{"id":95713,"date":"2010-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-05T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2010\/05\/05\/the-power-of-data-and-the-power-of-one\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:17:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:17:42","slug":"the-power-of-data-and-the-power-of-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2010\/05\/05\/the-power-of-data-and-the-power-of-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Data and the Power of One"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am struck, once again, by the power of data and the power of one<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Carlos Rizo, Chief Imagineer of the Health Strategy Innovation Cell<\/a>, posted this very intriguing tweet<\/a> on May 2:<\/p>\n\n

\n

The power of open data: To find problems in complicated environments, and possibly even to prevent them from emerging.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Clicking through, I saw it was a quote from this eye-popping post: Case Study: How Open data saved Canada $3.2 Billion<\/a>. The writer concludes (emphasis added):<\/p>\n\n

\n

When data is made readily available in machine readable formats, more eyes can look at it. This means that someone on the ground<\/b>, in the community (like, say, Toronto) who knows the sector, is more likely to spot something a public servant in another city might not see<\/b> because they don’t have the right context or bandwidth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Where have we heard that before? How about every e-patient story<\/a>, um, ever? Or, as Regina Holliday recently testified<\/a>, “I may not be an expert at my husband\u2019s disease, but I am an expert when it comes to my husband.” That’s the power of one person, to care so much about someone that they will read his entire medical record.<\/p>\n\n

If someone is motivated enough to dig, interested enough to analyze, and knowledgeable enough about their chosen topic to see data with fresh eyes, they can start a revolution on a small scale (like preventing medical error for a loved one) or on a large scale (like exposing widespread corruption).<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

The Pew Internet Project recently released an in-depth look at Government Online<\/a> in which we found that 40% of U.S. internet users (age 18+) have gone online for raw data about government spending and activities. (Note that we released the data set<\/a>, too.)<\/p>\n\n

Some say this is just the beginning, which is why we conducted the survey, hoping to pick the topic while it’s ripening. Others say there’s a limit to the number of people who will ever want to crunch data. See, for example, Adam Bosworth’s recent speech<\/a>, in which he says most Americans don’t want data per se, but want to know how it fits in to their lives.<\/p>\n\n

Now comes the Design for America contest<\/a>, being run in conjunction with the Gov 2.0 Expo<\/a> and in celebration of the U.S. Open Government Initiative<\/a>. (Full disclosure: I am on the Expo’s program committee and hope that it will be, like last year, a one-stop shop for cross-disciplinary inspiration.)<\/p>\n\n

On the front burner for health geeks, of course, is the Community Health Data Initiative<\/a> from HHS.<\/p>\n\n

Now, HHS did not receive a perfect score<\/a> from a citizen group evaluating its open government plan, but it is attracting talent, namely\u00a0 Ted Eytan<\/a> and Regina Holliday<\/a>. Check out their plan for unlocking hospital data together<\/a> and think about how you <\/i>can throw some logs on the data fire.<\/p>\n\n

Also, think about attending – or at least following updates from – some of the public service\/data geek conferences coming up this spring:\u00a0 Gov 2.0 Expo<\/a> (May 25-27); Personal Democracy Forum<\/a> (June 3-4); Health 2.0 Goes To Washington<\/a> (June 7). These are just the three that I know about: What other meetings fit this description? Where else is the data revolution taking place?<\/p>\n\n

Join a <\/em> discussion <\/em> <\/a> about this commentary on e-patients.net.<\/em> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If someone is motivated enough to dig, interested enough to analyze, and knowledgeable enough about their chosen topic to see data with fresh eyes, they can start a 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