Criteria C

C The Impact of the Issue
Data mashups can be very helpful if used appropriately, but these can also have a negative impact on society. Data mashups are a form of technology that makes it easier for people to acquire information from a single place.
A positive aspect of data mashups is in the field of government and politics is that citizens can watch what their future or current leaders are up to. Politicians are known for being corrupt and dishonest, so if politicians know that their civilians are keeping an eye on them, then this will keep the politicians on their toes. According to a source before data mashups people “have to visit a secretary of states office and sort through the paper records”, but now “the level of access that’s now available to anyone to anyone at the click of a button is just tremendous” (Calore, Michal 2007). Anyone can view these sites to look at a politician’s monetary history and votes.
Since most of the citizens that are monitoring these officials are either bloggers, students, lobbyists or activists they wouldn’t know if the information they are viewing is accurate or not. According to an article it is sometimes hard to for a citizen watchdog to know whether to believe a particular study or not (LaFleur, Jennifer 2007). This is because many politicians have enemies that may post false accusations on data mashups that make it easy for the average citizen to believe. An addition concern is when people bug the privacy o politicians to find more about their officials. In reference to a source 59% of citizen watchdogs use these sites for person and not professional uses (Calore, Michal 2007).
Overall concerns over privacy and reliability have been one of data mashups biggest concerns amongst users and politicians as well because the reliability of the source could jeopardize the future of a politician concerning his career. These problems have solutions that can be implemented in order to avoid this.