Hello. My name's Harry, and I work for a company called Neontribe. We're web developers, and we usually visualise projects by thinking of the people who will use them. So, meet George...
Meet George http://www.flickr.com/photos/fbueno_net/5147843149/
George works for a training company. They train people in mechanical repair, and things like that. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/3686842955/
George has a problem... George's boss. Actually, this doesn't really show how bad the problem is. It's more like this... http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashcroft54/1461219529/
George's boss is not a nice man., And he has a sniff of a big new projec that'll really make his name. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwl/3323128756/
It's big enough to need a new local office. And George's boss wants to know where to place these new premises. http://www.flickr.com/photos/flying_cloud/2667225198/
And new staff. So George's boss needs to know what his new staff are going to be like. http://www.flickr.com/photos/23950335@N07/5506637899/
And the business landscape. In a part of the country George knows nothing about. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/3790344524/
George needs answers for the big meeting
What's the right area for the office? What is the local landscape like? http://www.flickr.com/photos/mac_filko/5132388011/
What are the transport links like? http://www.flickr.com/photos/popculturegeek/4941000594/sizes/l/
What might local recruitment conditions be like? http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/4120970442/
Poor George. Where does he start? He asks around the office... Everyone there is just like him – they don't know the new area either. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdraff/2286836112/
George moves on to asking hard questions of search engines... But it takes him ages, to get anything. And these are not the answers he is looking for. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/3804538609/sizes/
George could try looking around government websites – but the information is scattered... And sometimes buried out of reach. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/3660499966/sizes/o/
George could use a expensive outside consultant – a relocation specialist - but the new contract might go nowhere. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashcroft54/1462078364/
George could call a local business body - but they might be competition and it might not go well for him. http://www.flickr.com/photos/popculturegeek/4940416481/
A site which pulls together data from various government datasets for him. And has advertising! Some of which George might even find Useful! (They're placed specifically by advertisers - this doesn't use GoogelAds.) (Commercial property agents might advertise, hotels, removals firms, recruitment agenices, cleaning companies, office equipment companies... Even relocation consultants.) If George gets asked this often enough, he might find the adverts annoying enough to pay for them to be turned off. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/4376477701/
His boss might even buy him the mobile version. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bfishadow/3149484387/
I'm a geek. And “new premises?” is an experiment, and hopefully eventually a case study for how open data can answer business questions. It's an interesting technical and user experience challenge. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracheotomy_bob/5410061756/
I've been a George and I'm confident in the story... I can see the revenue streams... And I can see the value for George. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob-young/2808329673/
It's avoiding situations like this... http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/4895191036/
Is there a business case, are there enough Georges... Well, I think so. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brcake/2163892919/
More on data sources follows – the data George needs is already out there...