Want to use your developer chops for the greater good? Build an open data app! Open data is data from public records that’s been put online in a form that’s easy for applications to grab, crunch and do all sorts of things with. It’s information that’s out there for the public good, but it needs to be used by applications built for that same public good.
My fellow Shopifolks, Edward Ocampo-Gooding and Daniel Beauchamp, are doing a presentation in Original Accordion City tonight at the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West, just east of Dufferin) on open data titled Hello World 2.0. Here’s the abstract:
Hello World 2.0
Wondering what your next big project should be?
Need some ideas for new and innovative features?
Work on something that matters. You’re bright and hungry to sink your teeth into using new tech all the time. Instead of making yet another X, build something for yourself and for your neighbours & city. Do it with open data: public records now online in an easily hackable form.
Edward and Daniel will talk about how making cool and interesting art & tools backed by open data has catapulted Ottawa hackers into the limelight with coverage & support from the City of Ottawa, CBC, newspapers, local radio and TV stations, and a *lot* of citizens. We’ll show you what’s worked for us, what the scene is like and how you can make open data work for you in your city.
Edward Ocampo-Gooding’s awesome titles include Developer Advocate at Shopify (talk to me about APIs and apps) and lead Organizer at Open Data Ottawa (talk to me about APIs and apps). Daniel Beauchamp is a developer at Shopify and one of the core members of Open Data Ottawa. Along with Edward, he has given several talks on open data, and has recently helped organize a hackfest spanning 76 cities worldwide.
It’s taking place tonight from 6:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.. Admission is cheap (a mere $3.00), but you should register if you want to attend!
This article also appears in The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century.