I think the emerging online services that support personal health records will create that tipping point.

But that’s not actually the point of what I’m doing here. For this project I’m focused on information that already is being posted online, in hopes that people will discover and attend the events being advertised. The problem is that the method chosen to publish online — a web page, a PDF file — isn’t the best way to ensure that the information gets around to all the places it should.

In this interview you began to touch upon the reality that much data is not available for mashups.

I wonder if you would be interested in exploring an analogy that may be sociologically drawn between monetary banking and ‘information banking’?

That is, what is the technological and sociological tipping point for a critical mass of internet users to become comfortable with posting their private and valuable information online in an ‘information bank’ as they are already accustomed to doing so when they deposit their money into the hands of a third party monetary bank?

Getting folks on-board is one thing, but cultivating the “shared responsibility” you discussed is tough to do unless you can find something to motivate them, or take the fear away from the change. Whatever degree of success I’ve been able to achieve I owe to several things:

1) Make it easier to grasp what you want them to do. Do the demo (thanks to your help with how to do a screencast). This allows them to go at their own pace, repeat the instructions as many times as necessary, and avoid any inhibitions/embassment that comes in groups larger than two people.

2) Help them to understand that the technology is not bleeding edge, at least won’t require any of their blood. Show some examples where it’s working. A flowchart help me at this point. Get them to agree to a pilot. Implement it fo a limited time/scope to exorcise the fear factor.

3) Appeal to their own self-interests.
Convince them it was their idea. “You know, if we could do this way, you can implement you want to do but can’t now because we don’t have enough people. Getting your implemented will really help. Damn good idea, Bob.” (Machiavellian, but it works.)

4) If these approaches don’t work, find another bunch of folks who might be more progressive and appreciative of your ideas. The thrill of making progress is a heck of a lot better than being frustrated and hoping that they will see the light. Go work for a competitor (another Boy Scout Troop) and get your revenge by making it better than the one you left.

I’d love to implement a mash-up for my son’s school, one that we can use to arrange carpools. I would envision that we could take the home addresses and the pickup/dropoff preference and make the information available to parents. This may not be the type of thing that a principal would initiate, but its something that should be considered. (I just filled up my car with gas. Can you tell?) I’d like to see this developed and made available to all the school systems. Google could really make a contribution here.
Do you know if something like this already exists?

Sorry for the long post, but I really enjoyed the podcast.

Thanks.

Rick

cheers,
Matt Gillooly
Founder, MashableCity.org
Product Manager, FuseCal.com