Terry Stigers was inspired
by Steve’s post the other day. He responded with an interesting article
which includes what should become the motto of every Map Dork. I
won’t steal Terry’s thunder and have quoted the article in part here:

Anyway, I got to thinking about a discussion I had with a
fellow Map Dork on Twitter a short while ago, about data and GIS.
About how the majority of the GIS community spends the bulk of its
time thinking about what to do with data, and not enough time thinking
about the quality of the data itself.

It’s like this – whenever I make a map, there are two primary
components involved in the process. The first is the software that
produces said map. [ … ]

The second component of any map I make is the data with which I make
the map.

The details matter, so you should go and read the rest of Terry’s article now.

http://wherewithal1.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/why-i-love-openstreetmap-and-you-should-too/

They create oxygen in our cities and provide welcome shade from the
sun or temporary respite from a summer shower. There are trees urban
areas and sometimes they should be put on the map. How do you place a
noble Oak on OpenStreetMap? You follow the link to Project of the
Week!

More details and tagging suggestions for this Project of the Week:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/2010/Aug_01

This is your Project of the Week. Make suggestions. Inspire other mappers.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/Proposals

Tree photo by fr4dd http://www.flickr.com/photos/fr4dd/
Licensed ccby http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_CA

OpenStreetMap contributor Lucadelu
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Lucadelu sends us this image
of the participants in the Graian Alps Mapping Party. Higher
resolutions available here

This is a Featured image, which means that it has been identified as
one of the best examples of OpenStreetMap mapping, or that it provides
a useful illustration of the OpenStreetMap project.

If you know another image of similar quality, you can nominate it on
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Featured_image_proposals

Be artistic! Create icons for map features that aren’t rendered already.

We all enjoy seeing our tagging work appear on the map. Different
renderers and different styles show different icons so some icons only
appear on specialty maps. But what if you want to create your own
specialty map, and the icon you want is not available? The Project of
the Week is to exercise your artistic talents. Create additional icons
in the theme of a the OSM icon sets.

More details and tagging suggestions for this Project of the Week:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/2010/Jul_25

This Project of the Week was presented by OSM user !i!. Matthias has
been mapping Rostock, Germany since 2008.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:!i!

This is your Project of the Week. Make suggestions, like Matthias did
when he provided us with this PotW.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/Proposals

Paintbrush photo by -mrsraggle- http://www.flickr.com/photos/raggle/
is licensed CC-ND http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.en_CA

OpenStreetMap contributor Jose Riha
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Jose1711 sends us this image
of a bus stop sign in Kosice, Slovakia that uses OpenStreetMap images.

This is a Featured image, which means that it has been identified as
one of the best examples of OpenStreetMap mapping, or that it provides
a useful illustration of the OpenStreetMap project.

If you know another image of similar quality, you can nominate it on
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Featured_image_proposals

The schedule for the first OSM US conference has been announced.

http://www.sotm.us/?page_id=2

The conference will be held on August 14 – 15, 2010 in Atlanta, GA.
and it isn’t too late to register. Register now.
http://www.sotm.us/?page_id=7

Each time a developer creates an interesting new tool to demonstrate
OSM data, mappers use that tool to improve the OSM data. When Andy
Allan and Dave Stubbs created OpenCycleMap more of us started mapping
cycle paths. The Gosmore routing engine has been available for a while
at YourNavigation and even on mobile devices.

Now there is even a demo of Gosmore running on the OSM dev server. So
the Project of the Week is to use it. We’ll be doing several things;
testing Gosmore with a little more load, checking our local dataset
for routing / connectivity errors, and having fun. Sounds perfect.

Learn more about how to improve the map in your neighbourhood.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/2010/Jul_18

Are you an OpenStreetMap contributor with a story to tell? Tell
others what you map, why it is interesting and how they can contribute
as well. Project of the Week is a chance for you to tell your story.
Become a Project of the Week contributor. (Or I could just keep
talking about baseball diamonds and bowling alleys. Your choice. 😉
)
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/Proposals

The screenshot of Gosmore on the OSM deve server is cc-by-sa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjO1S0AYMs4?wmode=transparent]

State of the Map 2010 wasn’t all panel discussions, intense technical
debate and delicious tapas.

State of the Map 2010 was also a bit of fun. Five songs were entered
in the Concert Contest for the entertainment of the performers, and
even the audience.

In a landslide of audience opinion, Iván Sánchez Ortega’s multi-media
masterpiece, _I Need A Map_ was found to be the winner. This video is
his encore performance from Saturday in Girona. Bravo, Iván, Bravo!

Seen here, many of the happy attendees of the fourth annual State of
the Map conference. It was held last weekend in Girona, Spain and it
was spectacular.

SOTM 2010 Group Photo by Chris Fleming
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisfleming/
Licensed cc-by-sa http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

I’m enjoying State of the Map in sunny Girona, Spain and my hosts have
taught me to appreciate a good siesta. Project of the week will be
back next week. Your project of the week is to offer suggestions and
recommendations for future projects.

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/Proposals

Sleeping cat photo by REUS http://www.flickr.com/photos/raulurzua/
Licensed ccby http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_CA