OpenStreetMap
Hello,
I am currently writing a coursework essay regarding the 'tensions between neoliberal and empowering forces' via a case study of OSM.
I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could give me some feedback regarding how they find OSM to be 'empowering'.
Or are there anyways you find it disempowering?
Your help would be greatly appreciated,
your responses have been most helpful in the past.
Many thanks,
Sam
Discussion
Comment from rw__ on 16 January 2011 at 15:03
Hi Sam,
As individuals, every OpenStreetMap contributor is empowered to edit the database without prior approval from others.
Special interest groups and individuals are able to analyse and consume OpenStreetMap data whether they can afford access to commercially-licensed data bases or not. The reduced reliance on capital for access to data empowers them to direct their financial resources to solutions suggested by their analysis rather than merely performing the analysis.
Comment from HannesHH on 16 January 2011 at 15:40
In Germany the government created maps are not free. They cost a lot of money. So OSM empowers me to have a map free of charge (and I can even built upon it, modify it and contribute).
Comment from 42429 on 16 January 2011 at 16:21
OSM is definitely not a neoliberal project, as neoliberal ideology is based on six institutions:
- (private) property
- (enforcable) contracts
- competition (between companies)
- liability
- (stable) money
- (free) prices
Comment from 42429 on 16 January 2011 at 16:22
Property:
- OSM is no private property, but (creative) commons
Comment from 42429 on 16 January 2011 at 16:23
Competition:
- Competition is not between companies, but between projects (e.g. between JOSM and Potlatch or between Mapnik and Osmarender)
Comment from 42429 on 16 January 2011 at 16:25
Contracts, prices and money:
- OSM is distributed for free, but not in vain.
- Mappers don't get money, but appreciation
- Rules cannot be enforced by contract, but by consent
Comment from 42429 on 16 January 2011 at 16:31
- Mappers of commercial companies are working in order to earn their crust (basic and safety needs)
- OSM members are mapping in order to map what they regard as sensible (self-actualisation needs)
(Abraham Maslow: The Hierarchy of Human Needs)
Comment from !i! on 16 January 2011 at 18:15
You might have a look at prevoius scientific work on the OSM community process and it's nature (esp. Goodchild and Haklay)
osm.wiki/Research
Comment from z-dude on 16 January 2011 at 22:24
OSM lets me have navigation on my phone or GPS without having to depend on a company to update their maps. (ie, Google and Garmin haven't mapped out the North Shore bike trails. osm.org/?lat=49.3650913238525&lon=-122.997093200684&zoom=13
Comment from Miguel Stuardo-Concha on 17 January 2011 at 03:53
Hello, from Chile:
I have one ideas about OSM and empowering, it may be useful for you:
The base of OSM empowering is the community sense, not the money or commercial interests. ¿What,a OSM colaborators, think when they traces with gps and upload to OSM server? I think we believe, inocently, in not material causes, in utopias, that we proyected to cibernetic world; We believe in a collaborative work that is not motivated for the money, for example. Believes like that empower the OSM community.
Goodbye
Sorry for my Tarzan English
Comment from chillly on 18 January 2011 at 13:21
OSM gives me the infrastructure and freedom to map what I'm interested in.
The open tagging allows growth in new areas without being stifled by some committee agreeing the tagging in advance. This leads to diversity without undue penalty.
OSM also allows me to render a map with things on it that I find useful, ignoring other things.
I can make corrections or reflect changes to an area (such as a new building) and see them on a map only a few minutes later.
The same data can be used on a web site, on paper, on a phone or in a GPS.
Empowering? Yes.
Comment from ae6mb on 19 January 2011 at 22:53
As some of the other comments have said, I think the big thing is the flexibility that you have with OpenStreetMap. Try downloading maps of your entire county from Google or Mapquest to use when you are out and about. Try fixing or adding something in Google or Mapquest. I also can map where fine details are in places I care about. Things that will never show up in online services. I can also add paths and buildings that may never show up. It is also much easier to data mine OpenStreetMap data than it would be on any other map data. Some people might find it empowering to be able to mark where there are traffic cameras and such things as well.
For those of us in the developed world, I think this empowerment is useful, and gives us more freedom to experiment, but for better examples of empowerment, I would suggest looking at how OpenStreetMap is making maps possible in places where there never have been any. As an example, I would suggest that you might want to look at something like mapkibera.org.
Comment from SamanthaWilkinson on 24 January 2011 at 11:45
Thank you very much for all your insights,
they have been extremely helpful for my university coursework
Thanks again,
Sam