In September 2011 I have contributed to the software project open government data at my local university
Our aim was to use open data. In our noble cause to make internet more transparent, we got much support and inspiration from Meine-Demokratie.
As an application we provided a search tool for parents, who needed to find a new school for their children. The “school worm`s” goal (compare german metaphor Bücherwurm ), was to collect different data-sources, that might not be declared as “open”. (eg: database from berlin.de). When threaten with legal proceedings we would go to the newspapers. Thus, we wanted provoke discussions in Germany, why data pools by the government are actually not “open” (free to use). Well, as for a university project, not much has been done since and our project did not get the required public attention.
On second thought, the internet is a good source of information and striving for transparency is a great idea (compare protest over SOPA), however, parents should not be indifferent to where their children surf or what they download.
