Approximately 23 minutes into a campaign interview with Gillian Swart in the fall of 2009, I spoke about open government and introduced to the term, “government as a platform.”

I explained that government is routinely analogized as a vending machine; you pay a tax or a fee and you get something back. I went on to talk about applications such as Boston’s Citizen’s Connect which gives the people an upper hand, enabling us to provide data to the government in exchange for giving us the app.

How can open government transform society?

Don Tapscott, a Canadian business writer who I enjoy following around the web, explains in this short video:

Don Tapscott on the power of open data.

What sets of data would you like to see and manipulate out of city hall?

-- Thanks for reading my council blog. If inspired, consider sharing a comment at Don Tapscott Explains Open Government. I am running for re-election and encourage you to join my Facebook community and sign-up for my email newsletter.

 

Don Tapscott on the power of open data from SiG @ MaRS on Vimeo.