OpenStreetMap and the art of crowdsourcing. Turning cyclists into volunteer mappers for a cycle map, and how to engage the many amateur-/citizen scientists in your projects. Ignite spech held at Hack4DK, Danish cultural heritage hackathon, 24-25 september 2013. Royal Library, Copenhagen

1. 1/20
Get In with
the Crowd
- OpenStreetMap and
the Art of Crowdsourcing
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

2. 2/20
OpenStreetMap
The Free Wiki World Map
Started 2004 by programmer Steve Coast
Against government monopoly on geodata
UK registred NGO
Annual budget < £100.000
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

3. 3/20
OpenStreetMap
Global data (as of September 2013)

~34,5 million km roads and paths

~91,7 million buildings

Annual growth: 40%

1.378.960 participants
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

4. 4/20
OpenStreetMap
Data for Denmark (as of September 2013)




~160.000 km roads (99,8% done) ~556.000
buildings
Local knowledge over imports (from FOT)
~100 active participant, loosely coordinated via
mail-group OSM-Talk-DK
No organisation(!)
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

5. 5/20
Why use
OpenStreetMap
Free / OdBL = “©OpenStreetMap contributors”
Accessible and downloadable
Adding data to OpenStreetMap adds value to
everybody's maps
Merging data from FOT/GST (DK open geodata)
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

6. 6/20
Commercial maps vs.
OpenStreetMap

Commercial maps update monthly, yearly

Commercial have Quality Assurance

OSM has crowd-ownership

Free downloadable data

OSM-Data is available immediately after save
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

7. 7/20
What you can do with
OpenStreetMap
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

8. 8/20
What you can map in
OpenStreetMap
Everything!
“Map what's on the ground”
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

9. 9/20
What you can map in
OpenStreetMap
Street lights in Copenhagen
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

10. 10/20
The critical power of
OpenStreetMap
“Maps as resistance, counter-mappings and
participatory GIS take up maps and politics in an
explicit manner to provide alternative mappings of
space not represented by official state agencies”
Matthew Sparke
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

11. 11/20
Counter-mapping in
OpenStreetMap

Counter-mapping – Critical Cartography

Who is to decide what “important geodata” is?

No secrets - “if it's there, it's there”

Wheelchair accessibility as Counter-mapping act
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

12. 12/20
?
?
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
!
27-09-2013

13. 13/20
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

14. 14/20
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

15. 15/20
The Long Tail of
OpenStreetMap
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

16. 16/20
From cyclists to
source



Transforming cycling interest into mapping for
cycling
Free courses in Cartography for ~100 cyclist's
federation members
Community-site and Community Manager
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

17. 17/20
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

18. 18/20
The Long Tail of
Talent
10 of OSM-DK's 100 most active are cyclists
The overall #3 in DK is a women, cyclist & retired
teacher

(1 & 2 are bulk importers/robots)
>6% of total data in OSM-DK 2012
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

19. 19/20
The Long Tail of
“Frustrated” Talent



Don't think of crowdsourcing participants as
cheap “Mechanical Turks“
They might be experts in the field
You can “transform” their interest, not dictate
their work
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013

20. 20/20
From crowdsourcing
to Citizen Science
Michael Hammel: Get in with the Crowd - Ignite @ HACK4DK
27-09-2013