Sunlight Foundation

Imagine you recently moved and are taking your child to a new dentist. You look up directions on Google Maps or Mapquest on how to get there. You pull up the map and think you’re set. But, after you’ve picked your kid up from school, loaded her into the car and started driving, you immediately get lost. It turns out that the map has completely outdated information — all the roads have changed, and it’s simply inaccurate. Last week, hundreds of computer geeks, government workers and nonprofit advocates gathered in town to talk about what “Gov 2.0” means to them. With Internet technology changing by the minute, there’s much discussion about how it can help the government become a platform that engages and empowers citizens to improve how government works. Crucial to this concept, however, is that government supply people information online and in real time. You can have the best map program in the world, but if the information that underlies it is outdated, you still lose your way.