These are the small moments in life that turn well-adjusted individuals into the psychopaths of the future.
Ever used a weather or traffic app?
These are all run using APIs which allow users to access real-time updates.
But beyond these opportunities lies a deeper question.
In the age of personal data and GDPR, what rights do we have to access citizen data?
What impact can making this data publicly available have on society at large?
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It does this using APIs.
As Terpstra explained, using APIs also makes the data sharing process more efficient and accurate.
When municipalities find a useful bit of information they make local copies.
They have their own local data store where they amass all this data.
Then they start doing database queries based on this information and running their processes in parallel.
Instead, APIs are a great enabler allowing the computer systems of municipalities to directly query the source.
As Terpstra explained:
Around 2008-2009, the platform economy started with Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, etc.
Most developers understand APIs and the larger market understands APIs.
Every time you see a share button on Facebook, theres an API behind it.
Theyre leveraging their platforms in a way that lets everyone work on their technology and spread it.
Once the API started, within a year, it surpassed the past seven years of data delivery.
But its not just about providing access.
For example, theCovid dashboardAPI provides up-to-date information about infection rates, the number of vaccinations, and more.
Thats why the government created theStuiveling Open Data Award(SODA).
And the possibilities are endless.
How could APIs help cross border collaboration?
Its not just the Netherlands, a number of governments are also creating their own open API strategies.
Vaccination passports are another key issue that will require intra-governmental cooperation and data sharing.
APIs could be a great way to tackle the problem of sharing and verifying up to date vaccination data.
Also check out theDeveloper Overheidwebsite for more information about upcoming working group sessions.
