links for 2008-07-01
By William M. Hartnett on Jul 1, 2008 in daily links
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“Why is OSM interesting? Having watched Oakland transition from the raw TIGER/Line data import to a more refined state, I’m starting to think that the main advantage of OSM might be in the kinds of details overlooked by the larger mapping agencies …”
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“FortiusOne: What perspective does OpenStreetMap take on GIS? Steve Coast: It’s the Church, we’re the Bazaar. OSM is about community and getting people to map boring places on a Sunday afternoon and in many ways the technology just doesn’t matter …”
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Google’s new deal with Tele Atlas is a two-way street, with user-corrected data from Google Maps being sent back to the provider.
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Charlotte and Philadelphia. My brother wasn’t interested: Boring data, no focus on real-world routines.
Adrian Holovaty | Jul 1, 2008 | Reply
Did your brother have any suggestions on what he might want to see on EveryBlock? We’ve got a whole bunch of things to add, post-launch.
William M. Hartnett | Jul 1, 2008 | Reply
He seemed immediately put off by the interface and range of data options, most of which he wouldn’t expose if able to set his own preferences. Home sales would be interesting, not just current listings. Didn’t really get the custom maps. (Too “trained” by the popular mapping platforms, which largely adopted the long-standing cartographic conventions of paper maps?)
Even his own block didn’t feel familiar because there was no sense of place, nothing that immediately distinguished it from a ward in Chicago or a police precinct in New York, much less the adjacent neighborhood. Not even an outline or aerial imagery. And there was seemingly no connection to his real-world life, particularly routines, the everyday stuff. He frequents the same handful of restaurants and businesses, for example, so didn’t see much regular use for reviews.
This was in Charlotte, by the way. You can read a bit more about his background and lifestyle here.
No easy answers to some of these more fundamental challenges and questions. I have some ideas that I’m working on at my day job, but passing the “brother test” will be no mean feat.