Challenge: OpenIowa calling on developers

[Levi Rosol]

I apologize to those of you receiving this more than once.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you ready for a challenge? StartupIowa dares you to turn piles of government data into something amazing at OpenIowa, a three-day competition similar to StartupWeekend. During the event, participants will pitch ideas, form teams, and create useable products.

OpenIowa participants will be given access to vast city, count, and state datasets prior to the event to generate ideas for the product pitches that will kick-off the event on April 27th. Ideas will use the data for web, SMS, mobile, or software applications. Voting will narrow down the ideas, and teams will form. Coders, designers, and data junkies will have 2 days to bring their projects to life.

The event is $30 and includes all food and drinks for the weekend. You can register via Tikly at https://tickets.tikly.co/-/event/466.

Open-data competitions have become popular since the 2009 launch of Data.gov, the federal government’s effort to increase public access to information. New York City’s Big Apps event, now in its third year, is one of the largest and has generated some compelling ideas. Their site provides insight into the types of products that could be created at OpenIowa. Examples:
       • Roadify: Uses Transit Authority and Department of Transportation data to help users get real-time road conditions, find parking, compare gas prices, and more.
       • Sportaneous: Uses Parks & Recreation Department data to help users find pick-up sports games anytime, anywhere.
       • Big Apple Ed: Uses Department of Education data to help users compare NYC schools by test scores, spending, size, and more.

If you have questions about the event, please contact Becky Mollenkamp of StartupCity Des Moines at be...@startupcitydsm.com or 515-554-5554. Register today!