2nd LD Meetup Campaign Session

This page contains notes of the session "Campaign Strategies - persuading people to release their stuff as Linked Open Data" at the 2nd Linked Data Meetup in London on 2010-02-24

Session Plan (from programme)
This session will be about sharing ideas and success/failure stories about convincing data holders to put more LOD out there, ideally as high quality and persistent RDF. It is about accelerating growth. We will not be talking about the technical challenges but about how to work on the “executives and decision-makers” who don’t “get it” yet and who may not really “get the web” at all.

Questions we might discuss are:
 * what kinds of organisations are likely to be easier to deal with
 * what kind of person in these organisations is the best “way in”
 * how to make a convincing case (in their terms); what will make them commit
 * what kinds of data is it easiest to make a case over; etc...

We will wrap the session up with an attempt to define some next-steps, e.g. recruiting visible backing from (more) high profile organisations or individuals, collaborating on creating campaign materials, ...

Introductions and Success or Failure Stories
We stared the session with a tour around the room where people introduced themselves and recounted any stories they had of successes or failures.

Transcription of whiteboard notes with some expansion from memory --Adam 23:10, 24 February 2010 (UTC): Successes Engagement with SDMX crowd
 * go to "them", they know their data is valuable,
 * help "them" => [to appreciate?] added value via links

Human Genome
 * funders realised isolated work = inefficient

Do it for them! Connected Commons

VocMan [vocabulary management]
 * publishing vocabularies - less challenging 1st step
 * terminology management moves outside CMS

Fails HP Linked Data internally. "one view of truth" is key for execs [the point here was that a laisaiz faire approach is at odds with "executives" who seek well defined data and assurance]

[Commercial, name not supplied] competition captured and used data they [the data-releaser] released as RDF

Issues "They" think it costs £ (or its not their saving)

Fear! (of misuse)

Model building, vocabs,... [is time-consuming, requires expertise and experience]

Breakout Discussion Groups
We spent the last 15 minutes trying to discuss some strategies etc in three breakout groups

Group 1
Group scribe Adam Cooper.

Transcription of flipchart notes with some expansion from memory --Adam 23:10, 24 February 2010 (UTC): (NB the RHS was written before the LHS; this transciption is in order as-written)

Issues - Challenges We want to make money out of it OR if we are not going to make money we dont want anyone else to

Some useful data is "orphan" = created but not really curated e.g. IPSV [the integrated public sector vocabulary]

Need to demonstrate LD benefits compared to alternative or existing

local govt. currently many data xfer [to] central government. bring both sides together => one [data transfer] tag on to this [i.e. a rationalisation of the data transfer from local to central government provides an opportunity to promote exposure as Linked Open Data]

Need good example: end 2 end with ROI [return on investent]

Carrot - there is a first mover advantage [if advantage cann be demonstrated]

Carrot - public sector cuts/savings. I can "pinch" other dept's reference data (& correlate local ID's) [this is clearly mis-described as a "carrot" for the "other dept"]

Group 2


Transcription of flipchart notes:

Benefits
 * Kudos of 'owner' organisation
 * Replace duplicate non-core data with links to the 'real owner'
 * Reduce responsibility for non-core data
 * Focus on core model
 * Best at meeting FOI [freedom of information] responsibility

Objection Handling
 * has any similar org actually made money from holding [and not releasing] data?

Group 3


Transcription of flipchart notes:

Difficulties
 * Dont think there is wider interest
 * No catalyst between creator and publisher
 * Not in stakeholder interest

Strategy
 * Quick wins
 * Non-political (don't upset anyone)
 * Good stories - librarian saved my baby
 * Top management buy-in