May 2009
Data.gov (2009)
The U.S. federal government launched Data.gov to put government datasets online in one searchable portal. It gathered data from federal agencies under a single roof for the first time.
Then
It became the flagship of the federal open-data push and a template for state and city portals nationwide.
Now
Data freshness and usability varied by agency, a recurring weakness for open-data sites.
Why this matters now
Austin's hub follows the same pattern: a single portal whose value depends on each department keeping its own data current.