Federal Shutdown: We Miss Our Data

One of the potential benefits of the government's partial shutdown is a new-found appreciation for many of the federally provided services Americans take for granted.

Long-planned trips to national parks have had to be abandoned. Life-saving medical treatments offered by the National Institutes of Health have been postponed, leaving patients in limbo. Meatpacking plants have gone uninspected. National Transportation Safety Board officials are unable to investigate a Washington Metro rail accident that killed a worker and left two injured this week because of the federal furloughs.

The shutdown is also affecting scores of businesses that have come to depend on routine access to government data and data services. Many government services, such as weather data from the National Weather Service and satellite network feeds that provide GPS services are still being maintained and continue to be available...

Another data service that has been suspended is Data.gov, a repository of government data sets and APIs that a growing number of businesses and entrepreneurs are using to develop new products and services for the public...