Linking Local - The wikiDOMO Blog

Canadian Politicians Slow to Back Open-Data

Unlike the UK and the United States, the Canadian government has been slow to create a policy on open-data. I’m talking about providing access to data that taxpayers have funded. This means getting access to databases like the stimulus spending with breakdowns by regions and project type – something the U.S. government did but the Canadian government continues to resist.

It’s not all bad news. Federal bureaucrats have been drafting an open data plan for nearly 8 months and are working to launch an open-data portal. But they’re most likely being held back by the parliamentary committee, which after nearly a year has failed to come up with a recommendation. Put simply, the federal government is slowing things down, possibly hoping that the current demand for open-data will somehow subside.

This is happening as more and more cities in Canada and across the world are opening up their databases. Paris is the latest major city to launch its portal. The site is called ParisData and is currently listing about 20 different datasets, ranging from lists of concessions in parks to planning applications.

But, the movement is not limited to large cities or city governments, The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), has released a flood of open-data that has sparked a number of websites and mobile applications.

Our focus here at wikiDOMO is on creating and maintaining quality Open Marketplace data, but we strongly support the opening of government databases. Ultimately, all data is marketplace data. Our goal is to support and encourage those releasing open-data as well as those who create innovative solutions with that data.

Image credit: justgrimes' 

By Jose Leal

 

The value of history in an Open Marketplace

A small group of dedicated individuals have been working on an initiative called Open Marketplace (OM) for some time. The OM project has been a huge learning process for all of us. Put simply, OM is about creating an open platform for marketplace information. This includes everything commercial, non-commercial, from governmental to religious and all aspects of these including places, people, products, services, events and so one. It’s a huge goal, but we know it takes big ideas to change the world.

In working through OM, we’ve dealt with a whole host of issues. I’d like to tell you about one of them, the concept of history in data and in the marketplace.

In high school one of my teachers kept saying something that really stuck with me.  “Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Over the years, I’ve heard the saying tossed about many a time, but usually in a negative sense, since more often than not, we don’t have the insight of history or apply what we learn from it.
When we started working on OM, I started thinking about the role that history has in the marketplace, more specifically the history of places. As we gathered place data (business listings), the issue of old or obsolete data came to the forefront. What is the value of a listing for a business that is no longer in business? Most of us would say, not much, at least not from a traditional directory perspective.

But, a few things struck us; the web is full of outdated directories, so how does a user know if the place in question is simply missing from a particular directory or truly no longer operating? In other words, just because it is not listed in a specific directory - does not mean it doesn’t exist. So we came to the conclusion that a listing of a closed place has more value than no listing at all.

Another reality is that many businesses come and go at the same address. We all know of the local place that everyone refers to for directions or as a landmark. So what happens when that place is gone and we remove all references to it from everywhere? Well, we lose our history and everyone and everything - that at one time or another referred to that place - is now wrong.

Imagine being able to search for a place that is no longer operating, but there is still a listing for it. A listing that identifies it as closed, and it links to the current place in that location - in essence, an archaeological layering of information that maintains the integrity of the marketplace at a certain place in time.

What about the place that moved? Well, this is one that we are still working on - I personally think that we should leave a footprint of the place at that location as well. How we do this we are not yet sure, but this is another step in creating a historical image of the Open Marketplace.

We believe that maintaining historical information will become very valuable over time. Let’s imagine in the future a new restaurateur looking for a location to open up her new restaurant. If she were able to look at the location for the history of places, she might learn that a dozen restaurants have failed in that location and therefore re-think the choice of location. Today this type of information is hard to obtain. In some instances this information can be priceless.

At Open Marketplace we’re as glad to get information that is no longer accurate, as we are to get info that is. Because, we know that at some point someone will correct it, therefore adding another piece of historical value to the fabric of the marketplace.

Picture of closed restaurant by: Editor B

By
Jose Leal

wikiDOMO.com Beta has Launched

We are very proud to announce the Beta launch of the wikiDOMO website. It’s been a long time in the making. We have a new look and a number of improvements and new features, the biggest being Community Talk, a feature that combines check-ins, comments, ratings and reviews. This will make contributing much easier as well as much more prominent on the profile pages.

We will be doing some detailed posts on Community Talk and other new features in the coming days and weeks.  We will also be announcing some new mobile applications and some very interesting pilot projects. The pilot projects will provide us with an opportunity to work with different communities in our effort to build an Open Consumer Guide that is truly maintained for and by the community.  Thanks goes out to everyone involved, especially Derek Martin, wikiDOMO’s lead developer.

Our efforts to create a new type of solution in the marketplace are also being extended to other application developers via our beta API, as well as through our participation in Open Marketplace - an initiative to make marketplace information free and accessible to everyone.

It will be a very exciting Summer and Fall here at wikiDOMO. Come join us and help make your community better!

By Jose Leal

Open Marketplace Manifesto

Well, it's been a couple of months since we last posted to the Linking Local blog. That's not to say that we haven't been busy. A lot has been happening in the background, we've released a number of new features to the http://www.wikiDOMO.com alpha site and more features and bug fixes will be released by the end of September. We've also been doing community outreach and have a couple of exciting partners to share with you. But, more about that in a future posts.

This post is about Open Marketplace, something we've been working on for some time. As we developed wikiDOMO.com from the original concept,  we kept encountering more and more concerns with the media, marketing and advertising industries - the industries we call the Marketing-Industrial Complex. We realized that the impact of what we were doing was much bigger than just a tech start-up - it was something that had the potential to change how marketing works - to change the marketplace.

We knew we needed to develop a broader model that allowed anyone to engage in its development and most importantly benefit from it. So, we started to work on the model, at first we called it "open marketing" and then after a lot of meetings and feedback we decided Open Marketplace was more accurate. After a few months of work we now have something that we can share with the world:

Open Marketplace Manifesto

The media, marketing and advertising industries are a massive marketing-industrial complex. The mass marketing options that once worked for marketers and consumers are no longer effective. They worked before, in part because there was no viable alternative. In the post Internet age consumers and businesses alike are abandoning the complex and attempting to replace it with the Internet.

However, the Internet by itself is not a solution. We're looking to social media for answers, but it's not meant to address this problem. We must develop a new model that allows us to transition away from the marketing-industrial complex. A model that truly addresses marketplace needs by providing efficient and low cost production, distribution and consumption of marketplace information. A model that avoids the inherent duplication and fragmentation carried over from the complex.

The future marketplace must be open. An open, non-proprietary model can help consolidate and direct innovation to the needs of both the providers and consumers. Only then, can the Internet deliver its true potential: free and open access to the information that empowers our lives.

Open Marketplace is a future where everyone has access, a voice, and shared responsibility over marketplace information to make better consumer choices. 

It's about a future:

    where everyone has free and equal access to promote anything;

    where local, national, and international marketplaces' are equally empowered;

    where relevant, reliable, timely information is freely available to the marketplace;

    where providers and consumers have equal ability to voice their opinions;

    where everyone is able to collaborate and engage in open conversation; 

    where the production and distribution of information is a cooperative effort;

    where we all benefit from a new sustainable, efficient and effective marketplace; and

    where the end game for marketplace participants is increased information quality.

To achieve the future Open Marketplace, we must be guided by these core principles:

 

1. The commons is where all marketplace information belongs.
2. Competing is good - sharing is better, because we all win.
3. Duplication and fragmentation are the enemy - aggregation is essential.
4. The marketplace must set standards, and most importantly follow them.
5. Transparency of information is the air that sustains the open marketplace.
6. An identification system for everything, and everything with an ID.
7. Every bit of information linking to the physical world.
8. Information without engagement is futile.

For more background info visit: Open Marketplace Manifesto Background

We Want Feedback & Co-Conspirators

We want to see the Open Marketplace future come to pass and we have taken it upon ourselves to make it happen. But, we can't do it alone. At the very least we need encouragement, we need to know if you think we're on the right track. Better yet, we need your help! We've created a public Open Marketplace Google Group. The group is a work space where you can learn more about the project, provide input and add your name to the Open Marketplace co-conspirators list.

If you have feedback of any kind on the Open Marketplace Manifesto please add a comment below or start a discussion on the Google group.

By Jose Leal