Bytemarks

As I look back at 2012 I can honestly say it was a good year. The year of the Dragon was a dynamic year with lots of changes going on all around. It was the confluence of many events that came together in 2012 and will set the course for 2013. Here are some of the memorable moments of my 2012, in somewhat chronological order:

1. The first Civic Hackathon resulting from CityCampHNL was held in conjunction with the City and County of Honolulu.

2. Unconferenz 2012 was  memorable not only because of the topics and attendance (Tim O’Reilly, Jen Pahlka, Kirk Caldwell, Kym Pine, etc.) but it also debuted Code for America to the Honolulu community.

3. Geeks on DaBus was the culmination of an idea that sprung from CityCampHNL and the Civic Hackathon. We used DaBus app and converged on Kaka`ako to talk transportation with Mayor Carlisle and folks from TheBus.

4. Transparency Camp and the folks from Sunlight Foundation. I never thought Washington D.C. could be so much fun.

5. Getting the chance to visit a floating hospital on the high seas is always a memorable event. Here is a helicopter landing on the USNS Mercy in the waters off O`ahu.

6. Visiting Midway Atoll for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway was incredible not only for its historical significance but for the experience of seeing thewildlife reclaiming the island.

7. This large golf ball shaped radar has become a regular feature in the Pearl Harbor view plane. Few get to visit and tour the insides of the SBX.

8. Have you ever felt like you are part of a bigger movement? I felt that way when attending the Code for America Summit. Open Government and Open Data is making great strides thanks to the efforts of CfA.

9. Visiting South Korea was an awesome experience. I have a much deeper appreciation for Korean culture and people. It is a place I will return to soon.

10. We capped the year of Open Data with a demo day called Hon*Celerator. It was a code contest of applications built around data from data.honolulu.gov and data.hawaii.gov. This is just the beginning…