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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Ethics / Tech The Future of Journalism?

Posted by Kiala Kazebee on Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 9:31 AM

The Guardian UK launches Open Platform today which could CHANGE THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT. Or something.

Open Platform, according to the website, is


the suite of services that make it possible for our partners to build applications with the Guardian. We've opened up our platform so that everyone can benefit from our journalism, our brand, and the technologies that power guardian.co.uk.

The Open Platform currently includes two products, the Content API and the Data Store:

1. The Content API is a mechanism for getting Guardian content. You can query our content database for articles and get them back in formats that are geared toward integration with other internet applications.

2. The Data Store is a collection of important and high quality data sets curated by Guardian journalists. You can find useful data here, download it, and integrate it with other internet applications.

Our aim is to make the Guardian Open Platform a useful environment for anyone who creates for the internet. We will offer more services in the future such as an ad network and an application platform.

Old media must be peeing their pants right now. Am I right? How do we feel about this? Discuss.

*Update

Here is the link to the Data Store. A store which contains items like statistics on World Health Spending, World Military Spending, and the percentage of Americans without Health Insurance. It's no Forever 21, but I think I'll be stopping in there just as frequently. I know there's a radical transparency joke in here somewhere but I'm too busy shopping for statistics on the internet to figure it out.

 

Comments (9) RSS

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1
I think this is cool. Peeing. Yes.
Posted by melissalion on March 10, 2009 at 9:38 AM · Report
2
as long as I can adblock it, I'm cool with any old or new media.
Posted by NIG GER on March 10, 2009 at 9:54 AM · Report
3
Excellent place to look for data. Thanks for the info.
Posted by Larry Norton on March 10, 2009 at 12:01 PM · Report
4
Not really new or innovative. I actually prefer a platform like Drupal for the site I administrate (pdxplate.com) which is also the site of choice for (theonion.com) and (spreadfirefox.com) -- it's already got all the features that the Guardian's platform recommends and is open source.

Similarly, blog software like MT and Wordpress are creeping closer to full-blown functionality as well, beyond simple blogs.
Posted by RonStar on March 10, 2009 at 12:02 PM · Report
5
@RonStar

Open Platform isn't something you would use to build a website on - it's a constantly updated more than reliable source of incredibly relevant information that can be accessed by any lay person or web developer. In fact, a web developer could conceivably program a website (built on a Wordpress or whatever platform) to receive and output the information form The guardian's Data Store on a continuing basis. The Guardian is the first news source to recognize that the future and success of online media is sharing information and not hoarding it.

That's the point.

Posted by kiala on March 10, 2009 at 12:56 PM · Report
6
Does this new application help me get porn? Cuz that's pretty much all the internet is good for.
Posted by Graham on March 10, 2009 at 1:11 PM · Report
7
A CAT/NOT A CAT IS RETIRING FROM BLOGTOWN.

Remember when blogtown was fun? I do. This was a frivolous place where we could have fairly intelligent discussions about the issue of the day while simultaneously celebrating cat friday/caturday and trolling Matt into various nervous breakdowns while he was changing his medications and calling everyone racist. It was fun!

Alas, the whole fucking Sam debacle brought in some sort of ideologue brigade that wanted nothing but SRS BSNS, but unfortunately had the debate skills of lesser apes. Sam-gate sort of wrapped up, but these dipshits just found new things to have completely incompetent show-downs about. It's fucking boring, and I'm fucking bored.

I know that Rom and jake and all the other half-wits will count this as a win, to which I say "good on you". You've made blogtown insufferably stupid, well done. I'm out.

Kiala, graham, Alison, other decent people: It's been fun, and I'll miss you guys.
Mercury arts interns: by and large you all suck. Up your game.
Matt: You're a talentless hack, but you knew that. Good luck with the mental health issues.

KTHXBAI.
Posted by A CAT, probably on March 10, 2009 at 1:29 PM · Report
8
Good riddance to the lonely guy who hides behind the avatar of A CAT. I feel that I won something today. I no longer have to scroll over your insepid remarks or avoid this blog all together because of YOU. Please do us a favor and actually quit this blog. I hate to think this a dramatic post followed tomorrow by another dramatic post. Good luck...
Posted by first time commenter, long time reader on March 10, 2009 at 2:15 PM · Report
9
Pee your own pants woman! I'm 95% new media (the other 5% is cadmium and sparkles). Stuff like this should only terrify those dinosaurs who can't adapt to our brave new pornography-fueled world.

Like the apatosaurus.
Posted by Earnest "Nex" Cavalli on March 10, 2009 at 8:10 PM · Report

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