Using Government Open Data to Help Start a Digital Business

Last week’s launch of MetroChicagoData.org, the largest regional Open Data portal in the nation, is another big step towards realizing the promise that Open Data has for digital entrepreneurs. The premise of Open Data is to publicly post all government data that is not subject to privacy or HIPA laws. For digital entrepreneurs, this means there is a wealth of free material for use to build applications, websites and other digital products. In the past, free access to this kind of rich data was unheard of.

"We tried to get the same data through the private sector, but biggest problem is that certain API’s weren’t really robust enough for our needs. We even discussed aggregating this information on our own. The logistics just didn’t make sense, and luckily with Open Data we had an immediate solution that allowed our business to start going. The key is to get going as soon as possible. The longer you wait, you will never take action."

Full Story: http://blog.cookcountyil.gov/economicdevelopment/spothero-com-using-government-open-data-to-start-a-digital-business/