White House refreshes Data.gov

On Friday the White House relaunched Data.gov, its online clearinghouse for government data.

The site launched one year ago with the aim of providing the public and developers with a one-stop shop for all federal data feeds and databases. After starting with only 47 data sets, the site now boasts more than 270,000 on a wide range of topics. Traffic has increased from 2 million hits May 21, 2009, to an expected 98 million today, according to federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra. In the future, the White House wants to post new statistics in as close to real time as possible, he said, adding the Obama administration does not want too many people massaging the data before it is released.

The administration also is making an effort to reach beyond techies and advocacy groups and lure the general public to Data.gov. The new site will add more feedback mechanisms for people to tell the government what kinds of applications and other electronic information they want featured on Data.gov. For assistance, the White House has hired a former NASA official, who is well-versed in citizen outreach, to drive interest in statistical analysis among grade school students.