Is Open Data A Boon Or A Bane?

Techdirt often writes about the benefits of openness and sharing. One area that is increasingly coming to the fore is open data -- for example, for some time both the US and UK have had major projects aimed at opening up the stores of data held by their respective governments, and other countries are rapidly joining the club. But amidst all the enthusiasm for such projects, it's easy to get swept away, and to accept the idea of open data uncritically. That's what makes this fascinating blog post entitled "Seeing Like a Geek" from Tom Slee so valuable, because he calls out what he sees as a serious problem with open data initiatives: 

On Techdirt.