Awesome post Jason. I think you're spot on about the power of open data APIs to enable reuse of open data in the context where it is most useful, such as on mobile devices and tablets. I'd add that APIs not only allow device flexibility, but also allow developers to build user experiences tailored to the particular citizen-facing problems they're trying to solve.
Data portals aren't enough. We need developers and entrepreneurs reusing open data to build applications and tools that get data to the places where it becomes actionable to citizens: into their mobile devices in context aware ways, into their cars, and into their day to day workflows. Data that lives in a data catalog is not enough - it needs to be brought into the places where citizens actually need it. That's how open data will change, improve, and hopefully even save lives.
One thing I'd add to your thesis, however. While I totally agree on an "API first" strategy, we shouldn't stop there. It is my firm belief that, at least in the case of open data, only providing access via APIs is not enough. APIs often provide a gated, use-case driven experience, while bulk open data is more useful for researchers and analysts. Also, whether we like it or not, APIs change or go away, and we're dependent on the owner of that API to provide continued access to the data contained therein. Our duty to open data and transparency should include making it possible to create archival copies of those datasets (as long as the license allows it). This is why Socrata is committed to providing not only great APIs to access open data (http://dev.socrata.com), but also to allowing bulk access through downloadable snapshots of datasets.
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Awesome post Jason. I think you're spot on about the power of open data APIs to enable reuse of open data in the context where it is most useful, such as on mobile devices and tablets. I'd add that APIs not only allow device flexibility, but also allow developers to build user experiences tailored to the particular citizen-facing problems they're trying to solve.
Data portals aren't enough. We need developers and entrepreneurs reusing open data to build applications and tools that get data to the places where it becomes actionable to citizens: into their mobile devices in context aware ways, into their cars, and into their day to day workflows. Data that lives in a data catalog is not enough - it needs to be brought into the places where citizens actually need it. That's how open data will change, improve, and hopefully even save lives.
One thing I'd add to your thesis, however. While I totally agree on an "API first" strategy, we shouldn't stop there. It is my firm belief that, at least in the case of open data, only providing access via APIs is not enough. APIs often provide a gated, use-case driven experience, while bulk open data is more useful for researchers and analysts. Also, whether we like it or not, APIs change or go away, and we're dependent on the owner of that API to provide continued access to the data contained therein. Our duty to open data and transparency should include making it possible to create archival copies of those datasets (as long as the license allows it). This is why Socrata is committed to providing not only great APIs to access open data (http://dev.socrata.com), but also to allowing bulk access through downloadable snapshots of datasets.
I actually gave a fun talk on this topic at API Days Paris (http://www.apidays.io/) last December. You can flip through my slides if you want and I think a recording may be available soon: https://socrata.github.io/presentations/conferences/2014-12-03-open-dat…