WRITTEN ON January 27th, 2010 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Online Maps, Power of Information

My short response to the Ordnance Survey data consultation

I think the phrase “making public data public” says it all. When a tautology is radical it’s an oblique way of saying we’re in the wrong place.

The UK needs vibrant emerging online services built on universally applicable data sets which the taxpayer has paid for already.

The agency “trading funds” rules aren’t particularly helpful to this. It’s not welcome news to anyone who hoped make new fortunes and careers out of privatising the Ordnance Survey.

But it has been clear for pretty much a decade (or 70 “Internet years”) that we need open mapping data and postcodes. Perhaps we should dither for a few more years, and then think about arranging some focus groups?

Hm. Slightly falling short on the #CMRD there. I hope others make more substantive, courteous and mutually respectful contributions. Go do it!

One Response to “OS consultation”

 
gammydodger wrote on February 17th, 2010 4:08 pm :

I’ve recently been looking at http://www.pachube.com/ from Connected Environments recently – if the government won’t do it, then it will begin to happen in the private sector.

All it will take is a service like Pachube being fed by say Tracker or other in-car GPS devices and you could provide a real time map of UK traffic speeds and road utilization.

There are a couple of iPhone Apps that are acquiring public data to be shared:

Potholes And Repairs? Boston Has An App For That (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120999393)

Track Those Tax Dollars In An ‘Augmented Reality’ (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114359604)

If the government don’t do it, the private sector will find a way.