Open Data @www in 2007
June 4th, 2007 | Published in Google Code
I recently had the opportunity to attend and present Google data APIs at WWW2007 in Banff, Alberta, Canada. While the conference is traditionally focused on academic research, I presented as part of their Developer Track which was geared to technologies that can be more readily applied. It was an excellent conference -- highly organized with lots of interesting sessions-- way too many interesting sessions to attend them all.
The resounding theme across many of the sessions I attended was letting data be open and readily available for use in ways not imaginable to the people supplying the data -- turning raw data into actionable (or at least interesting) information. This is also one of the main goals of GData and part of the core mission of Google.
There were a couple of projects in this space that caught my eye:
OpenStreetMap
This project aims to provide a worldwide collaborative set of map data. It allows contributors to upload GPS traces of their road travels, name the streets, areas and points of interest. Of course, they also allow the world to view the maps online, and even provide a RESTful API for programmatic access.
Freebase
Provides online storage of structured data, for the world to contribute and view. Unlike Google Base, Freebase allows anyone (not just the original contributor) to edit the uploaded data. This works in a similar fashion to Wikipedia.
Apache Abdera
Apahce Abdera is a full-fledged implementation of the Atom Syndication Format and the Atom Publishing Protocol (APP). These two specifications are the basis for the Google data APIs and provide full CRUD capabilities. The Abdera project includes both client, data model, and server components-- enabling you to expose your data to the world, and provide a mechanism for it to be easily accessed and integrated into other applications.
I'd encourage you to take a look at these projects and find ways that you can expose your own data to the world. Of course, also see what you can do to mash up your data with Google data APIs while you're at it!
All the best,
Ryan Boyd, Google data API team
The resounding theme across many of the sessions I attended was letting data be open and readily available for use in ways not imaginable to the people supplying the data -- turning raw data into actionable (or at least interesting) information. This is also one of the main goals of GData and part of the core mission of Google.
There were a couple of projects in this space that caught my eye:
OpenStreetMap
This project aims to provide a worldwide collaborative set of map data. It allows contributors to upload GPS traces of their road travels, name the streets, areas and points of interest. Of course, they also allow the world to view the maps online, and even provide a RESTful API for programmatic access.
Freebase
Provides online storage of structured data, for the world to contribute and view. Unlike Google Base, Freebase allows anyone (not just the original contributor) to edit the uploaded data. This works in a similar fashion to Wikipedia.
Apache Abdera
Apahce Abdera is a full-fledged implementation of the Atom Syndication Format and the Atom Publishing Protocol (APP). These two specifications are the basis for the Google data APIs and provide full CRUD capabilities. The Abdera project includes both client, data model, and server components-- enabling you to expose your data to the world, and provide a mechanism for it to be easily accessed and integrated into other applications.
I'd encourage you to take a look at these projects and find ways that you can expose your own data to the world. Of course, also see what you can do to mash up your data with Google data APIs while you're at it!
All the best,
Ryan Boyd, Google data API team