how authoritative can the crowd be?

How authoritative can the crowd be?Steven Feldman

A quick judgement

http://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/5929769873/

Whose Authority?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spunter/2907888414/

able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable: “clear, authoritative information and advice”“an authoritative source”(of a text) considered to be the best of its kind and unlikely to be improved upon:“this is likely to become the authoritative study of the subject”

commanding and self-confident; likely to be respected and obeyed:“his voice was calm and authoritative”proceeding from an official source and requiring compliance or obedience:“authoritative directives”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/topaz33/4735755952/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorkomatic/5317150831/

A brief diversion into encyclopaedias

The legal view

http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthworm/189013050/

Hmmmm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdmillar/1325739265/

What makes geodata authoritative?

Complete

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/2113499196/

Correctly attributed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottmarkwell/2207949953/

Authority > Accuracy

The National Mapping Agency

http://www.flickr.com/photos/osmapping/5201291064/

“Ordnance Survey is the national mapping agency of Great Britain, collecting, maintaining, managing and distributing the definitive record of the features of the natural, built and planned environment, the definitive record of official boundaries and the record of such other national geographic datasets as required by government and the private sector.

… This data will provide the framework to which other geographical data in Britain is referenced.”

Could another map be authoritative?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/harpreetsingh/48978787/

Even the OS isn’t perfect

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2943810776/

How accurate is OSM in GB?

There is no one to blame

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a2gemma/1448178195/

Muki says …In 2010 coverage

at 69.8%

In 2010 coverage at 69.8% but

attribution 24.3%

the analysis of OSM shows

that deprived communities

and rural areas are not well

covered, especially when attributes are considered

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisfleming/5942012099/

Could OSM be an authoritative source for GB?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thorinside/194806347/

Users as Producers

OSM-GB WMS

WFS

Tile Service

Projected to OSGB

Data available for download/reuse

on OSM terms

FREE

! Rules based quality

improved

Will automated rules based processes improve quality?

Will formal QA increase confidence/authority?Will improved QA & confidence increase contribution?Can “professional” contributors be “motivated” to fill in gaps?Are there use cases that will support a sustainable commercial model for OSM-GB?

Some Research Questions

Can the crowd be authoritative?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/160534588/

Yes and No

Does it matter?

A final thought

Martin Usborne http://londonist.com

Maps don’t have to be authoritative, they can just

be fun and useful

Thank Youwww.osmgb.org.uk

www.knowhwerconsulting.co.uk