A recent presentation at the State of Open Con in London highlighted the importance of publishing open data, emphasizing the benefits of transparency, community engagement, and developer reuse. The speaker discussed the need to adhere to the FAIR Principles, ensuring that data is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. It was recommended to release raw structured data alongside reports to enhance insights and validation, while ensuring sensitive information is anonymized. The presentation also advocated for the use of APIs to facilitate developer interaction with data, suggesting tools like Directus for rapid API creation. Additionally, the talk underscored the significance of metadata in making datasets discoverable and usable, and highlighted the potential of building applications that leverage open data, stressing the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in these applications. The session concluded by promoting Directus Cloud as a tool to simplify the establishment of APIs, thereby lowering barriers to data access and increasing community engagement.