Is the software that powers social networking, voice-to-text microblogging, video dissemination and data visualization here at home the very same “soft power” that is beginning to permeate the barriers of political corruption, governmental misdirection, and oppressive regimes abroad?
The political “power plays” that have flared emotions and unrest in societies as distant as the Middle East, and as close to home as the streets of Wisconsin, may stem from vastly different roots, but both are put in check when public information is allowed to flow freely and the accuracy of that information can be held up to public scrutiny.
Joe McCarthy files a report with Seattle24x7 this week from Data Camp Seattle where city and neighborhood leaders and other civic-minded individuals and groups brainstormed their ideas with technologists in a fact-based exchange. The premise: how to deploy and manage code and software to build or improve applications that promote civic awareness, engagement and well-being.
Data Camp Seattle reveals the panoply of possibilities that engaged citizens (not simply “hacktivists”) are developing from various “nodes” throughout our region to solve major problems, from the most practical and pedestrian (public transportation) to the most abstract (collaborative lawmaking). What is vital is how these activities are shifting the balance of power from the political and bureaucratic elite to the public and self-enlightenment of every citizen. In a week where Google’s Public Data Explorer, an open-access data visualization project, was made publicly available, and large economic datasets have been placed within the grasp of average citizens, the implications are staggering.
A wonderful meta-project that emerged within the day’s agenda was near and dear to what Seattle24x7 values. It was an intelligent calendaring application tagged “community calendaring your cell phone can listen to.” Within the course of a few hours, the constructs of a HearNear app were brought to life (the product of which can be viewed in a Flickr gallery of the Data Camp sessions.)
The Data Camp Seattle proceedings were facilitated by the organization known as Code for America Seattle in collaboration with Socrata and the City of Seattle.
As Code for America fellow, Anna Bloom, describes the mission: “Increased access to Internet applications and platforms are empowering citizens to speak more directly with each other and with the government. In the past year, the adoption of these technologies has allowed us to see the unrest following the elections in Iran, enabled the Red Cross to raise millions of dollars for Haiti and helped beachcombers to document the effects of an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I see the program as an incredible opportunity to help shape communication and interaction online between citizens and the government so that it is more open, direct and useful.”
Words, and code, to live by! [24×7]
