2016 g0v summit experience

The Birth of g0v from an Advertisement

The origin of g0v actually stems from the Economic Dynamics Promotion Plan (that infamous advertisement).

This passionate group of engineers decided to form g0v, dedicated to promoting government transparency and engaging the public through the internet.

g0v gained popularity starting with the Sunflower Movement (318). The introduction of collaborative tools like hackfold's shared document and live streaming allowed the public to gain a better understanding of the events.

Among the over 700 participants present, about 10% were government officials, including the soon-to-be out-of-office Zhang Shan-zheng, who attended to share the process of promoting government open data.

"Dream big, and trust that one day your story will be seen by others." This sentiment is perhaps the most profound takeaway for those who participated in g0v.

It's a pity that Fang Xin couldn’t join, but g0v provides live streaming and collaborative notes, allowing people to catch up on the highlights through notes and videos.

TL;DR

No one could have imagined that the zero-hour government, now spread across three continents with over 500 civic hackers, was born out of the Taiwanese government's ineffective advertisement. The engineers in this hacker community not only code but also generally possess strong English skills, as they follow the impact of civic technology on governments around the world. In 2014, Kao Chia-liang spent two months visiting cities worldwide to engage with open organizations and communities, gathering local insights to share back home. Thus, programmers who were originally content with their routine lives stepped into the world of civic technology fueled by their passion for social transformation.

At my first g0v summit, I heard (and chatted with attendees) that this year's theme, "Deconstruct and Rebuild," broadened the discussion. Previous topics were heavily technical, attracting mostly engineers. This time, there were participants and speakers from various countries, with nearly 10% of attendees being government officials.

You’ll notice that g0v does not take a specific stance but acts as a mediator, recording events impartially. Whether through live streams or their open-source tools, it’s all about keeping the conversation going. If you have time, check out the live streams or the collaborative notes from this event; if not, feel free to browse through my notes!

• Conference Collaborative Notes

Notes

From .org to .ngo

The speaker was an engineer from an NGO, sharing insights not only about their work but also the challenges faced during development.

The speaker noted that the Environmental Information Association currently faces several challenges:

• From 2000 to 2016: Environmental issues were largely ignored by media, appearing only in lifestyle sections. => As times change, tools must also evolve.
• Code Refactoring: The product launched as a legacy system, requiring readiness to refactor only after stabilizing, often with external engineers brought in to assist.
• When nobody becomes somebody: The challenges multiply.
  • People: With organization, staff, management, and salaries, governance becomes complex.
  • Generational Change: Newcomers constantly cycling through, while veterans lack the time to discuss ideals => Communication issues arise.
  • Stakeholders: When nobody becomes a stakeholder, do we remember our original intentions?

In summary, the roles that NGOs play include:

• A platform for gathering information and power.
• Proxy: Representing the government, swiftly responding to issues.
• Agent: Serving as civic agents.

Conclusion: Companies are the most important organizations impacting society, next to the state.

Open Media for Democracy and Civic Engagement

The speaker was the founder of VOXE. The concept of VOXE is quite similar to Taiwan's (Legislative Voting Guide)[http://vote.ly.g0v.tw/], as 46% of US voters didn't show up for the presidential election, and 70% of young people didn’t vote in the 2014 European Parliament elections. Many believe their vote doesn’t matter. Since many politicians ignore public opinion, people opt out of voting altogether. Thus, the hope was to improve engagement through tools, leading to the platform's creation.

One question that resonated with me was, "How do we get people to take action? That’s the hardest part." The speaker's answer was through the use of tools. After all, most people can't protest all day or constantly follow political agendas, as they have families and jobs to attend to. Therefore, the tools must be straightforward to encourage usage.

Someone even asked how they fundraise, and the speaker replied that Google granted them 200,000 euros XD. No worries there!

Conclusion: Tools are meant to solve problems.

Real-Time Earthquake Warning System

Many of you may have received earthquake alert texts in recent days. The speaker began by recounting the real experience of the 921 earthquake, emphasizing the importance of earthquake preparedness.

Here are some quick earthquake facts. wiki

P-waves travel the fastest, at 28,000 kilometers per hour. Earthquake forecasting operates on this principle. Once the P-wave arrives, the S-wave follows, and after that comes the most destructive surface waves.

This means that the actions taken during the arrival of the P-wave are crucial before the surface waves hit.

So, if we receive such a text today, what should we do?

• Confirm if you can get outside within 30 seconds.
• If you can’t make it out in 30 seconds, know the safest spot inside your home.
• Don’t check in; you might disappear from this world in the next 30 seconds.

Some earthquake blind spots may only receive alerts after the shaking has stopped. In the Osaka earthquake in Japan, statistics showed that 70% of victims self-rescued, 20% received help from friends and family, and only 10% had official assistance. This indicates that the Japanese take disaster preparedness seriously.

Bonus Content

Beautiful Tokyo Disaster Preparedness Handbook

Are we mentally prepared and ready with corresponding preventive measures? The speaker believes that foundations can offer solutions.

Conclusion: Disaster preparedness begins with oneself.

My Days as an Undercover Journalist

The speaker was Kirby, the founder of Zero Media.

Strange! The Female Teacher Climbs the Mountain Twice Later investigations revealed that this female teacher had no boyfriend. The news contained numerous inaccuracies, and the quality of media reports was generally low. This prompted the founding of Zero Media, which provides data visualization tools to assist journalists, ensuring they have reliable data to reference, while also being user-friendly for non-technical individuals.

Currently, useful data collection tools include:

• Open Refine
• Spreadsheet
• p5.js
• Kimono

The speaker also shared some real cases:

• Ice Bucket Challenge: It was found that during the peak weeks of the Ice Bucket Challenge, it accounted for 70% of total donations.
• Emergency Life

Here are some observations:

• Do data journalists need to know how to code? Is the entry barrier too high?
• It’s challenging to find engineers who can design, write articles, interview, and also have technical skills.
• Articles on news websites often lack polish.
• Open-source tools might not be maintained.
• Services could be discontinued.

Thus, they hope to assist journalists through piotDB and offer engineers better options in data collection and visualization.

Instant Refund Map

After listening to the speaker, it became clear that what seemed to be a spontaneous initiative for instant buying and returning was actually meticulously calculated. In the end, the initiator even took the stage to share their insights.

The initiator had already researched Costco's business model, where 100% satisfaction guarantees are a promotional tactic for both buyer and seller. For Costco, the initiative served its promotional purpose, while for consumers, it met their satisfaction criteria. Both parties had aligned interests, increasing visibility, leaving Costco with no reason to refuse.

Let’s start with the conclusion.

• In 2015, revenue dropped by 1.5 billion, with a net loss of 1.9 billion. (Total assets of 2.5 trillion, accounting for one-sixth of Taiwan’s economy.)

Directly taking down a giant like Ting Hsin is challenging, so starting with smaller leaders makes sense. The power of the people is dispersed; the instant refund map shortens the time for long-term resistance. The challenges of instant refunds are twofold: first, they are controversial, and second, they require physical presence to endure the scrutiny of the public and staff. The instant refund map visualizes refund situations, making it easier to organize and plan the next steps. This involves maintaining the system, promotion, and collecting login data, among other (system-related) challenges.

However, as a regular citizen, there are simply too many tasks to undertake. Who has the time for daily instant buying and returning? Today, I might just indulge in a little treat at Lin Fengying, who has a sale.

What Does Growing Up Feel Like?

Let’s take a look at how Japan brought down Snow Brand link.

From a community perspective:

• PTT mostly shows support, but occasional dissent appears.
• Dcard is filled with criticism. There’s a slew of articles opposing instant buying and returning.
• Facebook occasionally features anti-instant buying and returning posts.

Setting aside the moral debate surrounding this initiative (the speaker mentioned focusing solely on solutions),

Regardless of the correctness of this initiative, it has effectively drawn attention and sparked discussion, with everyone collectively seeking answers, which is a form of open collaboration (open collocation).

Instant Refund Map

Conclusion: Ting Hsin may buy anything, but it cannot purchase the conscience and outrage of civic action.

From g0v to gov – 400 Days Inside the Ministry of Health and Welfare

This was a tear-jerking presentation, sharing experiences from the 400th day inside the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It was, without a doubt, the best talk I attended today.

Live Stream Video

Public Policy Online Participation Platform

This platform emulates mechanisms from the US and UK, requiring government responses within two months if over 5,000 people sign a petition.

The speaker transitioned from g0v to gov, reflecting on the introduction of collaborative tools. Is it really that difficult for the government to respond to civic demands?

They detailed the process of how a civic proposal evolved into a legislative amendment, highlighting the disconnect between community participants and government perspectives. It became clear that civil servants within the government are indeed willing to take action. Unfortunately, the proposal's initiator passed away before the law was announced, and sadly, the amendment could not be implemented during their lifetime.

I remember the applause lasting for about thirty seconds after the talk! Although it was unfortunate that the proposal couldn’t help the initiator, I believe the speaker’s insights have indirectly impacted many people's views of the government.

It's genuinely difficult for the government to face civic demands.

Openness has its costs.

Engineers must avoid single points of failure, while civil servants should steer clear of single points of success.

Non-Transparent Party Assets

Before elections, we often see charts related to the assets of the Kuomintang (KMT).

The speaker humorously noted that with certain addresses, they created a map showing KMT land in Taipei and significant areas in Tainan, where many betel nut and banana trees grow. Who knows, they might even create a KMT asset tourism app in the future.

KMT Asset Tour

In Taiwan, due to the absence of a political party law, there are no strict regulations on the source of party assets. This has allowed the KMT to unreservedly accept land and revenue seized by the state.

• KMT: 22.5 billion
• DPP: 400 million
• Others: 19 million

This stark disparity makes it challenging for smaller parties to survive; just the cost of advertising can take away half their resources.

• Issues of openness
• Preservation and restoration of historical records
• Completeness of information

Party Asset Decoding Gitbook

Conclusion: Taiwan will not improve until the KMT is dismantled.

Unconference

The unconference primarily allows participants to propose their own ideas, with discussions taking place the following morning in the lounge.

Time was limited, so I only attended topics that piqued my interest:

Transitional Justice

How to lower the threshold for discussion and attract public attention is the key point. Typically, only the families of 228 incident victims and their relatives show interest, while the general public tends to ignore it. This is partly due to the superficial treatment of the 228 incident in Taiwan's history education, and because most people have not experienced it.

• Historians' Instagram
• 228 Incident Map
• Transitional Justice Game
• Generating public interest in the issue

Countering Capitalism with the Sharing Economy

Discussing everyone's vision of the sharing economy.

• Venus Project
• Japanese Co-Living Housing
• Uber and Airbnb represent sharing but are also symbols of capitalism. They can't fight against themselves. Another book, "The Zero Marginal Cost Society," provides more insights. The sharing associated with the middle class is not the ideal version of sharing.
• It can only be destroyed from within, not conquered from outside. When marginal costs reach zero, capitalism ceases to engage in those activities, leading to the emergence of the sharing economy.

In Conclusion

I spent 1,200 on the conference, and it felt necessary to contribute something in return. Hence, I penned down my thoughts and notes. This not only satisfies Fang Xin's curiosity but also provides an account to my company (perhaps?).

I genuinely learned and observed a lot! Plus, the meals were delicious and eco-friendly, though those reusable chopsticks cost 300 NT! Just like a fisherman, I couldn’t bring myself to buy them!

This time there was also an unconference session with interactive games (collecting cups) for prizes. It seems that future gatherings will increasingly center around the participants themselves.