Crowdmap - getting started

This is my first post in my series on how to use the Crowdmap site to host your own Ushahidi map. Here I deal with the most basic account creation and configuration details. Future posts will describe an example implementation of a crowdmap.

Apple's maps

The discovery last week that Apple seems to have used some tiles from Open Street Map (OSM) in its new iOS version of the iPhoto application has provoked speculation about yet another company making the switch to OSM. However, it seems that the data used is from some time ago, and even contained errors which have since been corrected in OSM. One great advantage of community sourced mapping is that errors get detected and corrected. The data has also been used with no attribution of its source, a condition of using OSM data.

Have Google Maps taken the wrong road?

It started with one or two isolated reports of companies abandoning the use of Google Maps for their websites and switching to Open Street Map (OSM) as their map server. One of the main reasons behind such a move has been Google's decision to change their charging policy for use of their maps. This seems to have forced some smaller companies into a position where they effectively had little choice but to look for a cheaper option.

State of the map 2011

This blog has been shamefully neglected for the whole summer, although I have been busy with some very interesting GIS related activities. I've just got back this week from a trip to Denver, where I have been attending two conferences; State of the Map 2011 (SOTM) and FOSS4G. I'll dedicate a post to each event, so let's start with SOTM, which is the annual meeting for people from around the world who contribute to, or who are interested in, Open Street Map (OSM).