[Talk-us] Of Mapping Party Kits and back to flyers / brochures
On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 8:21 AM, Katie Filbert filbe...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:23 PM, Serge Wroclawski emac...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:20 AM, Martijn van Exel m...@rtijn.org wrote: On a related note, I was thinking about a traveling mapping party kit: a bunch of GPSes, swag, some vests, instruction leaflets. A neat idea in itself, but I feel the US is just too big to make that practical. To sell, I fear the GPSes make it cost prohibitive. To lend, I suspect the GPSes make it hard to seed. But hey I'd love to be proven wrong. If we were to have regular mapping parties in the DC region (or NY), I'm sure that Wikimedia DC (or NYC) could fund a kit for the Mapping DC folks. I'm not sure about sending them across the country to lend out. We could lend out within our region and maybe somewhat beyond. What is preventing us from having more DC or NY mapping parties? Is it the lack of a mapping kit? I don't recall many people saying that they would organize and host a mapping party, if only they had a MPKit. I suggest, rather, that it is a lack of round tuits. The lack of a kit makes it easier to say, Well, if we had a kit, NewPerson in SomeTown could host a Mapping Party. Having a MPKit makes the mapping party somebody else's problem. When the alternative might be to say, Now _I'm_ going to host a Mapping Party in MyTown. Most everybody in this thread has hosted or attended a mapping party, so I don't intend to criticize. And, if I'm pointing, I'm definitely pointing at myself as much as at anybody else. I just don't think that a MPKit is the blocker here. :-( There are alternatives. Mappy Hours and talks are two alternatives. I'm down on Mapping Parties. Part of this is because of my phenomenally bad relationship with the weather during my Mapping Parties. :-) That doesn't mean that you have to be down on Mapping Parties, of course. I like having a goal of acquire new mappers who continue to contribute, rather than, map this area, today. I find that I feel more successful at that goal by hosting Mappy Hours and doing Intro to OSM talks for groups. And I find those events less of a burden to organize, and much less weather dependent. It means that I do have to drop the goal of, map this area, today. You may find that goal too attractive to abandon. We've dragged this thread a long way from flyers. Sorry. I think flyers are cool. And thanks, tons, to Serge for providing me with some from his trip to London. I'm still handing them out. :-) Best regards, Richard, who realizes that he hasn't hosted a MP in 2012. :-( ___ Talk-us mailing list Talk-us@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us
Re: [Talk-us] Of Mapping Party Kits and back to flyers / brochures
On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 2:55 PM, Richard Weait rich...@weait.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 8:21 AM, Katie Filbert filbe...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:23 PM, Serge Wroclawski emac...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:20 AM, Martijn van Exel m...@rtijn.org wrote: On a related note, I was thinking about a traveling mapping party kit: a bunch of GPSes, swag, some vests, instruction leaflets. A neat idea in itself, but I feel the US is just too big to make that practical. To sell, I fear the GPSes make it cost prohibitive. To lend, I suspect the GPSes make it hard to seed. But hey I'd love to be proven wrong. If we were to have regular mapping parties in the DC region (or NY), I'm sure that Wikimedia DC (or NYC) could fund a kit for the Mapping DC folks. I'm not sure about sending them across the country to lend out. We could lend out within our region and maybe somewhat beyond. What is preventing us from having more DC or NY mapping parties? Well, I am in Germany now, so that's preventing me from organizing more. (we did a mapping party a couple weeks ago in DC) Is it the lack of a mapping kit? It's not an obstacle but DC folks (and I think Serge in NY) are trying to reactivate. If a mapping kit would be helpful, it can be provided I think. All that's needed to organize a mapping party is for someone to be bold and pick a time/date place and announce it. I don't recall many people saying that they would organize and host a mapping party, if only they had a MPKit. I suggest, rather, that it is a lack of round tuits. The lack of a kit makes it easier to say, Well, if we had a kit, NewPerson in SomeTown could host a Mapping Party. Having a MPKit makes the mapping party somebody else's problem. When the alternative might be to say, Now _I'm_ going to host a Mapping Party in MyTown. Most everybody in this thread has hosted or attended a mapping party, so I don't intend to criticize. And, if I'm pointing, I'm definitely pointing at myself as much as at anybody else. I just don't think that a MPKit is the blocker here. :-( There are alternatives. Mappy Hours and talks are two alternatives. Those are also great. :) Interestingly, folks in Berlin really don't do mapping parties. They do monthly meetups. But it's been fun to get together with folks on the weekend for a mapping party. I haven't been as motivated to do solo mapping in Berlin even though (surprisingly) there is plenty here yet to be mapped. I don't know the language and culture well enough in Germany to be bold and organize anything yet. Cheers, Katie I'm down on Mapping Parties. Part of this is because of my phenomenally bad relationship with the weather during my Mapping Parties. :-) That doesn't mean that you have to be down on Mapping Parties, of course. I like having a goal of acquire new mappers who continue to contribute, rather than, map this area, today. I find that I feel more successful at that goal by hosting Mappy Hours and doing Intro to OSM talks for groups. And I find those events less of a burden to organize, and much less weather dependent. It means that I do have to drop the goal of, map this area, today. You may find that goal too attractive to abandon. We've dragged this thread a long way from flyers. Sorry. I think flyers are cool. And thanks, tons, to Serge for providing me with some from his trip to London. I'm still handing them out. :-) Best regards, Richard, who realizes that he hasn't hosted a MP in 2012. :-( ___ Talk-us mailing list Talk-us@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us -- Katie Filbert Board member, Wikimedia District of Columbia http://wikimediadc.org filbe...@gmail.com @filbertkm / @wikimediadc ___ Talk-us mailing list Talk-us@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us
Re: [Talk-us] Of Mapping Party Kits and back to flyers / brochures
Hi, On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 6:55 AM, Richard Weait rich...@weait.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 8:21 AM, Katie Filbert filbe...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:23 PM, Serge Wroclawski emac...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:20 AM, Martijn van Exel m...@rtijn.org wrote: On a related note, I was thinking about a traveling mapping party kit: a bunch of GPSes, swag, some vests, instruction leaflets. A neat idea in itself, but I feel the US is just too big to make that practical. To sell, I fear the GPSes make it cost prohibitive. To lend, I suspect the GPSes make it hard to seed. But hey I'd love to be proven wrong. If we were to have regular mapping parties in the DC region (or NY), I'm sure that Wikimedia DC (or NYC) could fund a kit for the Mapping DC folks. I'm not sure about sending them across the country to lend out. We could lend out within our region and maybe somewhat beyond. Yes, that's probably more feasible. For me, I feel it would be easier (I'm not saying 'easy') to get funding to buy some GPSes for regional events. Either by solliciting small donations from individuals or in the form of a regional sponsorship. What is preventing us from having more DC or NY mapping parties? Is it the lack of a mapping kit? I don't recall many people saying that they would organize and host a mapping party, if only they had a MPKit. I suggest, rather, that it is a lack of round tuits. The lack of a kit makes it easier to say, Well, if we had a kit, NewPerson in SomeTown could host a Mapping Party. Having a MPKit makes the mapping party somebody else's problem. When the alternative might be to say, Now _I'm_ going to host a Mapping Party in MyTown. I don't think the lack of a Kit makes people not take responsibility to host a party, or use it as an argument for why there aren't more mapping parties. I think we all know it's about people. I believe a Kit - or anything that provides the feeling of being backed by OpenStreetMap as an organization - may help someone take the step and organize something. [..] There are alternatives. Mappy Hours and talks are two alternatives. I'm down on Mapping Parties. Part of this is because of my phenomenally bad relationship with the weather during my Mapping Parties. :-) That doesn't mean that you have to be down on Mapping Parties, of course. I like having a goal of acquire new mappers who continue to contribute, rather than, map this area, today. I find that I feel more successful at that goal by hosting Mappy Hours and doing Intro to OSM talks for groups. And I find those events less of a burden to organize, and much less weather dependent. It means that I do have to drop the goal of, map this area, today. You may find that goal too attractive to abandon. Some people are more attracted (or less intimidated) by a mapping event - going out and doing something - than by attending a session. Some people prefer going to a bar or cafe to hang out and meet folks, and learn about the project that way. For me, it's different ways of achieving the same thing. The goal of a MP for me is not solely, or even primarily, to get a lot of mapping done. I want to introduce people to OSM, and get to know local mappers who are already active. Last weekend, I had 4 'regulars' and 2 'newbies', and we accomplished both goals. The numbers are small but both newcomers were really excited. So, agreed! Everyone should organize local events the way they feel is the most fun and effective way to spend the time and energy. I will probably continue to do a mix of things. We've dragged this thread a long way from flyers. Sorry. I think flyers are cool. And thanks, tons, to Serge for providing me with some from his trip to London. I'm still handing them out. :-) Yea, I'll call SteveC and see what he's got. If it turns out his kid has eaten them all, I will have a bunch printed. Does anyone have time skills to update the 2010 design based on Toby's comments? Keep mapping! -- martijn van exel http://oegeo.wordpress.com ___ Talk-us mailing list Talk-us@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us
