As a federal government employee, I think our best hope is to just release as much data as possible and let the private sector come up with innovative solutions to give to the citizens. http://sunlightlabs.com/ have the right idea.
A lot of projects and initiatives we are beginning to see is to make information easier to consume for computer systems to access government data (labor, financial, law) through data formats like XML, JSON, RDF, etc.
These have all been initiatives going on before the Obama administration. With the downturn in the private sector, entrepreneurs are looking to capitalize.
My big point is the best way to do this is outside of the government. Don't go looking for a government contract or get on the GSA Schedule, you will become just another government contractor and won't own the finished product. Get the data and make a product citizens want. Unlike one point the article makes, do not have US Government as a customer.
Netflix has definitely got their ROI from free marketing alone. How many articles have you read about this from Wired, Washingtonpost, NYTimes, etc in the 2 years?
This could definitely be a good marketing strategy for a startup with low marketing costs. $100,000 programming prize might be one method for getting your name out in the press, and get you some free work.
A lot of projects and initiatives we are beginning to see is to make information easier to consume for computer systems to access government data (labor, financial, law) through data formats like XML, JSON, RDF, etc.
These have all been initiatives going on before the Obama administration. With the downturn in the private sector, entrepreneurs are looking to capitalize.
My big point is the best way to do this is outside of the government. Don't go looking for a government contract or get on the GSA Schedule, you will become just another government contractor and won't own the finished product. Get the data and make a product citizens want. Unlike one point the article makes, do not have US Government as a customer.