text: several centuries, in the analog, pre-computer world. Developing countries are good case studies 
  
  from this point of view, because they are often leapfrogging from oral tradition straight to 
  
  computers in all fields, not just e-government. 
  
  Land ownership in India, discussed by Gurnstein in 2010, is a perfect example of the problems 
  
  carried by digitization that requests for Open Data only expose, without creating them. Digitization 
  
  can certainly increase efficiency, transparency and economic activities, but fully achieves these 
  
  goals only by: 
  
  •  standardizing as much as possible all concepts, formats and procedures. 
  
  •  replacing*completely*, at least in standard day to day procedures, whatever other records and 
  
  ways of working existed before 
  
  Gurnstein wrote: 
  
  *"The problem of open access in the case of land records in India is... the manner in*
  *which the data tends to get encoded. Typically, digitization of land records would mean*
  *either scanning the record as it is, or inputting all the data on the record as it is,*
  *without changing any fields. But ways of maintaining land records are highly diverse...*
  *Private ownership is not the only means of holding a land parcel. When it comes to*
  *land ownership, for example, it may eliminate the history of land, how were sub-*
  *divisions and usufruct rights negotiated and enforced."*