Can the crowd be authoritative?

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”

What makes geodata authoritative?

© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA

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

Accurate

Complete

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

Correctly attributed

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

Authority > Accuracy

How accurate is OSM in GB?

No formal and

consistent QA processes applied!

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 vs Producers

OSM-GB WMS

WFS

Tile Service

Projected to OSGB

Data available for download/reuse

on OSM terms

FREE

! Rules based quality

improved

WMS WFS

Tile SvcOSM Master

DatabaseOSM-GB Raw

Database

1Spatial Quality Rules

EngineRules based improvement actions

OSM-GBQA/QI DB

OSM-GB QA Report for potential

action

?

A step through the OSM-GB workflow

Download Data

Will automated rules based processes improve quality?

Will formal QA increase confidence/authority?How can 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

There is no one to blame

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

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 You

www.osmgb.org.uk

www.knowhwerconsulting.co.uk