Two months ago, we found a Craigslist post requesting volunteers to help the city of San Francisco create their own version of data.gov.

The site--DataSF--just launched, and while it's no data.gov, it's definitely a valuable list of data feeds. After browsing through the categories (health, geography, crime, environment, elections, housing, transportation, & public works), it looks like a much better collection than what DC was providing this time last year for their first Apps for Democracy project. (DC's data catalog has since greatly expanded.)

While DC used prize money to entice developers, it's less clear how San Francisco is going to turn their data into apps. They appear to be taking it slow; they are inviting feedback on the existing feeds and soliciting ideas for new ones, using a vote up-vote down widget. As with Apps for Democracy, my hope is that instead of just tossing the data to developers, the city will connect prospective developers with municipal employees and residents, who can then steer the developers toward useful tools. That is the best way to make the most of the data and ensure that they don't end up with a potpourri of so-so, quasi-maintained apps.