Google announced a new feature named Google Public Data Explorer. What it does is allow you to mash up data from the public sectors into neat charts and graphs.
Google explains:
With the Data Explorer, you can mash up data using line graphs, bar graphs, maps and bubble charts. The visualizations are dynamic, so you can watch them move over time, change topics, highlight different entries and change the scale. Once you have a chart ready, you can easily share it with friends or even embed it on your own website or blog.
A WebmasterWorld thread mocks the announcement, where one member said:
Next up, Google unveils "Private Data Recorder" which makes large datasets of private information easy to explore, visualize and communicate.Google CEO Eric Schmidt: "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." ... "But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines, including Google, do retain this information for some time. And [...] we're all subject, in the US, to the Patriot Act, and it is possible that that information could be made available to the authorities."
Kind of funny - but heck, this isn't too far off, we have Google sourcing traffic data from your mobile device for use on Google Maps traffic layer.
In any event, this is neat stuff.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
