The Problem

My name is Brian Mulkern and I got to where I am by a long and unlikely path, maybe I’ll tell you about it sometime. While working on creating a business to help the environment and provide economic opportunities for others, I hit a roadblock. The data I need is widely dispersed and much of it is too costly to enable the model I envision, so I decided to source the data myself. It bothers me that the data I need to do something positive already exists, and I am duplicating work. I preach the merits of open source to anyone who will listen, and I work using open source tools. That unease I felt came from a misalignment with my stated goals and ideals. I began to realize that while my business might help change the world a little for the better, the data it generates could be used in more ways than I can imagine or implement on my own.

The Bottom Feeder

The term “bottom feeder” has a negative connotation that matches my personal story more than any sane person would publicly admit. Sanity has never been one of my key attributes, and I believe in honest marketing. I came to the decision that information capable of providing value to society should not be hoarded for profit, and instead should be made freely available to promote accountability and innovation across domains. I am creating benthic.io as a seabed in the ocean of information. A place for public good data to be shared freely, and easily accessible by modern tools and workflows. The debut dataset is about accountability in government spending, and its creation and maintenance are helping hone my personal skill set so that I can continue to build and improve.

The Next Step

Maybe you’re wondering what this business I spoke of is about. That is still cooking and I can’t give away everything until it’s ready. I can tell you that it has nothing to do with the government or politics, and everything to do with waste reduction and supply chain resilience. The data that it generates will be valuable, people are selling it right now, but will be hosted here for free. Questions, comments, and suggestions aren’t just welcomed they are deperately needed. I am creating this platform not because I have some amazing skill set, privledged access to data, or gobs of funding. I am doing this simply because it needs to happen. Every terrabyte of information we can keep outside paywalls and the clutches of data hoarders is one terrabyte of truth that remains freely availble to the public. You can reach me at any of the links at the bottom of the page, hope to hear from you soon.