Microsoft and OpenStreetMap forge ties
Microsoft has begun forging strong ties with OpenStreetMap, with the latter’s founder joining the company, and Bing Maps imagery heading in the other direction.
All open-source and/or collaborative projects need people to make them work. Where would Wikipedia be without its army of editors? Or Linux without its dedicated engineers? However, the support of a big company can also prove to be very useful, so long as that company knows it’s not taking over the running of the project in its entirety.
OpenStreetMap is one such collaborative project, which aims to create a free, fully-editable, detailed map of the world. Using a combination of data from GPS devices, aerial photography, and a host of other sources, OpenStreet Map has built a strong support network since being founded in 2004. However, its founder is now off to pastures new, taking a position at Microsoft.
As Steve Coast notes in a recent blog post, he is moving to Washington to become the Principal Architect at Bing Mobile. Microsoft stated it had hired Coast to “help develop better mapping experiences for our customers and partners, and lead efforts to engage with OpenStreetMap and other open source and open data projects.”
This is a two-way deal. Coast is heading to Microsoft HQ, while the Redmond-based company’s “global orthorectified aerial imagery” is heading to OpenStreetMap. This should help fill in the gaps of OSM’s patchwork of aerial images, and Coast believes it is just the first of many announcements in this field to come from Microsoft. And he should know, being an employee there now.
Coast was clear to state that this collaboration doesn’t mean Microsoft suddenly owns OSM “any more than CloudMade or MapQuest do with the significant resources those firms have put in to making a better map with OSM.” Instead, “OSM continues to be independent as it always will be, and I will continue in my roles to push the OSM cause forward.”
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