I’m not sure if its the first app out or not, but MassDOT has been doing some fascinating work reaching out to the developer community and providing them with data feeds.
I was recently reading MassDOT’s 90-day implementation report (yep, I’m cool.) and was struck by a passage on data. As part of a discussion about outsourcing the 511 service, it notes their efforts to move “toward a vision of government as a wholesaler of information rather than a retailer.”
That’s a mouthful coming from a public sector entity. It’s a great idea and I’m hopeful that more useful, customer-driven products come out of the effort.
