Towards a Crowd Sourced Solution
Nick Black
CloudMade

Introduction to Nick
2
2
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nick_bl/2744769964/

Introduction to Nick
• Founder CloudMade
• Driving Product Management at
CloudMade
• Early driver of OpenStreetMap (OSM)
• OSM Foundation Board Member
2
2
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nick_bl/2744769964/

Crowd Sourcing
• What problems we are trying to solve with
crowd sourcing?
• What is crowd sourcing good for?
• What are the challenges of crowd
sourcing?
• How are CloudMade addressing the
issues?
3
3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nick_bl/2744769964/

The Problem
4

We Want Maps!
5

A Map Global Rich
Affordable Reliable Accessible
6

A Map Global Rich
Affordable Reliable Accessible
6

A Map Global Rich
Affordable Reliable Accessible
6

A Map Global Rich
Affordable Reliable Accessible
7
7

Global Data
8
http://ar2007.tomtom.com/pdf/tomtom_Ar07.pdf

Global Data
• Mapping is a global market, and its big:
• TeleAtlas - $493 million 2008 revenue
• Acquired by TomTom for $4.2 billion
• Combined $2.95 billion 2008 revenue
• All this to get a global dataset...
8
http://ar2007.tomtom.com/pdf/tomtom_Ar07.pdf

Global Navigation Market
9
http://www.canalys.com/pr/2008/r2008081.htm
http://www.geoconnexion.com/geo_news_article/Tele-Atlas-reaches-20-million-customers-via-TomTom/3791

Global Navigation Market
• $5 billion global PND market in 2008
• Requires medium accuracy, global datasets
• What is the biggest consumer complaint?
• Maps are out of date
9
http://www.canalys.com/pr/2008/r2008081.htm
http://www.geoconnexion.com/geo_news_article/Tele-Atlas-reaches-20-million-customers-via-TomTom/3791

Global Maps
10

Global Maps
• Producing a global dataset is challenging
• Requires the provider to scale to a global
operation
• With scaling comes diseconomies of scale
10

Affordable Maps
11
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photograham/429123216/

Affordable Maps
• Maps are a commoditized consumer
product, which is a good thing!
• Google and Tom-Tom have driven the
mapping of the world and driven down the
cost of maps
• The cost of geo-data will continue to be
driven down by consumer demand
11
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photograham/429123216/

Rich Maps
• Questions that require a rich dataset:
12

Rich Maps
• Questions that require a rich dataset:
Where am I? What is close?
Where do I go next? How far is it? Location
12

Rich Maps
• Questions that require a rich dataset:
Where am I? What is close?
Where do I go next? How far is it? Location
What can I see? Am I wet? Am I
high? Physical
12

Rich Maps
• Questions that require a rich dataset:
Where am I? What is close?
Where do I go next? How far is it? Location
Am I safe? Am I likely to be
Social burgled? How long will I live if I
stay here?
What can I see? Am I wet? Am I
high? Physical
12

Rich Maps
• Are we getting rich maps? 13
13

No!
14

No!
• We canʼt ask questions like:
– What can I see from here?
– How high am I?
– What is within walking distance of here?
– What species of tree grows here?
14

Reliable Maps
15
15

Reliable Maps
• Maps are only as useful as they are reliable
• Reliability:
– Spatial accuracy and correctness
– Temporal accuracy and correctness
– Accuracy of overlays, derived layers
– Reliability of delivery mechanism
15
15

Accessible Maps
16
16
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonhudson/2306658493/sizes/o/

Accessible Maps
• People need to be able to access and
understand their maps
• Maps need to be fit for purpose
• For all the failings of Google and other
online maps, they have made maps and
geodata accessible to 100s millions of
people
16
16
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonhudson/2306658493/sizes/o/

The Problem
17

A Map Global Rich
Affordable Reliable Accessible
18
18

The Solution
19

Crowd Sourced Maps

But first...
Starfish and spiders
21

OpenStreetMap
• Global community of 64,000 mappers
• Self organising, bottom up structure
• Extremely diverse membership
22
22

OpenStreetMap
6% of users
Super Mappers 80%
24% of users
Active Mappers 19%
70% of users
Users 1%
24

A Map Global Rich
Problems OSM solves
Problems OSM raises
Affordable Reliable Accessible
24
26

Global Data
25

Global Data
• OSM has 64,000 contributors
• OSM is actively mapping in 79 countries
worldwide (more than 100 edits per month)
• Lets take a tour...
25

26

26

27

Global Data Challenges
28

Global Data Challenges
•Global
•Get the whole world involved
•Technical, social and cultural challenges
28

Affordable Maps
• Data is free
• Value moves up the value chain
• Users of the data
• Third party apps, device manufactures
29
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photograham/429123216/

Rich Maps
• Are we getting rich maps? 30
31

You Bet!
31

31

Rich Data - Germany POIs
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Rich Data - Germany POIs
145,000 Points
of Interest
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Rich Data - Germany POIs
34,000
Carparks
145,000 Points
of Interest
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Rich Data - Germany POIs
34,000
Carparks
145,000 Points
of Interest
25,000 WLAN
Hotspots
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Rich Data - Germany POIs
34,000
Carparks
145,000 Points
of Interest
25,000 WLAN
Hotspots
9,500
Restaruants
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Rich Data - Germany POIs
34,000
Carparks
145,000 Points
of Interest
25,000 WLAN
Hotspots
9,500
9,000 Places
Restaruants
of Worship
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Rich Data - Germany POIs
34,000
Carparks
145,000 Points
of Interest
25,000 WLAN
Hotspots
7,000 Filling
Stations
9,500
9,000 Places
Restaruants
of Worship
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Rich Data - Germany POIs
The long tail
34,000
Carparks
145,000 Points
of Interest
25,000 WLAN
Hotspots
7,000 Filling
Stations
9,500
9,000 Places
Restaruants
of Worship
32
German POI data from OpenStreetMap August 2008

Total number of POIs
!\"
#!!!\"
$!!!!\"
$#!!!\"
%!!!!\"
%#!!!\"
&!!!!\"
&#!!!\"
'!!!!\"
()*+,-.\"
*/01)2*)-1\"
32/4\"
*/5654,-.\"
1/4/(78-/\"
(7)*9)56\"
(2:\"
;*/<01)=8-\"
(801<8>5/\"
780(,1)4\"
18,4/10\"
:,/*.)*1/-\"
382-1),-\"
()*+<:/-57\"
:/-57\"
:,5654/<()*+,-.\"
1)?,\"
17/)1*/\"
2-,@/*0,16\"
582*17820/\"
@/-A,-.<9)57,-/\"
0,.-(801\"
)*10<5/-1*/\"
B)01/<:)0+/1\"
078(\"
18B-<7)44\"
:,5654/<*/-1)4\"
0(//A<1*)(\"
(*/057884\"
@/1/*,-)*6\"
0,.-\"
/9:)006\"
Long Tailed POIs
-2*0/*6\"
()5+01)=8-\"
B)01/<:,-\"
A/-=01\"
;*/<76A*)-1\"
*/32./\"
012A,8\"
33
:)*\"
078((,-.\"
781/4\"
+,-A/*.)*A/-\"
-/B0()(/*\"
0(8*1\"
0(//A<5)9/*)\"

Total number of POIs
!\"
#!!!\"
$!!!!\"
$#!!!\"
%!!!!\"
%#!!!\"
&!!!!\"
&#!!!\"
'!!!!\"
()*+,-.\"
*/01)2*)-1\"
32/4\"
*/5654,-.\"
1/4/(78-/\"
(7)*9)56\"
(2:\"
;*/<01)=8-\"
Car Parks
(801<8>5/\"
Telephones
Pharmacies
Restaurants
780(,1)4\"
18,4/10\"
Filling Stations
WiFi Hot Spots
:,/*.)*1/-\"
382-1),-\"
()*+<:/-57\"
:/-57\"
:,5654/<()*+,-.\"
1)?,\"
17/)1*/\"
2-,@/*0,16\"
582*17820/\"
@/-A,-.<9)57,-/\"
0,.-(801\"
)*10<5/-1*/\"
B)01/<:)0+/1\"
078(\"
18B-<7)44\"
:,5654/<*/-1)4\"
0(//A<1*)(\"
(*/057884\"
@/1/*,-)*6\"
0,.-\"
/9:)006\"
Long Tailed POIs
-2*0/*6\"
()5+01)=8-\"
B)01/<:,-\"
A/-=01\"
;*/<76A*)-1\"
*/32./\"
012A,8\"
33
:)*\"
078((,-.\"
781/4\"
+,-A/*.)*A/-\"
-/B0()(/*\"
0(8*1\"
0(//A<5)9/*)\"

Total number of POIs
!\"
#!!!\"
$!!!!\"
$#!!!\"
%!!!!\"
%#!!!\"
&!!!!\"
&#!!!\"
'!!!!\"
()*+,-.\"
*/01)2*)-1\"
32/4\"
*/5654,-.\"
1/4/(78-/\"
(7)*9)56\"
(2:\"
;*/<01)=8-\"
Car Parks
(801<8>5/\"
Telephones
Pharmacies
Restaurants
780(,1)4\"
18,4/10\"
Filling Stations
WiFi Hot Spots
:,/*.)*1/-\"
382-1),-\"
()*+<:/-57\"
:/-57\"
:,5654/<()*+,-.\"
1)?,\"
17/)1*/\"
2-,@/*0,16\"
582*17820/\"
@/-A,-.<9)57,-/\"
0,.-(801\"
Bars
)*10<5/-1*/\"
Ships
Hotels
B)01/<:)0+/1\"
Studios
Dentists
078(\"
18B-<7)44\"
:,5654/<*/-1)4\"
0(//A<1*)(\"
(*/057884\"
Speed Cameras
@/1/*,-)*6\"
0,.-\"
/9:)006\"
Long Tailed POIs
-2*0/*6\"
()5+01)=8-\"
B)01/<:,-\"
A/-=01\"
;*/<76A*)-1\"
*/32./\"
012A,8\"
33
:)*\"
078((,-.\"
781/4\"
+,-A/*.)*A/-\"
-/B0()(/*\"
0(8*1\"
0(//A<5)9/*)\"

Total number of POIs
!\"
#!!!\"
$!!!!\"
$#!!!\"
%!!!!\"
%#!!!\"
&!!!!\"
&#!!!\"
'!!!!\"
()*+,-.\"
*/01)2*)-1\"
32/4\"
*/5654,-.\"
1/4/(78-/\"
(7)*9)56\"
(2:\"
;*/<01)=8-\"
Car Parks
(801<8>5/\"
Telephones
Pharmacies
Restaurants
780(,1)4\"
18,4/10\"
Filling Stations
WiFi Hot Spots
:,/*.)*1/-\"
382-1),-\"
()*+<:/-57\"
:/-57\"
:,5654/<()*+,-.\"
1)?,\"
17/)1*/\"
2-,@/*0,16\"
582*17820/\"
@/-A,-.<9)57,-/\"
0,.-(801\"
Bars
)*10<5/-1*/\"
Ships
Hotels
B)01/<:)0+/1\"
Studios
Dentists
078(\"
18B-<7)44\"
:,5654/<*/-1)4\"
0(//A<1*)(\"
(*/057884\"
Speed Cameras
@/1/*,-)*6\"
0,.-\"
/9:)006\"
Long Tailed POIs
-2*0/*6\"
()5+01)=8-\"
B)01/<:,-\"
Studio
A/-=01\"
Nursery
Embassy
;*/<76A*)-1\"
Town Halls
*/32./\"
Fire Hydrant
012A,8\"
33
:)*\"
Waste Baskets
078((,-.\"
781/4\"
+,-A/*.)*A/-\"
-/B0()(/*\"
0(8*1\"
0(//A<5)9/*)\"

Community Value
!= Market Value
34

Community Value
= Market Value
35

Reliable Maps
36
36

Reliable Maps
• The community will ensure that the map is
reliable
• Community watch for mistakes and
vandalism, help newbies, run servers
• Challenge of reliability is a lot to do with
winning hearts and minds of doubters
36
36

Lets compare - OSM v. GMAPS
http://www.refnum.com/osm/gmaps/

Less Reliable Maps
38

Less Reliable Maps
• Mistakes can and will be made
• The delivery mechanism is very important
• The OSM server structure can be put under
strain
38

More Accessible Maps
39
39
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonhudson/2306658493/sizes/o/

More Accessible Maps
• OSM allows people to make maps their
own
• Now anyone can make, update and edit a
map
• Affordability is accessibility
39
39
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonhudson/2306658493/sizes/o/

Accessible Maps
40
40
www.opencyclemap.org/

Less Accessible Maps
41
41
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonhudson/2306658493/sizes/o/

Less Accessible Maps
• All this free data, but who is using it?
• Requires a lot of technical knowledge
• High barriers to entry to both data collection
and data use
• Not yet true democratisation
41
41
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonhudson/2306658493/sizes/o/

Key challenges for OSM
http://www.flickr.com/photos/looking4poetry/541427350/ 42

Key challenges for OSM
• Expanding base of mappers and users
• Provide data that is useful to people
• Help people use the data and truly
democratise maps
• Prove the reliability of the data
http://www.flickr.com/photos/looking4poetry/541427350/ 42

Rising to the
challenge

CloudMade
44

CloudMade
• Helping OSM map the world
• Providing professional tools and services
• High reliability and availability
• User friendly interfaces to OSM data
• Powering the democratisation of geodata
44

Next time you need a map...
45

Next time you need a map...
• Next time you need some map data
• Go to downloads.cloudmade.com
• Download a shapefile for free
• Experience Crowd Sourced maps for
yourself
45

http://delicious.com/nick_b/agi08
Thanks for listening
nick@cloudmade.com
Nick Black