Code for America is inspired by many people, but none more than Tim O’Reilly. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tim for the past four years, articulating the evolution of the Web 2.0 meme that he, Dale Dougherty, and folks at TechWeb (then MediaLive) launched in 2004. As fascinating as it’s been to chart the impact of the web as a platform on business, the application of these principles to the business of governing is where the rubber really hits the road.
Today I’m sitting in the audience at the Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase, listening to Tim articulate his vision of government as a platform. He borrows a metaphor from Don Kettl about government as a vending machine, in which you put your money and get out your services, and asks instead that we reenvision government as a platform for collective action. As a result, government employees need to think less like an AOL in the days of the walled garden, and more like Apple enabling thousands of third-party application on the incredibly successful iPhone. In the vending machine model, if citizens want change (so to speak), all we can really do is shake the vending machine. If government architects a platform that allows participation, citizens can create the change they want to see.
Working with talented developers and designers in the web and game worlds for many years, I know how much brainpower is out there, and how important it is to these folks to have an impact. We hope that Code for America can enable not just more voices speaking out, but more hands on deck.
