Re: [OSM-Talk-ZA] INTRODUCTION REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
Guys, Thanks for the fantastic responses suggestions. I'm going to take you up on the offers for tech assistance, will also keep you in the loop on progress. Having spent almost a yr here in the heart of Silicon Valley in the US, I am convinced that location-aware geo-mobile is the next major wave in media comms. And, for that to happen, we need open source maps. Cheers, Justin - Original Message - From: Nic Roets nro...@gmail.com To: justin arenstein justin.arenst...@stanford.edu Cc: talk-za@openstreetmap.org Sent: Sunday, 4 April, 2010 02:05:09 GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: Re: [OSM-Talk-ZA] INTRODUCTION REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE Hello Justin, On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 1:44 AM, justin.arenst...@stanford.edu wrote: [3] Tracking crime reports, from both police private security companies, and mapping it so that it is accessible to ordinary residents so they can begin to understand the underlying trends, hotspots, etc. I'd like to use this project to take the interactivity one step further, so that in addition to them being able to send in crime reports, the site / map will also send back alerts to users when a crime happens in their neighbourhood. Eblockwatch.co.za already collects crime reports from its users and alerts them when they receive new reports. It's interface is however quite terrible. Even worse is the fact they send a lot of sensationalist emails to their users and the only way to block that is to unsubscribe completely. Something that combines the visual presentation of oakland.crimespotting.org and the ease of use of openstreetbugs.schokokeks.org will be ideal. I am however already spending to much time writing openstreetmap software and my knowledge of openlayers is too limited. Regards, Nic ___ Talk-ZA mailing list Talk-ZA@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-za
Re: [OSM-Talk-ZA] INTRODUCTION REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
Hi Justin, I think you've got a brilliant project here, and I'd be willing to help as far as possible. I've not done any coding on OSM yet, but I can program and I have submitted GPS data and map info to the project, so I know the basics about OSM. Unfortunately I don't have a huge amount of time, but I'll keep an eye on the mailing list and if I see a way that I can add value, I'll definitely jump in. If you have specific requests for help (e.g. how do I do X? Can someone apply Y plugin to OSM - the code is at Y.org.YY) that will grab my attention. Good luck! David On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 1:44 AM, justin.arenst...@stanford.edu wrote: Hi guys, I'm a journalist based in Mpumalanga (though on sabbatical in the US at the moment), who is exploring geo-mobile and location-aware reporting tools as a way of making news more relevant more accessible to people. Journalists are notoriously bad at maths or IT though, I'm definitely not a techie. I'm struggling with a lot of the GIS and coding aspects of the projects I want to tackle, was hoping to find possible collaborators here to help. What I'm really keen to do is replicate some of the mapping data visualisation I've seen in the US, at places like www.oakland.crimespotting.org and www.ushahidi.org, to tell news stories in a visual way that gives people info they can immediately use. The owners of both platforms have given me permission to use their open APIs and source code ... but I don't know how to deploy or customise it. Some of the thing's I'd like to do are: [1.1] Prove the power of mapping as a means to tell news stories in a high-profile proof-of-concept case by tracking the service delivery riots that have swept across Mpumalanga over the past year, and that have sparked similar riots elsewhere in SA. No-one else has actually told the coherent story yet, by joining the dots to see whether there are underlying trends, triggers, or commons patterns. I'd like to tell the story using a similar chronological categorised interface as the Oakland Crimespotting folk. [1.2] As part of this project, I'd like to add a layer to the map tracking all the xenophobic attacks in the Mpumalanga region over the same period, to see whether there are any relations between them the service delivery riots. Once we've got the basic data sets up, I could then start adding additional layers tracking corruption, infrastructure problems, matric results (a big issue in Mpumalanga), etc. This layered information would start doing what the SA media has failed to do: tell us why things happen. Then, once we've proved the concept, I'd like to tackle the following kinds of mapping projects: [2] Tracking public infrastructure problems, so citizens can start reporting everything from potholes to broken water pipes / drains using their cellphones (SMS cameras) to send geo-tagged time-stamped reports via an Ushahidi-type interface. I could then use this to identify hotspots, trends, etc, to produce media reports that force authorities to act. [3] Tracking crime reports, from both police private security companies, and mapping it so that it is accessible to ordinary residents so they can begin to understand the underlying trends, hotspots, etc. I'd like to use this project to take the interactivity one step further, so that in addition to them being able to send in crime reports, the site / map will also send back alerts to users when a crime happens in their neighbourhood. I've got a couple of other additional ideas as well, and have access to a newsroom (to help generate the content), etc. What I really need is mapping experts to assist. Anyhow interested? Justin Arenstein Knight Fellow Mobile: +1-650-575-1944 Email: justin.arenst...@stanford.edu Twitter: JustinArenstein Web: http://www.linkedin.com/in/justinarenstein Web: http://knight.stanford.edu/ Visit FAIR's website at: http://www.fairreporters.org Visit CAPITAL's new fan-page on Facebook at: http://bit.ly/5918SS Visit LOWVELD LIVING's new fan-page on Facebook at: http://bit.ly/6Mot8K ___ Talk-ZA mailing list Talk-ZA@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-za -- David Richfield e^(πi)+1=0 ___ Talk-ZA mailing list Talk-ZA@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-za
Re: [OSM-Talk-ZA] INTRODUCTION REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
Me too. I'm in Johannesburg ATM, but it looks like an interesting project. On 4 April 2010 08:17, David Richfield davidrichfi...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Justin, I think you've got a brilliant project here, and I'd be willing to help as far as possible. I've not done any coding on OSM yet, but I can program and I have submitted GPS data and map info to the project, so I know the basics about OSM. Unfortunately I don't have a huge amount of time, but I'll keep an eye on the mailing list and if I see a way that I can add value, I'll definitely jump in. If you have specific requests for help (e.g. how do I do X? Can someone apply Y plugin to OSM - the code is at Y.org.YY) that will grab my attention. Good luck! David On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 1:44 AM, justin.arenst...@stanford.edu wrote: Hi guys, I'm a journalist based in Mpumalanga (though on sabbatical in the US at the moment), who is exploring geo-mobile and location-aware reporting tools as a way of making news more relevant more accessible to people. Journalists are notoriously bad at maths or IT though, I'm definitely not a techie. I'm struggling with a lot of the GIS and coding aspects of the projects I want to tackle, was hoping to find possible collaborators here to help. What I'm really keen to do is replicate some of the mapping data visualisation I've seen in the US, at places like www.oakland.crimespotting.org and www.ushahidi.org, to tell news stories in a visual way that gives people info they can immediately use. The owners of both platforms have given me permission to use their open APIs and source code ... but I don't know how to deploy or customise it. Some of the thing's I'd like to do are: [1.1] Prove the power of mapping as a means to tell news stories in a high-profile proof-of-concept case by tracking the service delivery riots that have swept across Mpumalanga over the past year, and that have sparked similar riots elsewhere in SA. No-one else has actually told the coherent story yet, by joining the dots to see whether there are underlying trends, triggers, or commons patterns. I'd like to tell the story using a similar chronological categorised interface as the Oakland Crimespotting folk. [1.2] As part of this project, I'd like to add a layer to the map tracking all the xenophobic attacks in the Mpumalanga region over the same period, to see whether there are any relations between them the service delivery riots. Once we've got the basic data sets up, I could then start adding additional layers tracking corruption, infrastructure problems, matric results (a big issue in Mpumalanga), etc. This layered information would start doing what the SA media has failed to do: tell us why things happen. Then, once we've proved the concept, I'd like to tackle the following kinds of mapping projects: [2] Tracking public infrastructure problems, so citizens can start reporting everything from potholes to broken water pipes / drains using their cellphones (SMS cameras) to send geo-tagged time-stamped reports via an Ushahidi-type interface. I could then use this to identify hotspots, trends, etc, to produce media reports that force authorities to act. [3] Tracking crime reports, from both police private security companies, and mapping it so that it is accessible to ordinary residents so they can begin to understand the underlying trends, hotspots, etc. I'd like to use this project to take the interactivity one step further, so that in addition to them being able to send in crime reports, the site / map will also send back alerts to users when a crime happens in their neighbourhood. I've got a couple of other additional ideas as well, and have access to a newsroom (to help generate the content), etc. What I really need is mapping experts to assist. Anyhow interested? Justin Arenstein Knight Fellow Mobile: +1-650-575-1944 Email: justin.arenst...@stanford.edu Twitter: JustinArenstein Web: http://www.linkedin.com/in/justinarenstein Web: http://knight.stanford.edu/ Visit FAIR's website at: http://www.fairreporters.org Visit CAPITAL's new fan-page on Facebook at: http://bit.ly/5918SS Visit LOWVELD LIVING's new fan-page on Facebook at: http://bit.ly/6Mot8K ___ Talk-ZA mailing list Talk-ZA@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-za -- David Richfield e^(πi)+1=0 ___ Talk-ZA mailing list Talk-ZA@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-za ___ Talk-ZA mailing list Talk-ZA@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-za
Re: [OSM-Talk-ZA] INTRODUCTION REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
Hello Justin, On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 1:44 AM, justin.arenst...@stanford.edu wrote: [3] Tracking crime reports, from both police private security companies, and mapping it so that it is accessible to ordinary residents so they can begin to understand the underlying trends, hotspots, etc. I'd like to use this project to take the interactivity one step further, so that in addition to them being able to send in crime reports, the site / map will also send back alerts to users when a crime happens in their neighbourhood. Eblockwatch.co.za already collects crime reports from its users and alerts them when they receive new reports. It's interface is however quite terrible. Even worse is the fact they send a lot of sensationalist emails to their users and the only way to block that is to unsubscribe completely. Something that combines the visual presentation of oakland.crimespotting.org and the ease of use of openstreetbugs.schokokeks.org will be ideal. I am however already spending to much time writing openstreetmap software and my knowledge of openlayers is too limited. Regards, Nic ___ Talk-ZA mailing list Talk-ZA@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-za
