In a world where many of our digital spaces are becoming more closed than ever, open data is a concept that is rapidly on the rise.
In this talk we’ll explore what open data is (and what it isn’t), why we should care about it, and look at how you can introduce it into your projects with regards to practical publication and consumption. We’ll specifically consider open data within the context of front-end development, including discussing some useful tools and reference points.
Open data isn’t just dry and technical - it gives us great scope to be creative, and throughout this talk we’ll go through some of the amazing things that it has been used for globally, in the hope that it will inspire you to create something yourself.
4. data(ˈdeɪtə ; ˈdɑːtə)
Plural noun
• A series of observations, measurements, or facts; information
• Also called: information (computing) the information operated on
by a computer program
Although now often used as a singular noun, data is properly a plural.
From Latin, literally: (things) given, from dare to give
collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/data
37. “…within two years chemical
emissions nationwide (at least
as reported, and presumably
also in fact) had decreased by
40 percent.
!
Some companies were
launching policies to bring
their emissions down by 90
percent, just because of the
release of previously
sequestered information.”
maban.co.uk/80
52. !
“How far do you live from your workplace? Chances are, you'd answer that
question in minutes rather than miles. An hour on the bus tells us a lot
more than 47 miles. That's why we made Mapumental.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Given any start point or destination, it'll show everywhere within the chosen
commute time, by public transport.”
mapumental.com/services/travel-time
53. “How accessible is your nearest school,
post office, or GP’s surgery?
!
In Wales, that’s not always a simple
question: the country’s mountainous
landscapes, rural populations, and
sometimes infrequent bus services can
mean that those without cars are rather
cut off from public service provision.”
mapumental.com/services/accessibility
54. “Just how quickly could fire engines
reach a given postcode in case of a
fire? It’s a question that’s pivotal to
decisions made by both the emergency
services and the insurance industry.”
mysociety.org/2013/04/22/fire-fire-mapumental-and-fire-engine-journey-times
76. “Air Transformed is a series of wearable
data objects that communicate this
physical burden in different ways.
Though seemingly decorative, they are
based entirely on open air quality data
from Sheffield, UK, a former steelmaking
city and notorious for its bad air.”
stefanieposavec.co.uk/data/#/airtransformed
86. ★
Make your stuff available on the Web (whatever format)
under an open license.
★★
Make it available as structured data
(e.g., Excel instead of image scan of a table).
★★★ Use non-proprietary formats (e.g., CSV instead of Excel).
★★★★
Use URIs to denote things, so that people can point at
your stuff.
★★★★★ Link your data to other data to provide context.
90. @sjenkinson
!
sally@recordssoundthesame.com
recordssoundthesame.com
THANK YOU.
Thank you to these lovely people for making
their content open under a Creative Commons or
public domain licence:
Linking Open Data cloud diagram 2014, by Max Schmachtenberg,
Christian Bizer, Anja Jentzsch and Richard Cyganiak - lod-cloud.net
DougMcCune - dougmccune.com
stefanieposavec.co.uk
flickr.com/photos/rachubarama/2709346242
imgur.com/47D7zGqxkcd.com/1138
flickr.com/photos/troymars/9113025616
The Roof of Wales - flickr.com/photos/stray_croc/4743302841
Fire Wall - flickr.com/photos/epleitez/1714341218
Money - flickr.com/photos/mikephotoart/12839909303
cc - flickr.com/photos/kalexanderson/7175627336
RDF - flickr.com/photos/gertcha/8292978031