore really means open *all* your data. So, yes,  
starting with the most ready data is good advice, but surveying  
consumers is not (necessarily). Secondly, perhaps the document should  
make clear that opening data does not require revolution; but can also  
be an evolutionary process whereby new initiatives to publish  
information on the web take the open data approach into account.

(By the way, I think this document is an excellent and much needed  
initiative)

-Rinke


On 29 jun 2009, at 12:22, Jose M. Alonso wrote:

> El 22/06/2009, a las 7:10, Hugh Barnes escribió:
>> Hi
>>
>> I've made some edits and scribbled a few notes on the data.gov.*  
>> memo Jose started.[1]
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>> I'd like to take a step back and think about this structurally.  
>> What follows is some disjoint thoughts.
>>
>> I think it will need to drill down to implementation specifics,  
>> though we can probably hide the details behind hyperlinks if that  
>> gets in the way of content flow.
>
> Although this is interesting, I wouldn't add the details in that  
> document. Those would be very likely the "Design Patterns for Open  
> Government Data" we mentioned a couple times before.
>
> I don't think we could hide them behind hyperlinks yet since it will  
> take us a while to get them done.
>
>
>> The sections I see at the moment are:
>> * make the case for doing it, and doing it properly - lots of  
>> explanations and examples of network effects and so on
>> * what to publish
>> * exploration of formats etc (how)
>>
>> We could also cover each principle, followed immmediately by  
>> implementation advice.
>
> We probably need to think agin in terms of target audience. For me,  
> that document is not intended for implementors.
>
> I very much hope the ETF could come up soon with a "card" or  
> "template", as Rachel mentioned, that would need to be filled before  
> starting docs, stating intended audience among other things.
>
>
>> Knowing the difficulty many agencies have in adapting, the whole  
>> document should accept that interim and partial steps will be more  
>> likely to be followed, but also plot the roadmap from there to the  
>> ideal state. It should contain clear steps for different types of  
>> data and organisational capabilities. Linking to the planned "OGD  
>> patterns" resources might address this.
>
> Agree!
>
>
>> Lots of ways to cut this document. Would like to hear feedback on  
>> its current state and some of the ideas presented above.
>
> Yup... I hope others will send comments, too.
> I know ETF plans to take on Charter and White Paper as agreed with  
> Chairs but hope more people from IG comment on the content and ETF  
> could add this one to the list of deliverables soon.
>
> I think we should also set a deadline for comments for this document  
> and upcoming ones so ETF could take on those consistently after  
> deadlines.
>
> -- Jose
>
>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Hugh Barnes
>> Resource Discovery Officer
>> Disability Services Queensland / Department of Communities
>> +61 7 324-74533
>>
>> [1]
http://www.w3.org/2007/eGov/IG/wiki/index.php?title=Data-gov-memo&oldid=1404

>>  (archive permalink)
>>
>>
>>
>> "Queensland celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2009. Check out  
>> what's on today at www.q150.qld.gov.au."
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>



---
Drs Rinke Hoekstra

Leibniz Center for Law      |  AI Department
Faculty of Law              |  Faculty of Sciences
Universiteit van Amsterdam  |  Vrije Universiteit
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Homepage: http://www.leibnizcenter.org/users/rinke






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Received on Monday, 29 June 2009 12:20:07 UTC