That’s right. Information is the “plastic” of this century. Those that have information, control information, understand information and distribute information will be the masters of the 21st century economy. An examination of the policy debates in Congress concerning intellectual property, the policy discussions at the FCC concerning spectrum and who controls it, the debate over [...]
We (the royal universal population of netizens) use the web to share photos, videos, audio (music and speech), data, thoughts and many, many private data points.
Why can’t our government (and it is ours — in fact, we are the government - last I checked) do the same?
Jason DeParle of the NYT writes about a movement promoting greater access to US spending data.Â
“Sunshine’s the best thing we’ve got to control waste, fraud and abuse,” he said. “It’s also the best thing we’ve got to control stupidity. It’ll be a force for the government we need.” Senator Tom Coburn, OK
Coburn is right. Of [...]
Robert Scoble, noted Microsoft blogger, is leaving for a new job. While at Microsoft, he pushed the traditional envelope by publicly discussing and sometimes dismissing company strategies and actions using his blog.
When asked how he was able to "get away" with public criticizing his company, Scoble replied:
Chairman Bill Gates "loves arguing out ideas."
"He knows that [...]
That's what Bernanke says - (original source is today's WSJ — subscription required)
"Good data support community growth and development by helping to identify previously unrecognized market opportunities," Mr. Bernanke said. "Free markets can be a powerful source of economic development, but markets work less effectively when information about potential opportunities is absent or costly for [...]
If you are going to make sound decisions regarding your welfare, you need access to information. So, why does a government that supports increasing self-responsibility on decisions such as education, health and welfare insist on hiding the good data on issues like “offshoring“?
The summary report, titled “Six-Month Assessment of Workforce Globalization in Certain Knowledge-Based Industries,� [...]
We have heard the phrase often that “ignorance of the law” is no defense. But, at what point, ethically, morally and legally, is government obligated to inform you of the law. How much effort should government expend to insure that you the consumer, parent, business owner, student, etc, understand the implications of new legislation and [...]
Article in Atlanta Journal Constitution notes that Fulton County does not warranty the information presented on its web site:
 ”Fulton County makes no representations or warranties as to the suitability of this information . . . and that to the extent you use or implement this information . . . you do so at your own risk.”
So [...]
Two headlines suggest a disconnect between the inflation report and real data on gasoline prices
NYT : Inflation remains tame as energy costs retreat
Gas prices inching back upward
The former reflects a report on data from February while the latter reflects data as of this week. Nonetheless, all the public hears is “prices down” while at the [...]
The Post notes the 70th birthday of the Federal Register.
Of particular interest to me, is the section discussing how Justice Brandeis may have spurred creation of the Register:
Legal experts and historians who have studied the genesis of the register, modeled after England’s Rules Publication Act of 1893, credit Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis for pulling [...]
