User:OpenBrian/OpenStreetMap US Board Position Statement

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Objective

For the past several years the OSM US Board has be lead by individuals whose full time job relates to map making by the corporates leaders in the industry. I'd like to balance that expertise with an independent, conflict-free perspective.

We should measure success not by the number of mappers or the attendance of conferences, but by the impact we have on the users of OpenStreetMap.

Vision

I see the Board a team of decision makers first and foremost. Their job is not necessarily to do work, but to guide others doing work. They should set a central goal for US mappers to follow, if they wish.

The board should focus more on day-to-day support of local chapters and delegate the organization and operations of State of the Map US to a local team. Local organizations need guidance on how to host and promote events. They need to know if they should accept dues and what they should be used for.

Revitalize the OSM US Local Communities Working Group. Don't expect them to come to the Board for help. Reach out to them and if they don't respond, reach out again until they do.

Write blog posts more than once a month! Tweet more than 3 times a month! These are just a couple of many measurable goals.

Document the operations of OSM US in a wiki.

Collaborate with teams like Code for America/* to build apps that facilitate gamified mapping.

List out every wish we have (say has github issues) and invite the public repeatedly to participate. For example:

  • Review the X wiki page for outdated material.
  • Find N organizations to possible collaborate with. Add them to this page.
  • Reach out to an organization to see if they're interested to do something.
  • Write or find a story to blog about. (If the blog is backed by github, fork, post, and submit a PR.)
  • See what's new in N local chapters.
  • Tweet about HOT, try to get N contributors.

Taking this one step farther we should award digital badges through GeoBadges.

MappingDC

I've been involved with mapping since 2007 when I join Kate Chapman, Andrew Turner, and Serge Wroclawski in MappingDC. After they moved on, I took the reigns and have been running it since about 2012. I've been lucky to have the great support of Steven Johnson, Brandon Knight, and Andrew Wiseman. Together we've accomplished lots.

Unlike Geo(City) and Maptime(City) organizations, MappingDC is fully committed to improving the quality of OpenStreetMap.

Accomplishments

  • DC Building Import - Worked with Mapbox, especially Aaron Lidman and Alex Barth and the DC Government on this import to complete the building import. The first round was Katie Filbert and Serge Wroclawski.
  • 12+ Mapping Parties (street survey)
  • 12+ Mappy Hours
  • 8+ Mapathons

Profession

My professional career has involved making maps to support the US federal government in for example greenhouse gas reduction (GSA) and package delivery (USPS). My primary mission here is support those agencies and mapping is sometimes part of that.

Ideas

  • "Share my Location" - given a URL like osm.us/location/atlanta, generate a small image that can easily be used in Facebook and Twitter. (Yay the ball is rolling https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/issues/739 )
  • Help OSMF solve the "single sign on" issue for osm.org, forum, help, and wiki accounts.
  • Mapping Mayor - gamified mapping, the mayor is the person in the area with the largest impact on OSM, could be combined with W3W.
  • WeeklyOSM.US
  • Re-implement the OSM Wiki calendar, probably using a calendar server.
  • Create an OSM bookmarking website, so mappers can share links through the community about OSM in the news.
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