NYC held it's first hackathon last week and I can't help but wonder if this is a model enterprises should copy.

Rachel Sterne, the city's first digital officer talks about making nyc.gov (NYC's main citizen portal) transparent, open, and participatory.

Aren't these goals admirable? Aren't they something enterprises should want to adopt for their employees, and possibly their customers?

There's tons of data hanging around within companies that would help people do their jobs better. Only, it's usually locked up quite tightly. One needs permission, and a "business justification". Often there is a domain guardian protecting their fiefdom, represented by the information the guardian controls.

When I think about city government, I think about people who control rather than collaborate. I think about an organization that is complex seemingly for the sake of being complex. And, I think about tons of information that would make people's lives easier, if only it were available.

I also think about having very little money to spend on little things.

I see a hackathon as a way to get other people to "do the work for you (for fun)", assume the risk of failure, and let you take credit for enabling those who are successful, even if only 1 in 10 is does something that sticks. It is also an opportunity for the government to get in front of a constituency, in a non-threatening venue, and partner with participants. A true opportunity to listen to citizens, with an equal give and take - NYC gives access to the data, the citizen makes something useful with it and contributes it back to the government for all citizens to share.

If NYC can do this, why can't the Fortune 1000?

I read an article yesterday (forgive me, I forget where) that said employees are the least engaged than they've been in decades. Google's pretty extreme in letting people spend 20% of their time on Google related projects outside of their job description. But, why can't companies let people spend 2 days a month? That's 2 hackathon's a month for people to innovate and connect at a whole new level, and companies to be the transparent and participatory environment that we all wish them to be.