Ask HN: Anyone making money from open data?
7 comments
In our town we have a new Open Data hub website which I getting government support. So that's one angle.
On the other side of town we have an Open Data Institute - and these (again centrally funded) run a number of corporate level training days around open data. The idea is to make a little ecosystem around it.
On the other side of town we have an Open Data Institute - and these (again centrally funded) run a number of corporate level training days around open data. The idea is to make a little ecosystem around it.
See the OpenStreetMap ecosystem.
Admittedly it's not quite the same vein as most Open Data, as the majority of Open Data implies it coming from closed sources.
I'd also include other geospatial companies who provide visualisation and analyses tools which are using other things apart from OSM.
Admittedly it's not quite the same vein as most Open Data, as the majority of Open Data implies it coming from closed sources.
I'd also include other geospatial companies who provide visualisation and analyses tools which are using other things apart from OSM.
Not mine, but I stumbled on this site recently that packages open data in different DB/file formats: SQL, Excel, Access, CSV.
http://www.easydbs.com/
Edit: typo.
http://www.easydbs.com/
Edit: typo.
interesting!!
This is a easy passive income project generating $30/month.
http://bit.ly/QjA7eg
http://bit.ly/QjA7eg
http://panjiva.com/ (port authority data), http://www.buildzoom.com/ (contractor licensing boards), and http://enigma.io/ (aggregating and cleaning up many sources) come to mind.
Honestly it isn't quite obvious the way these firms are using the open data.Do you mind expounding how how they are using the open data?
Factual and MapBox are two companies making money from open data.
Funny detail: their maps are more accurate than official ones on many aspects; when I asked at a conference if they’d consider giving back to the community and authorities, they’d say it wasn’t worth it, they wouldn’t take it. When pressed (fairly certain OSM would welcome and had detailed APIs for it), they confessed not trying, because it wasn't in their commercial interest.
The impact of their work appears to heighten urban issues: segregation and white flight, gentrification and pricing out incumbents… But then again: that’s the obvious consequence for more information. I doubt the solution to those issue is by regulating those services.
Local volunteers for OSM are aware of the free riders and would consider negotiating giving back, but they don’t thing it's worth their non-existant legal ressources. Government officials appear intellectually unaware that this could happen.