Ed Parsons blogged his personal thoughs on “Ordnance Survey 2.0” – pretty frank stuff, given he is the CTO of Ordnance Survey.

He writes about allowing free access to OS data and letting “…users discover the value in OS data by actually deploying it, and if the value is there, they will pay for it later.”

I’ve no idea what the commercial ramifications of such a move would be for the OS, but I’m pretty excited by what it means for small companies and back-bedroom innovators. Trial your ideas quickly and without risk. If they turn out commercial, great, everyone wins. If they don’t, no harm done.

It would nice to see something along the lines of BBC Backstage, where BBC data is made available and individuals are encouraged to use it in innovative ways and share the results.

It’s all speculation at the moment, but the fact the the OS is sponsoring Geograph British Isles has got to be a good sign things are changing.

I wonder if the “2.0” moniker is likely to be worn a bit thin this year? What it means depends on who you ask. If you ask me, I’ll start channelling Douglas Adams and refer to the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. Whatever. It’s great to see prominent technologists in organisations like the BBC and the OS waking up to it.