Crowdsourcing Destinations to put More of India on the Map
If you want to find your way around a foreign land you can’t go far wrong by asking a local for some directions. With this in mind Google has today launched a new initiative in India asking citizens there to add detail or update information in Google Maps.
The mapping contest is open to just about anyone in India and there are some cool incentives to encourage participation. The top thousand mappers stand a chance of winning prizes such as Android tablets, smart phones, Google vouchers and merchandise.
The importance and benefits of this crowdsourcing effort are underlined on the contest’s website:
“Finding a nearby hospital or fire station sometimes can be a matter of life and death. Your mapping can help people during a time of need and possibly even save lives.”
To take part users work with Google Map Maker, a tool for adding detail to a location with just a few clicks.
Once logged on an individual selects an area and inputs information based on their local knowledge or by referencing Google Maps satellite imagery.
Putting More of India on the Map
The Map Maker tool was actually conceived in India. About four years ago, a group of Googlers led by Lalit Katragadda, Product Country Head, Google thought it was high time for improvements to India’s maps.
The driving force of their innovation was that locals know their towns, villages, neighborhoods and backyards much better than anyone else. From their discussions Map Maker was born.
Mapathon 2013 runs from 11th February to 25th March, 2013. Details can be found here.
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