Authors@Google: W. David Stephenson November 7, 2011

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W. David Stephenson visits Google Cambridge to talk about his new book "Data Dynamite: How Liberating Information Will Transform Our World." From the description:

"Martin Luther unleashed the printed word by translating the Bible into German so priests were no longer needed as intermediaries, and allowed wide public access by printing it instead of having it copied by monks. Data Dynamite will do the same for data, unleashing its power by giving everyone access using the Internet.

"Data is compiled about every aspect of our lives. Yet, for too long, policies and technical obstacles kept you and me from access to it. Now, data can be shared instantly as it is gathered, but too many still act as if the old rules of data scarcity still prevail.

"When data is made available to all who need it and on a real-time basis, it becomes valuable information. How valuable? Think how the U.S.'s decision to allow free access to Global Positioning System data started a global location- based services industry creating billions of dollars of wealth and transforming our lives.

"Data Dynamite shows how a combination of proven tools let us "tag" data with information that is permanently attached to it, then lets the data be transmitted instantly wherever we insert those same tags. It describes new tools that let us analyze data collaboratively and visualizations that make it come alive."