Here’s a post that sums up the evening really well, including a patented Craighton Berman sketchnotes item!

You have been selected by United States Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra to be highlighted as a ‘Champion of Change’, which is part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative.  As the White House executes President Obama’s plan to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world”, entrepreneurs like you are being recognized for the innovative work you have undertaken in your community.Each week, we feature a group of Americans who embody the President’s commitment to ‘Innovate, Educate, and Build’.CTO Aneesh Chopra and CIO Vivek Kundra as well as other Administration officials will host an Open Innovation / Champions of Change event at the White House on Friday, June 10th , 9am- 11am.

Here is some press coverage: White House Honors Unsung Open Data App Developers — (Government Technology)

And some images:

Governments have started opening data for many reasons: it is a politically positive action and it alleviates the responsibility of analyzing and interpreting the data internally. Social Networks open data so they can become more valuable as the hub of many spokes, since 3rd parties will develop applications that make their data more valuable. Will traditional businesses open their data? Are some forms of data such as financial data necessarily closed-off and high-priced?

One of the things I focused on in my remarks was that governments already publish a wealth of data; they just may not conceive of these efforts as a part of the “open data” movement. For example, New York City has spreadsheets of every building permit issued going back to 2003. It’s not a “data feed”, but it’s definitely useful. The nascent industry built around open government stands on the shoulders of these spreadsheet-makers.

19 governments applied for our 2012 program, and it’s amazing to read about their project ideas, challenges, and passion for changing the way things work. As a growing start-up, we can only work directly with a handful next year, which is why they are selected through a competitive process. To help us evaluate these great proposals, we have put together a committee of government, industry, and thought leaders.

Here’s something I worked on over Christmas vacation: AldermanicWebsites. It is a fun/ manic little Web site that “contains links to and reviews of the Web sites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and other Web referencia for each of the 349 people who filed nominating petitions to run for Alderman in one of the cities wards.”*I like the Analysis best– so far I’ve got five posts there, covering everything from good stars and bad stars to remarkable sites and popular Web development platforms. And you’ve realy got to view source to see anything.

Here’s the About page with a snip about the technology reviews:

If you’re interested examples in particular technologies used by particular candidates, the Quick-See pulldown menu is your best bet.For instance, you can see all candidates using the WordPress Web development platform, all candidates using PayPal to collect contributions, or everyone who uses Contact Contact to send out mass emails.Same goes for wards– just choose the ward your interested in (the 24th is super-lively) and you’ll see all candidates. The Ward list is in alphabetical order (when the ward number is spelled out). That’s a little goofy, I know– what can I say; I have limited skills.

Here’s some coverage:Gapers Block: Comparing Aldermanic Hopefuls Online

There are 349 candidates for alderman in this election, with varying levels of web savvy. AldermanicWebsites helps sort through them all. Unsurprisingly, a certain star makes a lot of appearances.

Progress Illinois: Council Candidates On The Web, Facebook, Twitter, And More

Open Gov. Discussion at Obtiva Geekfest from Obtiva on Vimeo.

Complete audio of the panel here and links to the intro and Q&A.

DXO Interview at Gov 2.0 2010 from Daniel X. O’Neil on Vimeo.