Two critical elements of a successful mapping party are the people and publicity.
WRT publicity, I have learned (the hard way) that publicity materials need to convey enough information to get people curious enough to show up. Also you need to disperse publicity through as many channels as you can. If you can target organized groups (e.g. boy/girl scouts, 4H, bicycling clubs, sports clubs, etc.) you have a better shot at getting good participation. And speaking of civic/youth organizations, in terms of people these groups are more likely to show up and take enthusiasm in the project, partly because they are naturally curious students, but also because they have community service requirements easily filled by OSM contrbutions. I also think retirees may be good candidates, though I haven't personally reached out to those groups. (Sadly, my experience with my fellow GIS professionals is that initially they show a great deal of curiosity about OSM, but they tend to be less committed than amateurs and more dismissive of OSM on accuracy grounds.) I'll also second Jim's suggestion of the Mapping Weekend How To. Good luck! -- SEJ -- twitter: @geomantic -- skype: sejohnson8 "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." -- Einstein On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 22:07, Jim McAndrew <j...@loc8.us> wrote: > Hi, > > We're been trying to come up with ways to help people run mapping parties, > and have come up with a very basic outline. > You may find the best resource to be here: > http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Mapping_Weekend_Howto > > As far as focusing on people, we've have good response from GIS groups, and > universities. > If you can find a local Geography department, you can send them a flyer > about the party. > Community colleges tend to be a good source too, and a lot of places have > GIS classes. > > The real hard part is to get the word out, and to the right people, but > there are a few places you can start. > > -- > Jim McAndrew > > On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 7:01 PM, Ian Dees <ian.d...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 7:51 PM, Martijn van Exel <m...@rtijn.org> wrote: >> >>> Hi, >>> >>> As I am preparing my first mapping party here in Salt Lake, I am >>> wondering what works and what doesn't. I'm used to organizing events >>> in The Netherlands, but geographical and cultural differences may >>> require a different approach in the US so I'd like to poke your >>> brains: are there formats that work particularly well or not at all? >>> Particular types of venues to gather, interest groups to target, types >>> of mapping to do... Any input welcome. >> >> >> I had a decent response when I sought out GIS user groups and university >> folks. They seemed to be most interested in what OSM is and how to change >> it. They were also the quickest to disappear once they heard what OSM is >> (back then it was "you can't use ESRI? oh..."), but a few stuck and helped >> find other groups to work with. >> >> As far as location, I looked for places with fast wifi and decent places >> to sit down. Zoos, libraries, outdoor mall/commercial districts, etc. are >> all good places to start. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Talk-us mailing list >> Talk-us@openstreetmap.org >> http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Talk-us mailing list > Talk-us@openstreetmap.org > http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us > >
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