Being open can be tough
(originally a comment to this, but the software wasn't feeling well and wouldn't save it)

We definitely don't have much experience with this sort of openness in our society; the default is to horde any information that might possibly be useful to us (or to potential competitors). This is obviously broken in so many settings, including academia, non-profits, and government. I think that online communities belong to that list, because it's not respectful to ask for people's personal information, not to mention hopes and dreams, without letting them know who will be doing what with that data.

Just because it's right doesn't mean it isn't sometimes a huge pain, of course. Some people do seem fond of turning whatever info is available into a grand conspiracy theory. Others oppose your goals and will try to use your openness against you. Dealing with these problems is a real challenge. The "Soft Security" concept has some promise here - maybe there's some overlap between that and the idea of a better dialog space?
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Woah. Dude.
http://maps.google.com/ is pretty mindblowing. For example, take a look at results for 'stereo' in Boston. It's fast to load up initially. You can zoom in or out or move around quickly too. Click on one of the results bubbles, and there's the result's name, address, and links to their website, driving directions... all working perfectly well in firefox, no plugins needed. Wow.
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