Crowdsourcing Diplomacy

Map Give is a portal channeling volunteers to build data for OpenStreetMap for immediate goals perhaps more pressing than the need to update OpenStreetMap maps in general. Specifically, its aim is to provide relief in times of crisis by providing maps of crisis areas so that onsite professionals are working with adequate overviews of the regions they have to address. I saw two U.S. State Department Officials named Joel Campbell and Hillary Brandt speak on Map Give at a SXSW talk. They wanted to educate everyone about the technology and I suppose I found it both impressive enough and admirable enough to gush about it anew here. Maybe I can help spread word myself. For a map to helpful in our modern era it needs to be digital, contain both graphic and geographic data, be GIS (stands for "geographic information system," contains spatial data of how far apart in space points are from each other, and is the heaviest used standard in modern maps) compatible, and be dynamic allowing for changing data (houses get torn down, new roads are added, etc.). A high-resolution raster image satellite snapshot a terabyte in size of a troubled area, for example early 2010 Port-au-Prince, Haiti after it was devastated by an earthquake, holds little value. In order for it to be cast to something usable, human beings will have to draw vector shapes over top of it to outline building and roads. So far we cannot just ask computers to make sense of satellite photos themselves. Human judgment is needed. OpenStreetMap breaks satellite snapshots up into tiles and lets volunteers draw meaningful shapes over the tiles. There is then a committee approval process for submitted tiles across other volunteers. Many third world locales such as Port-au-Prince, Haiti turn out to be poorly mapped when the horrible moment comes when maps are really, really needed, so this technology provides a way for Average Joe to help from the comfort of his living room without ever visiting Haiti. The U.S. State Department has a heavy following in social media and it will alert its followers of the need to help map when trouble hits. By crowdsourcing the mapmaking to the masses, the contribution of any one individual need only be minimal and together we may all produce maps much faster than the State Department could on its own. This is especially important in a crisis when time is a critical commodity. Prior use of OpenStreetMap has already proved that this concept will work. Volunteers have poured out to help map a troubled area quickly several times before. The only thing really new here is that now the State Department would like you to know about all this and will try to channel your mapmaking energies towards its own philanthropic goals. Their efforts got me to learn about this technology for the first time at South by Southwest and I pass along the insight here.