BUILDING KILLER APPS POWERED BY OPEN DATA JASON SHEN 

    SO WE WANT TO USE DATA TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF CONSUMERS 

HELPING THEM MAKE BETTER DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR HEALTH, FINANCES, & BEHAVIOR 

WE KNOW BURYING THEM IN A MOUNTAIN OF DATA WON’T HELP 

CONSUMERS NEED “NUDGES” THAT ARE PERSONALIZED TIMELY RELEVANT 

TO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN, WE’LL NEED TO RECRUIT AN ARMY EMPOWER A COMMUNITY 

OF DESIGNERS, DEVELOPERS, AND ENTREPRENEURS 

TO LAUNCH WEBSITES, APPS, & BUSINESSES THAT SERVE THE PUBLIC GOOD 

    SO HOW DO WE GET THERE? 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS HERE’S A START: 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS CONTEXTUAL DATA Public Elementary–Secondary Education Finance Data (Found from #4 link on Finance Data Directory) YOU CAN’T USE DATA YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS CONTEXTUAL DATA Few people know what these acronyms represent. Datasets need more context to be useful to innovators. YOU CAN’T USE DATA YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS CONTEXTUAL DATA In this case, data table does exists in separate PDF. Can we get context more tightly integrated into actual dataset? YOU CAN’T USE DATA YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS STANDARDIZED DATA Different gov’t departments often measure data in different ways, making it hard to aggregate data. YOU CAN’T USE WHAT YOU CAN’T COMPARE 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS STANDARDIZED DATA County vs. Zip Code vs. City vs. Municipality vs. Township YOU CAN’T USE WHAT YOU CAN’T COMPARE EG: LOCATION 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS STANDARDIZED DATA YOU CAN’T USE WHAT YOU CAN’T COMPARE CLEAN + STANDARDIZED DATASETS = USEFUL DATASETS 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS MORE DATA MORE INSIGHTS COMES FROM MORE DATA The faster and more frequently datasets can be updated and released, the more opportunities become available 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS ENGAGING INNOVATORS LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, AND RESPOND “We invest a lot of time and engineering resources to search for and integrate with government datasets. It’s hard work, but we really try not to pay for data that’s already out there.” MICHAEL CARVIN, FOUNDER OF SMART ASSET 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS ENGAGING INNOVATORS Smart Asset is a web app that helps consumers make important financial decisions like renting vs buying a home It uses dozens of data sources to do things like calculate property tax across income brackets and locations. LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, AND RESPOND 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS ENGAGING INNOVATORS Innovators like Michael face a dilemma: LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, AND RESPOND 1) Pay 3rd party aggregation services for standardized, easy-access data 2) Spend days, weeks, or months aggregating the data themselves 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS ENGAGING INNOVATORS Both these options are stifling innovation. Let’s build a 3rd way: LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, AND RESPOND 3) Readily available datasets & API’s that are simple to implement 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS ENGAGING INNOVATORS Building strong two-way communication with the tech community will accelerate our ability to serve their data needs and get consumer facing products to market. LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, AND RESPOND 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS ENGAGING INNOVATORS LISTEN, UNDERSTAND, AND RESPOND COMPETITIONS OFFICE HOURS FACE TO FACE A few ideas: I’ve participated in Startup Weekends and Demo Days. I know how put on an effective competition for building apps on government data. People often have many questions but don’t ask because they won’t get a response. We can host live, online office hours to get people talking. Nothing beats in person interactions. I already have deep connections with the startup, tech and venture capital space I can leverage to reach the most influential players 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS LET 10,000 APPS BLOOM INNOVATION IS SURPRISING & HAS A HIGH FAILURE RATE We won’t get the killer app on the first try 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS LET 10,000 APPS BLOOM INNOVATION IS SURPRISING & HAS A HIGH FAILURE RATE It took Rovio 52 tries to get to Angry Birds 51 FLOPS1 MEGAHIT 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS LET 10,000 APPS BLOOM INNOVATION IS SURPRISING & HAS A HIGH FAILURE RATE “The best startup ideas seem at first like bad ideas” PAUL GRAHAM, PARTNER OF Y COMBINATOR EVEN WORSE: 

IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS LET 10,000 APPS BLOOM INNOVATION IS SURPRISING & HAS A HIGH FAILURE RATE LAUNCH A LOT OF (CRAPPY) APPS So instead, let’s embrace a culture that recognizes “quantity has a quality all it’s own” and knowing that the biggest consumer impact comes from 

THAT ONE KILLER APP THAT TURNS INTO A ROCKET SHIP IMPROVE DATASETS ENGAGE TECH COMMUNITY LAUNCH (MANY) PRODUCTS 

    SO LET’S DO THIS 

LET’S TURN DATA INTO INSIGHT AND INSIGHT INTO BEHAVIOR CHANGE 

STANFORD BS + MS TECH STARTUP FOUNDER NCAA CHAMPION GYMNAST EXPERIENCE WITH SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MARKETING & COMMUNITY EXPERT ABOUT ME PASSIONATE ABOUT USING TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT 

THANK YOU